The Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr. Andrew Barnes has expressed shock at the level of corruption in Ghana.
Mr. Barnes was controversially correlating corruption to the number of Christians in a country, saying corruption should not be an issue eating up a country which Christian population constitutes approximately 71.2% of the entire population.
Speaking at the launch of a strategic plan of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition in Accra on Wednesday, Andrew Barnes pointed out that although he doesn’t believe in the existence of God, he knows “corruption is clearly against Christian teachings”.
Mr. Barnes statement is coming close in the heels of another diplomat- the Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, Ron Strikker-suggested that instead of Ghana to pursuing “Ghana Beyond Aid” as a flagship policy of the Akufo Addo administration, Ghana should be focusing on “Ghana Beyond Corruption”, given the level of corruption characterising business operations in the country.
“You need a good business climate to attract foreign investment…,” Strikker said.
The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) is a unique cross-sectoral grouping of public, private and civil society organizations (CSOs) with a focus on promoting good governance and fighting corruption in Ghana.
These comments are coming from diplomats during the Akufo Addo administration which has been riddled with an endless stream of corruption scandals in its three-year reign.
At the last count, civil society groups have recorded over 100 major corruption scandals so far caused by public officials and appointees of the government.