The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and OccupyGhana, have released a joint press statement, expressing their strong opposition to Cabinet’s reluctance in approving the 2022 Conduct of Public Officers Bill (CoPO) for enactment.
The bill when passed to law will address the misconduct of public officers and ensure accountability within the government.
The CSOs and OccupyGhana in their joint statement, challenged and rejected Cabinet’s argument that there are already adequate provisions in existing laws to deal with the conduct of public officers.
“The Coalition of CSOs and OccupyGhana issue the following joint statement in response to
the Cabinet’s considerable reluctance to approve the 2022 CoPO despite the repeated
assurances and justifications by the President and Attorney-General & Minister of Justice to
Ghanaians and the International community, including the IMF, that the Bill will be passed
into law. We specifically challenge and reject the Cabinet’s false claim that “there are already
adequate provisions in existing laws to deal with the conduct of public officers,” and urge the
Cabinet to quickly approve the Bill for enactment by Parliament soonest.”
In the joint statement, the coalition said when the bill is enacted, it will deal with the various cases of unexplained wealth by public officers. They also expressed their disbelieve on the part of government and Parliament for refusing to enact the bill despite 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 and Dr. Bawumia’s assurance n December 2019 that government would collaborate with Parliament to enact the 2018 CoPO Bill.
“Essentially, the CoPO Bill was first introduced in 2008, laid in Parliament in May 2015 and then
July 2020 without being enacted into law. The Vice President, Dr Bawumia assured in
December 2019 that the government would collaborate with Parliament to enact the 2018
CoPO Bill, which he found as ‘the oldest outstanding bill before Parliament,’ early 2020, in
order to rein in on corruption in public sector (ghanaiantimes.com.gh).
“The current 2022 CoPO Bill deals mainly with reforms in the declaration of assets and liabilities, conflict of interests and code of conduct for public officials, and their enforcement. Significantly, 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 3 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 apparently
unexplained wealth would have been resolved if the 2022 CoPO Bill had been enacted.
Possibly, that is why the Bill is facing strong resistance in 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. Substantively, a recent Afrobarometer
survey shows “majority (77 %) of Ghanaians say the level of corruption in the country has
increased and the government is doing a poor job of fighting corruption” and “many citizens
(69%) see widespread corruption in key public institutions, but fear retaliations should they
report cases of corruption to the authorities” (CDD, News Release, 28 July 2022). As widely
reported, public institutions are undermined by corruption, leading to low public confidence
in government and economic systems, and a low level of trust required for the operation of a
market economy.” The Statement said.
The statement further disclosed that, Cabinent is resisting the bill due to several and successive false claims and excuses by the powers that be.
“The current Cabinet’s resistance to the Bill is based on several, successive false claims and
excuses, the worst of which was the Cabinet Secretary’s RTI response in February 2023 to
OccupyGhana that “there are already adequate provisions in existing laws to deal with the
conduct of public officers.” The claim is in contrast to the Parliamentary Committee
observation in its July 2020 report that, “These laws are scattered in a number of laws and
the provisions thereof have been found to be inadequate to deal with public office
accountability…and lacking of sufficient deterrence towards the agenda of zero tolerance
governing public office holders.” Not even a 20-page table submitted in OccupyGhana’s
response to this false Cabinet claim, clearly setting out the new, strong provisions in the 2022
CoPO Bill, could move our Cabinet. Ironically, during the September 2023 Ghana Bar
Association’s Conference, the President promised that the A-G would soon bring a Bill that
follows the examples in jurisdictions like the US, the UK and Kenya for Cabinet’s consideration
and subsequent enactment by Parliament inspite of A-G’s submission of the CoPO Bill 2022
to the same Cabinet in May 2022.”
The joint statement highlights the importance of the CoPO bill in promoting transparency, accountability, and good governance. It emphasizes that the bill is essential in strengthening the legal framework and providing a clear set of guidelines for public officers to adhere to.
The coalition and OccupyGhana urge the Cabinet to reconsider their stance and approve the CoPO bill without further delay. They believe that the bill will help restore public trust in the government and ensure that public officers are held accountable for their actions.
The joint statement concludes by expressing the coalition’s and OccupyGhana’s commitment to continue advocating for the passage of the CoPO bill and promoting good governance in the country.
They also called on Ghanaians to join in the campaign to ensure the approval of the bill by Cabinent.
“We, therefore, invite Ghanaians, fellow CSOs and the media, to join in this campaign to ensure
that Cabinet approves the Bill and forwards it to Parliament, and that Parliament passes the
Bill into law, all at the earliest times possible. #PasstheCoPObillnow”
Press Release – CSOs Joint Statement on CoPO Bill
Source: Ellvisanokyenews.com
