You appointed the empty heads sitting at the Interior Ministry -NPP’s Botah slams gov’t over Police, Immigration corruption ranking

Member of the New Patriotic Party’s Communication Team, Mr Elvis Botah has slammed government following the outcome of the latest survey conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service and other partners in the fight against corruption.

Police, Immigration Service tops latest corruption survey

The survey ranked the Ghana Police Service, the most corrupt public institution in Ghana, followed by the Immigration Service of Ghana.

Dubbed “Corruption in Ghana, Peoples Experiences and View”, the survey said more than 17.4 million bribes were paid in 2021 with  police officers topping the list of officials who took bribes.

The survey ranked the service a whopping 53.2% followed closely by the Ghana Immigration Service and Ghana Revenue Authority Customs officers at 37.4% and 33.6% respectively.

Reacting to the report on Good Morning Africa aired on Pan African TV on Thursday, July 21 and monitored by GhanaPlus.com, Mr Botah said the development is dangerous for the country, in the wake of recent terrorist attacks in neigbouring countries.

He blamed it on reckless appointment into the security sector by governments adding persons with no experience and certificate in security are the ones appointed due to their political affiliations.

The NPP politician is of the view, if the trend is not reversed, the government institution tasked with the responsibility of our safety will be the same to hand the country to detractors for financial gains.

“Now it has emerged that the actual perpetrators of corruption are those who could be arresting the politician who is perceived as corrupt. Where are we? and yet we pay fat salary to empty heads sitting at the Interior Ministry which cannot even exercise control”.

“ How will security organizations work, when Presidents and politicians sit down there and appoint empty headed guys who are not even knowledgeable in matters in respect of security to go and sit on the police board, sit on the governing council or whatever the body must be to go on the Ghana Immigration, how are we ever going to perform?  Political parties win elections and every tom, dick and harry who is a political allied and has no certificate to do any job is carried to be national security operative, how are we going to arrest some of these things?,” Mr Botah lamented.

“The worrying one is that apart from the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Immigration Service actually scored 37.4 % as a corrupt public entity.   If we are surrounded as a nation by countries that has become failed state as a result of the activities of terrorist, jihadist and Islamic extreminist movement and yet the entity responsible in policing your boarders, the national institution mandated by law to make sure that people entering Ghana are legal and are admitted into the country for lawful purposes happens to be the second most corrupt public entity then it tells you that we are as fragile as Togo and Mali and Burkina Faso because it then makes it so easy for these terror groups to even bribe their way through by way of very seductive packages and money,” the NPP politician said.