Deputy Attorney General, Alfred Tua-Yeboah has appealed to Members of Parliament (MPs) to approve the conduct of Public Officers Bill (CoPO) once it is laid before the house.
The Code of Conduct provides that public officers comply with oaths, eschew conflict of interest situations and declare their assets and liabilities upon assumption of office.
But the provision is flouted on many occasions; a situation he believes breeds public service corruption.
Making the call at an event to mark the 2022 edition of the International Anti-Corruption Day in Accra, Mr. Tua-Yeboah indicated that, “the current Bill is at the final stage at cabinet, and we intend to lay that bill before Parliament for approval next year when they resume. My Lord is here, they will legislate for us”.
The Deputy Attorney General said both receivers and givers of bribes should all be penalised when found culpable, adding that the giver should not be made to go scot-free.
“So a young man or some young men may want to join the Immigration, they see a certain young man who says if you pay GH¢10,000 each I will get you enlisted, this gentleman takes the money, and he’s not able to do it, he absconds, and they follow the security agencies to arrest and prosecute him.
“What about those young men who paid the GH¢10,000 each? Because you are not going after them, they keep every year making the work of the police very difficult,” Mr. Tua-Yeboah said.
He warned that the Police and the Attorney General’s department will not relent in their efforts in prosecuting persons engaged in bribery.
“Let me sound this warning that those who are interested in paying, be prepared that when we get you, we will also prosecute you, we will not leave you,” he cautioned.
However, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) says it’s been left helpless on many occasions in enforcing Chapter 24 of the 1992 Constitution which focuses on the Code of Conduct for public officers.
