‘It’s not about leadership: if we really need to fight it, then everybody must fight’ – EOCO boss on measures to curb corruption

The Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO), Maame Tiwaa Addo-Danquah has stressed the need for an all-hands-on deck approach to the fight against corruption.

She said much as the government and its anti-corruption agencies have the mandate, every Ghanaian must bring their shoulders to the wheel in driving out corruption from the country.

“I am concerned, everybody should be concerned. What do we have to do? We must all put our hands together and we must fight whatever is fighting us. That is what I can say. The point is that, like the OSP said, if we really need to fight it, then everybody must fight. I have somebody who asked me for support to pay school fees or something.

Then the moment I said I could help, she called me back to say that I should not put it on her MoMo because she is owing MTN, can you imagine? And I did. So, these are small-small things that we think they don’t matter, but they do. It starts from small-small things and become big,” Maame Yaa Tiwaa told 3News’ Beatrice Adu on January 29 at a CDD event in Accra.

According to her, the surest way to curb the canker is a change in attitude by all Ghanaians.

“So, everybody must have a change of attitude, mindset, that this is where we are and this is where we want to go. And we must all play a role in the fight against corruption. One person cannot do it. And it’s not about leadership. It’s about everybody playing a role. Whatever is expected you, you do it, whatever is expected of me, I do it. Whatever is expected of institutions, they do it,” she stressed.

Maame Tiwaa Addo-Danquah acknowledged receipt of the docket on Cecilia Dapaah, former Sanitation Minister, in respect of the alleged money laundering case her.

She said although the Office of the Special Prosecutor has formally submitted the docket to her outfit, she is yet to review it.

“I have that and we are now reviewing, at the appropriate time we will speak about it. I am not well briefed about the docket, so I don’t want to make any comment on it until we review it. The most important thing is that he has handed over, I don’t have any more thing to add,” she said.

Asked if she has heard about the story regarding the contract awarded by the Ghana Revenue Authority to Strategic Mobilization Limited (SML) she said, “you see, I don’t talk about things that I am not well briefed. If you want to talk to me about other things, fine but not on that.”

On what she makes of criticisms that her outfit is not being proactive in the fight Against corruption, the Commissioner of Police said, “We take it in good faith and we always learn. When somebody says you should have done it this way, you look at what the person is telling you. And when you think that is what you should have done, you learn from it and adjust your strategy and next time you become a better person.”

Source:3news.com