CSOs disappointed at cabinet’s reluctance to approve Conduct of Public Officers bill

The Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have expressed disappointment over the Cabinet’s seeming reluctance to approve the 2022 Conduct of Public Officers (CoPO) Bill.

They noted that despite the repeated assurances and justifications from the President and the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice to Ghanaians and the international community, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), that the bill will be passed, it has still not seen the light of the day.

They stated that they reject the Cabinet’s ‘false claim’ that there were already adequate provisions in existing laws to deal with the conduct of public officers, urging the cabinet to quickly approve the bill for its enactment by Parliament.

The groups OccupyGhana, Ghana Anti-Corruption Corruption (GACC), Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), and Citizen’s Movement Against Corruption (CMaC) indicated this in a statement.

They noted that the CoPO Bill was first introduced in 2008, laid in Parliament in May 2015, and in July 2020 without being enacted into law, stating that Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia assured in December 2019 that the government would collaborate with Parliament to enact the CoPO Bill to rein in corruption in the public sector.

The current 2022 CoPO Bill deals with reforms in the declaration of assets and liabilities, conflict of interests, and code of conduct for public officials and their enforcement.

When enacted, the bill would change how successive governments have since 1993 unconstitutionally extended the time for appointed public officials to declare their assets up to three months after appointment instead of the constitutional requirement to do so before they assume office.

“Consequently, most public officials never declare their assets, or having assumed office, are able to make ‘presumptive’ declarations of assets they expect to acquire while in office.

We are convinced that the recent issues arising and concerning public officials and unexplained wealth would have been resolved if the 2022 CoPO Bill had been enacted.

They said “that is why the bill is facing strong resistance in the Cabinet against its approval. This is inexplicably shocking, considering that the 2018 CoPO Bill was previously recommended for Parliament’s adoption with minimum suggestions by the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs (Parliamentary Committee) in July 2020.

The non-passage of any CoPO Bill since 2013 suggests governments’ and parliaments’ lack of commitment to fight the rising cases of alleged corruption, bordering on procurement, and conflict of interest breaches in the Fourth Republic, they said.

They urged Ghanaians to join in the campaign to ensure that the cabinet approves the bill, forwards it to Parliament, and for Parliament to pass it into law at the earliest possible time.

Source: GNA

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