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Presidential Advisor on Governance and Corruption, Daniel Batidam, has bemoaned the attitude of most Ghanaians to personalize issues of corruption and narrow-mindedly argue as if the canker is caused by government.

Speaking in an interview on Neat FM's "Ghana Montie", he cited Transparency International (TI's) report - ranking Ghana as the second most corrupt country in Africa - which Ghanaians have swallowed hook, line, and sinker to buttress his point.

“The amount of bribes that policemen receive is the amount of bribe citizens pay to them, therefore if policemen are accused of receiving bribes, who are the bribe payers? this is a great question we must all as Ghanaians ask ourselves,” he added.

“In a correct context to fighting against corruption completely in the nation, we must look at both the receiver and the payer, but if we want to look at the receiver alone then is of no use, meaning we are solving the problem half-way because until we see the payers as part of the corruption problem it cannot be solved.”

The Presidential Advisor on Corruption, told host of Neat FM’s morning show, Kwesi Aboagye, that government is doing its best to curb corruption completely in the country.

Expressing unhappiness at the way the fight against corruption was being left on government alone to shoulder the responsibility, Mr Batidam said; "if government was to be doing 100% of what it should do as far as corruption is concerned and many other stakeholders including civil societies and the media decide not to do their part, the country would not be making progress as we ought to be making." 

He cautioned the media to be very circumspect in their reportage because what they say is what the public usually move along with.

The global corruption biometer sought the opinion of citizens in countries across the continent on the fight against corruption over the past 12 months and 76% of ghanaians according to the report perceived corruption is on the rise.

Speaking at the second high level conference of the National Anti-corruption Action Plan in Accra, President Mahama described as false the accusations that Ghana was ranked as one of the corrupt countries in the survey.

“Despite all attempt by institutions that sponsored the report to correct this wrong interpretation, leading political fears have continued to spread this false impression," President Mahama said.