International, has challenged President John Evans Atta Mills and his ruling NDC party to rise up above partisan considerations to live up to the ideals of transparency and accountability and deal with corruption as a national canker that must be extricated from the Ghanaian society.
The Executive Director of the anti-corruption group, Vitus A Azeem, in a release, reminded the President to make good his promise to Ghanaians of transparent and accountable governance and his commitment to the fight against corruption by ensuring that the Woyome case is pursued to its logical conclusion.
According to the GII boss, the president�s dismissal of the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Martin Amidu, and the resignation of his predecessor, Betty Mould Iddrisu, all in connection with the Woyome judgement debt saga, leave a lot of nagging questions in the minds of Ghanaians.
The anti-corruption campaigner wants president Mills to come out with what he knows about these developments and the Woyome case that had led to all these developments.
In his estimation, there are more questions which need to be answered and therefore, demanded some answers from the relevant persons and institutions in the country.
He enquired from the president whether Mr Amidu�s misconduct was his refusal to withdraw his allegations which he believes strongly in or �was his misconduct his determination to pursue the Woyome case�.
Vitus Azeem also wants to find out if the former A-G�s removal was an attempt by the president and NDC to kill the Woyome case, and whether Mrs Iddrisu�s resignation was ordered by the president, and whether her resignation was in connection with the Woyome case.
In his view, the answers do not lie in the withdrawal of the case from court but rather on further investigations and the pursuit of the case in court.
Mr Azeem congratulated the former A-G, Mr Martin Amidu, for speaking out against corruption, noting: �it is unprecedented that a sitting Attorney-General had alleged corruption in high places.�
�GII, therefore, demands that this unprecedented action be given the necessary government reaction in a manner that indicates their commitment to fighting corruption�, he stressed.
According to Mr Azeem, GII does not doubt the integrity and professionalism of the new Attorney-General, Benjamin Kumbuor, and the Economic and Organized Crime Office in dealing with the matter but only urging them to be diligent and live beyond partisan approach in the execution of their duties.
He further urged EOCO to discharge its mandate and to do a credible job �as one of the foremost anti-corruption state agencies in Ghana so that Ghanaians will have faith in institutions that are charged to fight crime and corruption.�
The GII Executive Director also called on the new A-G and the Inspector General of Police to ensure that all police detectives, prosecutors and state attorneys take their work seriously �and where they are found wanting the necessary sanctions are applied to them.�
Mr Azeem also urged President Mills to see it as an opportunity to make good on his anti-corruption campaign promises and live up to the values he espouses.
He called for transparent, non-partisan business transactions in the country to prevent such unhealthy situation as are pertaining in the country now.
�The IFC and STX loans are still fresh on our minds. The Woyome case is another lesson to all Ghanaian leaders and politicians. It is time business, public business in particular, is done in a transparent, professional and non-partisan way with due diligence taken in the award of contracts�, he stated.
The anti-corruption campaigner added: �Ghana, we are told, is losing a lot of funds through the payment of judgement debts, which can be avoided if people take their work seriously. Prosecutors should not take cases to court only to lose the case because they have not built a good case or even just failed to appear in court.�
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