Former Ghana president, Jerry Rawlings, has launched a scathing attack on
the Nigerian government’s anti-corruption record, severely criticizing the
leadership’s failure to punish politicians who steal public funds.

While the Nigerian leadership pays “lip service” to corrupt officials looting
billions, Mr. Rawlings said Monday, it directs its resources at persecuting anti-graft
fighters, and prosecuting petty thieves.

“Corrupt politicians in Nigeria escape punishment. We cannot continue to pay lip
service to the strengthening, empowerment and independent management of our multiple
anti-corruption institutions,” Mr. Rawlings said in a speech at the National Legislative
Institute in Abuja on Monday.

“We live in countries where poor, petty thieves get imprisoned for several years while
businessmen who evade taxes in millions of dollars or politicians who misappropriate
millions of state funds escape punishment.”

Mr. Rawlings is well reputed for his tough stance against official graft. As military
ruler of Ghana, he executed his country’s past leaders, accusing them of corruption.

He said Africa lost at least $38.4 billion and $25 billion in 2008 and 2010 respectively
to illicit financial outflows.

“These inequalities are recopies for retrogression of our democracies and we cannot
allow the negative to continue. As I said earlier a democracy that cannot provide
socio-economic justice cannot be a healthy democracy and will remain vulnerable,” he said.

The former leader’s comment came a week after a spokesperson for President Goodluck
Jonathan, Reuben Abati, said Nigerians should blame the judiciary for the administration’s
poor record on corruption.

In an interview with the Pilot newspaper, Mr. Abati said the administration has done
well tackling official stealing through preemptive measures. He said if the public failed
to notice increased conviction, then it was the fault of the judiciary.

Mr. Rawlings urged Africans to reject henceforth laws allowing the president to choose
their countries’ Chief Justice, to ensure true independence of the judiciary.

“Our institutions are weak because we do not strengthen and protect them adequately in
our constitutions,” he said. “While the legislature can enact laws that empower institutions,
constitutional entrenchment of such provisions would ensure that political parties with majority
control within legislative assemblies do not manipulate the power of these institutions.”

He advised that the appointment should go through a consultative process that the
president will not manipulate.

“Nigeria has made giant strides over the past decade politically but still faces
complicated challenges , which many of you will bear with me has socio-cultural implications
that have been ignored for a significant period,” he said.

He said Africa’s democratic institutions are poorly equipped to offer the best support to government.

“It is embarrassing sometimes to observe our various legislative assemblies struggle
to competently debate issue of serious national concern because members are handicapped
information wise,” he said.


http://premiumtimesng.com/news/138994-jerry-rawlings-slams-nigerian-government-for-allowing-corrupt-politicians-escape-justice.html

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how many corrupt goverment officials has rawlings ndc party jailed since they took over power since 2008?
rawlings should find a way of making his party jail people like woyome who collected 50million dollars instead of 500,000 dollars.
ghanaweb.com/mobile/wap.small/news.article.php?ID=229978

mytngonline.com/letters-from-ghana-2-woyome-saga-ghana-traffic/

dailyguideghana.com/?p=34953

foreverghana.com/news/webui/Details.aspx?nid=12295

Make I book space

kkkp: Make I book space

same here I see world war ghana vs nairalanders ASAP.

the corruption rate in ghana is rising everyday,the issue of corruption is a common problem and ghana too has a high level of corruption.

thechronicle.com.gh/eu-worried-over-corruption-in-ghana/

opinion.myjoyonline.com/pages/feature/201202/81362.php

thechronicle.com.gh/corruption-is-eating-up-ghana’s-economy/

graphic.com.gh/General-News/corruption-at-ghana-ports-highlighted.html

akufoaddo2012.com/news_select.php?title=1&newsID=364&catID=19&linkID=5%20

As much as Nigeria deserves criticism, he should give an account of how he "punished" politicians in his time, using the tenants of democracy and within international human rights conventions.

He basically got rid of people through the gun and not political and democratic process.

What he says Nigeria should do, he could not do in his time.

If anyone today follows his example, they will be before the ICC for political crimes and have to answer to Amnesty International.

What Rawlings did in his time, is totally unacceptable today and he does not seem to realise that.

I have always said that Ghana is 10 times more corrupt than Nigeria. Ghana has just 20 million people yet is Africa' s second largest gold exporter after SA, the world's biggest cocoa exporter, a big exporter of manganese, iron ore, rubber, diamonds, and now oil and gas. Yet go to Ghana and there's very little to show for any of this. What do they do with their wealth? They should be like Kuwait.

citifmonline.com/mobile/?id=1.1118067
exposeghana.com/tag/ghana-judgement-debts/

m.modernghana.com/mobile/407517/1/ghanas-judgment-debt-and-financial-governance-prob.html
m.modernghana.com/mobile/452457/1/gwcl-scandal-points-to-deeper-corruption.html

africanewsanalysis.com/2012/02/21/ghana-woyome-corruption-and-development-by-kofi-akosah-sarpong/

Whether ghana corrupt pass nigeria,is not d issue,d guy hate corruption,nigeria should lead by good example,d corruption in nigeria affect more pple than in ghana,since Gej cannot tackle corruption,dat is were buhari carry first oooo,and africa wil be better for it,S.A,libya and kenya wil not deport nigerians again.