Statesman, Sam Esson Jonah, has bemoaned government's reluctance in dealing with issues of corruption and holding people accountable for causing financial loss to the state.

Speaking at a public lecture with Rotarians in Accra on Thursday, he lamented the inability of the government to clamp down the menace which is robbing Ghanaians of better livelihood.

According to him, “our governments pay lip service to anti-corruption but do little substantially to cure the canker.

"Which of the major corruption issues has been conclusively dealt with since the fourth Republic began?” he quizzed.

In recent times, the issue of corruption has been a topic of discussion in the public domain.

JoyNews’ investigations uncovered how a gold smuggling syndicate illegally exports gold through the country’s land, airports and seaports.

It was revealed that the illegal business was aided by security operatives, politically connected individuals and shipping agents.

Again the former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu after conducting a Corruption Risk Assessment into the Agyapa transaction deal revealed a bid-rigging and a high risk of corruption activity in the selection process of the deal.

Sam Jonas in his speech themed ‘Down the Up Escalator: Reflections on Ghana’s Future by a Senior Citizen,’ attributed the growing cases of corruption to the failure of state security in punishing perpetrators to serve as a deterrent.

According to him, a chunk of corrupt individuals especially in high positions often escape the arm of the law.

“As a friend of mine will say, the problem with corruption is not the absence of laws, but the certainty of punishment. Sadly, there is rather a certainty that corrupt people especially in high places will never face punishment. And this has bred impunity in those who would rather take it all for themselves through dubious means than serve the common good.”

The seasoned businessman intimated that the canker which pervades all aspects of our governance system will retard the country’s effort in developing hence the need to vehemently deal with the issue of corruption.  

“We cannot go anywhere if this situation continues. No country can develop without dealing decisively with corruption,” he stated.