Ghana’s Attorney- General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame has trumpeted transparency as the most potent tool in the fight against economic crime.
Reckoning that “transparency is the bedrock of integrity”, Mr. Dame said the Government of Ghana was using sunshine legislations to expose economic crime in order to deal with it.
“…with the understanding that the haven for economic crimes is an atmosphere conducive to its concealment, and that, access to information remains a vital tool in the elimination of economic crimes, the Government of Ghana in 2019, ensured the passage of the Right to information Act 2019 (Act 989) … to foster a culture of transparency and accountability in public affairs, subject to a few exemptions necessary and consistent with the protection of the public interest in a democratic society.”
Submitting the keynote address at the 40th Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime on Monday, Attorney-General Dame noted the Ghana Government’s “deliberate policy of digitalization of the Ghanaian environment as crucial to the creation of accountability and integrity in society”.
He said policies like the National Identification System, Digital Property Address System, Paperless Port Systems, E-Justice Systems, Pensions and Insurance data and a digitized Land Title Registry had been designed “to enhance transparency, accountability and efficiency in the public space”.
Official Parliamentary Records show that 783 right to information requests had been received by July, 2023, out of which 669 were approved by information officers of various public institutions. With this 85.44% of public interest rate, Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame tells the ongoing Economic Crime Summit that “accountability is indeed the winner.”
Background
The Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime, hosted by the Jesus College, brings together stakeholders from across the globe to deliberate on the harms of such crimes to the stability and security of society. The summit fosters greater understanding of the changing nature of economically motivated crimes and co-operation for the prevention and reduction of economically motivated crime. It also encourages the establishment of values that protect the global financial system from the consequences of economic crime and misconduct.
Form its inception forty years ago, this international convening has consistently brought together Attorneys-General, Senior Legislators, Judicial Officers, Diplomats, leading Academics in Law and Business as well as Police Chiefs from over 100 countries under one roof with the sole aim of analyzing and examining the constantly evolving threats facing the global financial system.
As remarked by the Founder, Executive Director and Co-Chairman of Jesus College (Cambridge University), Prof. Barry A. K. Rider OBE, “the Cambridge symposium on economic crime is a unique event providing governments, institutions and the academy an opportunity to consider and address, from a practical standpoint, a host of threats to our economic wellbeing and prosperity.”
This year’s convening is on the theme, Integrity, and runs from Sunday 3rd September to Sunday 10th September, 2023. It will host over 600 expert speakers selected from across the world to speak on threats posed by fraudsters, money launderers, organised criminals and terrorists, with Ghana’s Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame presenting the Keynote address.
Mr. Dame who has made two previous appearances at the Symposium describes it as “far from being a mere talk shop” but with an “enviable track record for being a global platform that delivers practical solutions to economically motivated crime and misconduct worldwide.
