Response of the Serious Fraud Office to Government Anti-Corruption Policies under the Fourth Republic of Ghana.

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Date
2011
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Abstract
As a developing nation, corruption posed a developmental challenge in Ghana. It denied the citizens full benefits of development, undermined investment, encouraged capital flight, enriched few unscrupulous ones creating social disequilibrium and stunted economic growth. Governments under the Fourth Republic have made various policy statements, “Probity and Accountability”, “zero tolerance for corruption” and enacted various anti-corruption laws and established institutions to help control corruption in the country. However, over ten years down the lane, one would have expected that with all these laws and institutions in place, corruption would have been reduced to the barest minimum. But that is not the case. In various electronic and print media, we continue to labour so much on how the public sector is endemic with corruption. Press conferences are organized to highlight corruption in public offices. Counter press conferences are equally organized to highlight corruption in previous regimes. At the end of these discussions and press conferences, the stakeholders: citizenry, civil society groups, and the public (government inclusive) did not see anything wrong with these policy statements, laws and institutions such as the SFO. All that we hear from the Executive is efforts put in place or being put in place to control corruption and never the outcome or dividends of such efforts. The study examines the formation of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) as a vehicle of implementation, the situation of corruption in the country ten (10) years down the lane and policy gaps. It established that, while the policies yielded minimal dividends at the beginning, loss of focus and momentum by government to sustain and build on the efforts accounted for the current situation of corruption in the country. The study further established that over the years the SFO has worked creditable in the fight against corruption. But the Executive control in appointments, direction and funding of the SFO, its mandate and the incrementalist approach adopted in its formation and operationalization are some of the policy gaps that militated against the SFO response to government’s anti-corruption policies under the Fourth Republic. It is recommended that, government stay focused on its policy statements on the control of corruption, sustain and build on the momentum at controlling corruption in the country. And that, government purges itself of the perceived manipulation of the SFO by amending the SFO Act to give room for the appointment of professionals to the SFO Board, security of tenure of office of the Directors and adequate funding. The SFO should also embarke on public education to educate the public on its operations.
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A Thesis submitted to the Institute of Distance Learning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Commonwealth Executive Masters in Business Administration,
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