The Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB) CEO, John Awuah, has called on stakeholders to expedite action on the passage of the Conduct of Public Officers Bill (2013).

He said this is to ensure that those engaged in corrupt practices are brought to justice.

The Bill, among other things, intends to introduce stringent administrative measures and sanctions to deal with violations of the law by public officers.

He said, “Parliament must leave this as a critical legacy of passing this important bill to support existing legislations on corruption; strengthening law enforcement and stricter enforcement and prosecution of bribery and corruption offences”.

Mr Awuah made these remarks at a Fraud Conference organised by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) Ghana Chapter, on the theme 'Winning the Fight against Fraud and Corruption in Ghana, A Collective Responsibility.'

The 1st ACFE Fraud Conference which was chaired by Justice Dr Ernest Owusu-Dapaah, Justice of the Court of Appeal, aimed at strengthening the fraud-fighting skills of their members and others, and also to educate the general public on how to protect their resources from fraudsters.

Mr Awuah, who was the guest of honour, said recruitment into Ghana’s public sector should be largely driven by merit and demonstrable ability to execute expected objectives to engender accountability.

“Loyalty to political affiliation, creed, ethnicity, gender, old school buddies, among others, will not get the job done but will create a culture of dependence and promote corruption”, he added.

Dr Rebecca Atswei Lomo, President of ACFE Ghana Chapter, also urged policymakers to enact laws and propose policies to curb fraud issues in the country.

She added, “Government officials as well as private entities found guilty in fraudulent activities should be prosecuted to deter others from doing same.

Mr Alfred Aryee, Partner at Makers and Partners (MAP), a chartered accountancy firm, touched on the need to strengthen institutions that are mandated to help combat fraud and corruption.

He said on their part, MAP is training internal auditors within some state institutions and the goal is to build the capacity of the Internal Audit Function to be able to identify and address corruption and fraud-related issues.

Mr Aryee said the firm is well positioned to partner with more institutions to create awareness and equip them with the requisite skills needed to fight fraud.