Former Ghana’s Ambassador to Mali Donald Adabere has commended the media for its role in fighting corruption in Ghana by telling compelling stories and blowing the whistle on acts of corruption which hitherto was not the situation.
Speaking on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show Wednesday, the onetime Upper East Regional Minister under the erstwhile Rawlings administration mentioned that the spate of corruption in Ghana is not typical of a particular government but rather there are more revelations because of the existence of a vociferous media that has exhibited a high level of interest in fighting the canker.
“I would like to give credit to the media. What we are all shouting about thus the corruption here corruption there, for me it doesn’t look like it is typical of a particular government but just that there is more media reporting of these issues.”
He noted that though there were more serious corruption issues prior to Ghana’s current status as a democratic nation, there was no existence of a strongly positioned media to report the issues.
He said “I quite remember that in those days that you would describe as revolution days, there were more startling things than what is being told but we did not have a vociferous media.”
Mr. Adabere bemoaned the level of irresponsibility and indiscipline that has characterised Ghana’s democracy in the present dispensation.
According to him, there is a vast difference between what happened during the days of revolution in politics and governance as compared to what is happening currently because of democracy.
He intimated that formerly people were made responsible for their utterances and actions and that prevented loose talks which is the order of the day now.
“What happened in the past clearly you have to be very responsible. If you say it you definitely have to justify it. For instance if you accuse someone of stealing, you have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the fellow is a thief and that time the community will respond to it.”
The former revolutionist told Azongo Albert that though there are similarities between the old order and the new order, the difference that exists is the fact that people now propagate their rights and don’t perform their responsibilities.
“People are learning to talk more about their rights than to talk more of their responsibilities and I think this is the slight difference. In those days it was let’s go for the truth and let’s be productive. This time it is slightly different in the sense that people have learnt to think that they are so free that they can say anything to anybody and it does not matter where they say and who they say it to,” he added.
He indicated that the country is still learning its democratic status and he is of the hope that if discipline is instilled in the Ghanaian, the country will take shape and better its democracy like the United States of America.
The former ambassador recounted that “in our local homes we were taught to be disciplined and also taught to respect the elderly and heed to the call of our parents.” He therefore called on society to revisit this to help build a better Ghana.
He opined that to instil discipline, stakeholders are expected to inject hard work into training at the basic level of education because that is the major way through which discipline can be injected into the country.
By: Offei-Akoto Ayeh | A1RADIOONLINE.com | GHANA
