Ghanaian businessman Dr Kofi Amoah has called for a fundamental rethink of the country’s approach to corruption, warning that weak detection and punishment could turn the theft of public resources into an attractive route to wealth, influence and social status.

He said the fight against corruption must move beyond condemning the practice and change the economic calculation facing potential offenders.

According to Dr Amoah, where the financial rewards from corruption are enormous, the chances of detection are low, and punishment is insignificant compared with the amount stolen, corruption can become a rational risk for some people.

He said the danger was particularly serious as Ghana seeks to industrialise, strengthen indigenous businesses and use state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to build productive capacity.

His comments followed Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson’s call for Ghana to end its dependence on exporting raw materials while importing finished products.

“We export cocoa but import chocolate. We export bauxite but import aluminium products. This cycle must end!” the Minister said.

Dr Amoah said that ambition could not be achieved unless corruption was decisively confronted.

SOEs and corruption risk

Dr Amoah said properly conceived, funded and professionally managed SOEs could become powerful instruments of national development.

“Any project properly analyzed, funded without taints of corruption, staffed with competent, patriotic and non-partisan technocrats and state-owned is music to my ears,” he said.

He rejected the argument that state participation in strategic sectors was inherently incompatible with capitalism, pointing to increasing government involvement in strategic industries in the United States.

“The notion that State Enterprises must be anathema to progress is a propaganda from the West that they themselves have now jettisoned,” he said.

However, he warned that concentrating enormous financial resources in the hands of a few public officials could magnify the corruption threat.

“If these few decide to go the corrupt way for their selfish interests, the whole country will be the loser and our dreams for success shall die again,” he said.

He therefore called for strong systems to prevent, detect and severely punish corruption as Ghana expands state participation in economic development.

Huge resources, weak deterrence

Dr Amoah said corruption should not be attributed solely to greed.

He acknowledged that poor remuneration in some public institutions could make it difficult for the state to attract and retain highly qualified professionals, particularly those responsible for major projects involving huge public resources.

He said the combination of low remuneration, enormous financial responsibility and weak enforcement could create an incentive for officials to contemplate a “big steal” while calculating that the chances of being caught were limited.

Even when detected, he said, punishment could be too small compared with the potential financial gain.

That, he argued, creates a system in which corruption becomes financially attractive.

‘Corruption pays, integrity sucks’

Dr Amoah warned that the danger could eventually become embedded in Ghanaian society.

Where unexplained wealth, extravagant lifestyles and conspicuous consumption are associated with success rather than accountability, he said young people could begin viewing corruption as a legitimate route to prosperity.

He described the resulting social condition as one in which corruption becomes “acculturated”.

“Corruption pays, integrity sucks,” he said.

He warned that when public resources are diverted, money intended for jobs, infrastructure, education and healthcare is removed from productive uses, reinforcing what he described as the cycle in which “the poverty train gets refueled”.

Corruption can cost lives

Dr Amoah said the consequences of corruption should not be measured only by the amount of money stolen.

He argued that diverted public resources can deprive citizens of essential services and, in extreme cases, contribute to deaths.

He cited critical medical equipment, including a dialysis machine at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, becoming unavailable because funds required for repairs had allegedly been lost through corruption.

“Death by any cause is death,” he said, arguing that the human consequences of corruption must influence the national debate on punishment.

Beyond partisan politics

Dr Amoah called for an institution capable of investigating and prosecuting corruption without political interference, regardless of the political affiliation of the accused.

He referred to the post-Jerry Rawlings era and its controversial “Justify-Your-Lifestyle” approach, acknowledging concerns about excesses and questionable rulings.

However, he questioned whether the current system was producing better results when allegations involving substantial unexplained wealth did not always lead to convictions.

He referred to cases involving alleged multimillion-dollar cash discoveries in the homes of government appointees where questions about the source of the funds did not ultimately result in convictions.

He stressed that corruption was not the preserve of one political party, warning that political connections, financial resources and legal manoeuvring could undermine accountability.

‘Corruption must be assassinated’

Dr Amoah also warned that entrenched corruption could fuel social instability if citizens concluded that legitimate avenues for improving their lives had been blocked.

He said what was initially “unthinkable and unwanted” could eventually become “thinkable, wanted and ripe”, citing the experiences of countries including Nigeria, Kenya, Togo, Chad and Equatorial Guinea as reasons for vigilance.

He said Ghana did not simply need more anti-corruption laws but a system in which corruption was socially condemned, integrity rewarded and punishment certain, swift and severe.

He called for better remuneration where necessary, competent and patriotic public officials, stronger accountability systems, politically neutral investigations and prosecutions, and penalties capable of deterring the theft of public resources.

“Corruption must be assassinated in all forms and by any means necessary!” he declared.

He appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to make the fight against corruption central to the government’s RESET agenda, particularly if SOEs are to drive industrialisation.

For Dr Amoah, Ghana cannot transform its natural resources, build competitive industries and end its dependence on raw-material exports if resources meant for development continue to be converted into private wealth.

His warning is stark: Ghana risks becoming an obstacle to its own economic progress unless corruption is made too costly to be attractive.

By DANIEL ODURO, Accra