Lawyer and Media Practitioner, Samson Lardy Anyenini, has repudiated the use of euphemisms seeking to justify alleged payments of money to members of the Appointments Committee of Parliament by the Executive for doing their job.
He says that no matter what color is added to the act of the executive paying money before, during, or after the work of the Committee, it still falls within the realm of corruption.
Former First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, while on Joy News’ PM Express, claimed that a committee he chaired to vet appointees of the erstwhile Nana Akufo-Addo administration were paid money by the then Chief of Staff.
He called the money ‘facilitation’ and rejected suggestions it fell within the bribery bracket. He argued that the facilitation could not have influenced the work of the committee, especially since it came after the committee had completed its work.
But Samson Lardy Anyenini disagreed, stating that ‘facilitation’ itself is captured as one of the many terms defining corruption in Ghana. He added that no matter how small the amount, ‘facilitation’ constitutes corruption.
Listen to Samson, Joe Osei-Owusu and private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu share their views on the subject.
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