The Executive Secretary of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has urged government not to pay lip service to the fight against corruption. Vitus Azeem said it is time government fought corruption head-on as the country’s ratings on the global corruption index remains stagnant. He was speaking in an interview with Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, host of the Super Morning Show on Joy FM. The latest Global Integrity Report shows Ghana has done little to reduce corruption. “The lack of effective conflicts of interest regulations covering government officials opens the door to potential abuses of power in Ghana. For example, the Ghanaian president is immune from prosecution, there is no internal disciplinary agency within the judicial branch, and new regulations governing gifts and hospitality to public officials are merely "guidelines" lacking an enforcement mechanism. “While some government officials are required to file asset disclosures, there is little follow-through in the auditing or review of those disclosures. The Attorney-General has suggested that the public be allowed access to officials' asset disclosures, but the Ghanaian Parliament remains reluctant to grant that access. “Auditing requirements exist for political campaign expenditures, but without an effective election monitoring agency or limits on donations, abuses like the recent 1 billion cedi campaign contribution will continue to occur in the future. Good news can be found in the creation of a new budget research committee to enhance the ability of the legislature to contribute to the budget formulation debate. The ombudsman's office also shows high levels of effectiveness despite weak whistle-blower protections and the lack of a freedom of information regime,” the report said. On whether the country is doing nothing at all to deal with the menace, Mr Azeem said “we are doing something but it’s not enough for us to advance to a higher grade.” Pressed to state the likelihood that Ghana’s ratings will improve on the next index, the GII boss said current developments in the country, including grim revelations from audit reports on the accounts of government institutions, do not indicate a positive outlook. “May be we need to go beyond pronouncements, promises of transparency and accountability to actually acting on transparency and accountability,” he disclosed. He cited what he said is the country’s ineffective Asset Declaration Law as another issues government must urgently tackle. “Even when the President ordered his ministers to declare by a certain date, nothing has come out of it for one year now,” he said, adding “that is an indication that we are not backing our pronouncements with actions.” Play attached audio for excerpts of the interview on the Super Morning Show Story by Fiifi Koomson/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana