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OccupyGhana (OG), a pressure group, Wednesday presented a letter to the Auditor-General (A-G) demanding an explanation from him on the steps he had taken to retrieve money misappropriated by public officials as captured in his annual reports. It warned that if the A-G failed to give appropriate responses within 30 days, it would take the matter to court. Copies of the letter were also submitted to the Chief of Staff, Mr Prosper Douglas Bani, and the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong. A founder member of OG, Mr Ace Kojo Ankomah, a legal practitioner, who announced the presentation of the letters at a public forum in Accra, said it was crucial for the A-G to tell Ghanaians the amount retrieved so far and how the culprits were dealt with. He said if the money was not recovered, the A-G needed to explain why it had not been retrieved. Weak actions Mr Ankomah criticised President John Dramani Mahama for failing to crack the whip after cases of corruption had been brought to his attention. He mentioned GYEEDA and SADA as some of the cases in which the President did not show strong action. He said, for instance, that President Mahama only gave recommendations and urged people to do one thing or another, instead of taking decisive actions to deal with those individuals. He said corruption was a crime which needed to be fought on all fronts. Mr Ankomah claimed that Ghana had strong institutions but lacked strong men to deal with corruption. Pastor Otabil The Founder and General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), Pastor Mensa Otabil, urged President Mahama to take up the fight against corruption by first dealing with senior public officials in his government and the NDC who engaged in corruption. He said it was only when the President was able to prosecute Cabinet ministers and people in the ruling party alleged to be involved in corruption that Ghanaians would see him as being fair in dealing with corruption. He said if the President later prosecuted any Ghanaian outside the government or the NDC, Ghanaians would see the process as fair. "If he hits himself first, his Cabinet and his party and gets to us, we will say that he is fair," he said. Dr Otabil expressed the hope that the President would take up the challenge. Be steadfast Conceding that the work of the President was very demanding and required strong choices, Dr Otabil said, for instance, that the President had so many interest groups to satisfy but asked him not to worry about whose toes were stepped on when taking his decisions. Weak laws He said the problem with corruption in Ghana was not about the people but the laws. He said citizens worldwide were prone to corruption, but the difference was that in some areas the law was religiously enforced to check the canker. "Corruption is simply the failure of the application of law," he said. A lecturer at the Ashesi University, Dr Esi Ansah, urged Ghanaians not to politicise the issue of corruption, saying "corruption is not about NDC or NPP". She condemned the labelling of people who waged war against corruption. Dr Ansah urged professional associations to break their silence and begin to condemn acts of corruption. She again asked all Ghanaians to raise the red flag whenever they came across a case of corruption. A journalist, Mr Manasseh Azure Awuni, expressed worry at the manner in which corruption was being perpetrated with impunity in Ghana. �The only way to fight corruption was for the public to be patriotic in protecting the public purse,� he said.