Fixthecountry Movement: What To Fix? The Institutional Factor -Part 2

Many development economists appear to emphasize econometrics at the expense of public administration or governance when dealing with the economic growth and development of nation-states. They tend to forget that economics is about human behavior and managing society's resources. Adam Smith maintains that economics is the art of managing the resources and government of the people. Smith based his work on observing and rationalizing human behavior, and life and commerce in the English Society of his days. There is, therefore, a close relationship between public administration and economics. Nations fail not because they do not have natural resources like gold, oil, or technology but rather because of a lack of efficient institutions that allow workers and businesses to operate at much higher levels of economic value creation.

As pointed out in earlier write-ups, our problem is not that we do not have enough financial resources; instead, our problem is that we cannot keep what we have. Only with a high quality of government can a country reap the benefits of economic growth and social development. We never pause to ask where nations that lend money to us create wealth. The difference between our government and other governments is that these governments have learned how to generate revenues and how to keep them. They have quality governments characterized by low levels of corruption in the public sector, the prevalence of the rule of law, and government effectiveness. There also exists protection of property rights and a set of legal, cultural, social, economic, and political factors that accelerate economic growth, generate public sector revenues, enforce laws across the board, and ensure meritocratic public sector hiring, promotion, and firing.

Countries that have made economic and social strides have anti-corruption laws, including the right for the government to detain suspects of corrupt practices and prosecute them. One Singaporean scholar said, "Our Zero-tolerance approach in the public and private sectors commonly works if Singaporeans continue to be imbued with the right values and recognize that while corruption may be a fact of life, it is not our way of life in Singapore." There should be enforceable laws that regulate civil service personnel and hold bureaucrats and politicians accountable. Citizens or voters should call for greater bureaucratic and political accountability.

The “fixthecountry” movement should focus its energy on is the Ghanaian constitution drafted with one person's interests in mind. Mr. Rawlings and the constitutional crafters designed the 1992 constitution to appease him as a military dictator to step down and compete in civilian elections to become a president for two terms, and after that, step down without accounting for his deeds. The 1992 Ghanaian constitution was an aberration and should not have existed without any alteration up to this time. The Ghanaian constitutional scholar, Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, distinguished between what he describes as a "Permissive Constitution" and a "Regulatory Constitution." He maintains that while the constitution grants power to the president in a regulatory constitution, the same constitution regulates their power. According to Prempeh, the Ghanaian constitution is a permissive constitution that does not regulate many things the president does.

He maintains that the current constitution does not specify how many ministers the president can appoint or how many districts they can create. The constitution is silent on these issues, so the legal maxim, "Everything which is not forbidden is allowed," applies here. The constitution does not say whether an MP can or cannot sit on a board of a state corporation whose activities the MP may oversee. His observation is that the Ghanaian constitution is too permissive to regulate the president, making our president an imperial president. Therefore, the current constitution needs to be amended to regulate some of the activities of the president that are not helpful to the country's development.

As pointed out earlier, our problem is not a lack of resources or revenues but how to prevent politicians and bureaucrats' misappropriation, abuse, and misuse of public funds. Many nations understand the depravity of humans to seek their interests and the interests of those close to them. They know that many people working in the public sector or holding public power will abuse them or will use the power to enrich themselves. That is why accountability and control mechanisms are put in place, monitored, and those found abusing their public office are held accountable. Why would people go through the trouble of seeking public leadership and responsibilities if there were no personal gain from it? Our problem is that we let people who misappropriate national resources go scot-free. We allow both politicians and bureaucrats to misappropriate funds by forgery and embezzlement; padding of accounts; diverted funds, misuse of funds, unaudited revenues; and skimming.

Unfortunately, corruption has become a norm rather than an exception in Ghana. Corruption means decay, and it is the opposite of wholeness: It disintegrates the fabrics of society and weakens the moral fibers that bind societies together. Public sector corruption undermines and contradicts all democratic norms and ethos. It is the embodiment of selfishness and self-centeredness that seeks to exploit the weaknesses and loopholes in human society to one's advantage. It is an immoral activity that takes so many people to their graves every day while the corrupters build mansions and buy fleets of cars that they will not need but feed their insatiable appetites. Laws prohibiting bribery and misuse of public funds are in the books but are not seriously applied.

Fighting corruption has never been a priority for all Ghanaian governments: anti-corruption agencies are usually understaffed with only a few people and have limited political powers to collect information about public corruption and investigate them. The public perception in Ghana is that corruption is a low-risk and high-reward activity. Any government that means business in fighting corruption must strengthen the anti-corruption agencies, strengthen the existing anti-corruption laws to reduce the opportunities for corruption, and increase the penalties for corrupt behaviors.

We need to seek to strengthen the laws and seriously enforce them. Public servants and politicians need to declare their assets upon taking office. Laws giving immunity to all public officials need to be removed or limited. We need to reverse the public perception of corruption from low-risk and high reward to high-risk, low-reward activity. Anti-Corruption Bodies need to collaborate and coordinate their activities to scrutinize, expose, and agitate for the public prosecution of bureaucratic and political corruption.

Further, the “fixthecountry “movement should focus its energy on building institutions that promote transparency and accountability. The right to information is contained in Article 21 (1) (f) of Ghana's 1992 constitution, but it took the country several years to pass a right to information (RTI) law. They passed the bill in 2018, but the bill does not measure up to the international standard. The RTI rating assessment shows that the Ghanaian Bill scored 89 points out of a maximum possible total of 150. People who have assessed the bill tell us that some of the rules are unclear and contradictory and need improvement. These are areas that the” fixthecountry” movement should focus on to make information about the government's activities more accessible to citizens.

Another area that the movement should focus its attention on is Public Procurement. Public procurement is one of the most vulnerable government activities prone to corruption. This is made more risky and problematic because of the complexity of the public procurement process and the close interaction between public officials and businesses. We need to have information on Needs Assessment and market analysis of public procurement, planning and budgeting, specifications/requirements, procurement procedure choice, and request for proposal, bid submission, bid evaluation, contract award, contract management/performance order, and payments. Other areas include project monitoring and evaluation. Monitoring and evaluation have a critical role in enhancing accountability and providing legitimacy for the use of public funds and resources.

Global studies have shown that almost two-thirds of foreign bribery cases occurred in sectors closely associated with contracts or licensing through public procurement: the extractive, construction, transportation and storage, and information and communication. We need to apply national integrity standards for all public officials through civil service regulation, or a generic code of conduct outlining the standards and expectations for the excellent conduct of civil servants.

Another critical area is payroll fraud: Ghost names or people who do not work and yet receive salaries from the government are a significant financial drain on the government. Any responsible government in the future will need to introduce controls in the payroll administration at the controller and accountant General's Department to eliminate ghost workers from the government payroll so that public funds can be used to provide more public services for Ghanaians.

Another area that needs a crucial overhaul is the tax administration: The government needs to simplify the tax system and broaden the tax base. The import duty taxes should be reduced to avoid the bribery and corruption associated with the payment of import duties. The government should make it easier for people to pay taxes by introducing an electronic tax filing system to increase efficiency and reduce corruption. The central and local governments should have information on property in the country through the digitization process and ensure that all property owners pay their property taxes. Many state and local government projects in the United States and elsewhere are financed through property taxes.

I think voters should focus their attention on institutional building or overhaul, public sector accountability, and transparency, anti-corruption measures, payroll fraud, limiting presidential powers, and the declaration of assets in the next elections instead of allowing the politicians to deceive them with projects. None of the promises politicians give will materialize if we do not force their hands to plug the financial hole they have dug. I believe we have enough resources in our country to take care of everyone if we can put political pressure on our politicians and bureaucrats to reduce corruption in the public sector, and improve public sector efficiency and effectiveness.