A lecturer at the Ashesi University says there is a dangerous new breed of entrepreneurs and businessmen who are on a busy bribing spree, corrupting Ghana's systems.

Dr Esi Ansah said such businessmen have managed to buy politicians in government, politicians in the opposition and have succeeded in buying those in the middle, the media, whose duty it is to act as a watchdog over the politicians.

She was speaking at a forum themed "Occupy CorruptionGhana for national development - Saving our nation."

The forum was to speak out on what organisers say is the numbing cases of corruption in Ghana.

One of four speakers billed to address the forum, Dr Esi Ansah noted with regret, the increasing silence in Ghana, in the face of rising cases of corruption.

"Silence has brought us to our knees. We can't stay silent," she stated, adding while many may criticize the organisers of the Occupy-Corruption Ghana and tag the speakers as politically tainted, she was bold in her conviction that Occupy Ghana is better than silence.

Speaking on corruption in the private sector, Dr Esi Ansah said the corruption has become so pervasive that even NGOs without recourse to any monitoring and evaluation, draft very nice proposals to get grants from development partners.

She said the "scale of corruption in the private sector is humongous" and something must be done urgently.

In the fight against corruption, Dr Ansah said there is always the "missing middle, the bureaucrats" who most often are left off the hook

She said in most cases there are few people at the top who are punished; a few scapegoats below who are also punished but the missing middle, the bureaucrats go scot-free.

"We need to start naming and shaming them," she urged.

She did not understand why "contracts go to specific companies all the time" while the many, especially key industrial groups like the Association of Ghana Industries look on.

It is time to end corruption, she pointed.