Prof Stephen Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar
A fellow at the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Professor Stephen Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, has joined conversations on the recent ECG containers saga, calling for decisive action against those responsible and a comprehensive overhaul of the country’s State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
While commending the arrest of 14 suspects in connection with the saga, Prof Asare stated that the focus should not be limited to the “downstream” perpetrators, but rather on the “upstream” culprits, who caused the rot through procurement breaches, budget busting, and shady dealings.
“The spotlight must also shine brightly on the upstream: the procurement breaches, budget busting, shady structuring, fake contracts, questionable directives from above, and the abuse of sole sourcing. That is where the rot starts — and that is where the real accountability must begin,” Prof Asare stressed.
According to a report on metrotvonline.com, he argued that the ECG saga is a symptom of a deeper decay within Ghana’s SOEs, which need urgent reforms.
“What we need now is decisive, uncompromising action — one that holds everyone, especially those at the top of the rot chain, accountable,” he added.
Prof Asare also proposes a comprehensive reform program, which he dubbed “Operation Save Our State Owned Enterprises (OSOSO)”.
Anything short of this, he warned, would be tantamount to another “power theft in broad daylight — and this time, it won’t just be the lights going off, but public trust too.”
VA/AE
Meanwhile, watch this captivating story of the Ghana’s 100-year-old World War II veteran whose name is widely known in the Buckingham Palace, below: