The United States Ambassador to Ghana, Ms. Pamela Bridgewater has urged government to do more in its fight against corruption. Commending the government for submitting itself for review under the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and also passing the Procurement, Financial Management and the Audit acts, she said "significant work remains to combat the scourge of corruption. Ms. Bridgewater was speaking at the opening ceremony of a seminar on capacity development training programme on "anti-corruption" and good governance in Africa last Thursday. The seminar, under the auspices of U.S. Aid for International Development (USAID) at the "Les Apin" Centre brought together 17 government and civil society personnel from Ghana, Nigeria, Mali and Liberia. The U.S. Ambassador stated that there is the need for the passage of information legislation, stronger asset declaration regulations, and the adoption of clear guidelines on conflict of interest, if the government was to make headway in the fight against corruption. "It also includes stronger efforts to counter narcotics trafficking, which can fuel corruption. Passage of money laundering legislation will also help reduce corruption." According to The Daily Dispatch, Ms Bridgewater referred to Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index for 2006 which placed Ghana as the 65th most corrupt country out of 158 countries assessed worldwide. Ghana's score dropped from 3.5 to 3.3 out of 10, indicating that many Ghanaians believe that significant work remains to combat the scourge of corruption. She pointed out that the U.S. government, through USAID, was supporting Ghana's efforts to reduce corruption. "USAID, in partnership with the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), is supporting the Auditor General's efforts to strengthen the implementation of the Assets Declaration Law. USAID and GII are also supporting the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice's efforts to build public awareness on the Conflict of Interest guidelines in Ghana." These efforts, she said, include building a closer working relationship between civil society, the media, and accountability agencies to build a platform for coordinated action against corruption and will support the critical legislation such as the Freedom of Information Bill. The Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, who was the guest of honour, stated that government has consistently increased budgetary allocations in recent years to independent governance institutions of state, including Parliament, the Judiciary, the Commission for Civic Education and the National Electoral Commission in order to strengthen government systems and deepen democracy in Ghana. Alhaji Mahama emphasised that civil society was the primary beneficiary of good governance and must therefore be prepared to engage government to deliver comprehensive anti-corruption programmes. Source: The Daily Dispatch