Mandates Of SFO, Others Under Review

The mandates of the anti-corruption institutions in the country are being reviewed to clearly define their boundaries of operation in the fight against corruption.

The review is also to promote good governance,which is one of the key areas in the government's programme of economic development for the next four years.

The national programme co-ordinator of the National Governance Programme,Mrs Leonora Kyerematen,said in an interview that the institutions included the Serious Fraud Office (SFO),the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the Office of Accountability at the Office of the President.

Mrs Kyerematen said drafts of the reviewed mandates would be presented to the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) by March this year.The process of review will also entail bringing together all laws on corruption that are scattered in the law books and may lead to the codification of these laws.

She said the process,when completed,would clearly define the mandate of each institution,do away with overlapping functions and help to allocate resources to each institution for specific activities in the fight against corruption.

She said the review would also clarify which institutions to approach with complaints,or for information on corruption.Mrs Kyerematen said the fight against corruption was one of the areas that the government had identified as key in the attainment of good governance and the review would help achieve that as well as build up donor confidence and elicit their support for the country's budget.

Mrs Kyerematen also said her outfit would within the next two or three years, develop a national governance framework and a donors'register.The national governance framework, according to her,would identify all development activities that each government institution was tasked to undertake under the constitution, prioritise them and give clear benchmarks as well as chart a course for their attainment.

It will also synthesise and define, from international and national indices of the World Bank, Economic Commission of Africa(ECA),and Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS), clear,concise and measurable indicators of success for the country.This framework, Mrs Kyerematen said,would be owned by all Ghanaians,that is,everyone will be able to identify with it and access the democratic process and growth of the nation without explanation from experts.

She added that the framework would also be the empirical vision of the country to be championed by Ghanaians to gain support from international donors.She said the donors register would, when completed,give information on all international donor agencies in the country, how much money they had given the country,for what purpose and the time duration for each project.

With collaboration from civil society, the register, would be able to track donor funds, reduce duplication and ensure the equitable distribution of funds for the comprehensive development of all regions and districts in the country.