ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT 110. Government representatives agree with the private sector and civil society stakeholders that there is room for improvement in enforcement. The SFO representatives, for example, have complained of serious capacity constraints and an inability to prosecute officials directly. 111. Civil society participants are particularly disappointed that two important pieces of legislation, which could help in combating corruption, have not been passed, namely the Whistleblower Bill and the Freedom of Information Bill. The latter bill would have been helpful, as a National Governance Workshop in Ghana in 2001 cited unequal access to information as one of the causes of corruption. The Parliamentarians agree that these bills, especially the Whistleblower Bill, have been “lingering for too long”, but they have not commented on a possible time-frame for parliamentary passage. 112. It is appreciated that the authorities fully understand the importance of resolute enforcement and implementation of laws and rules for the effective control of corruption, as well as the need for building the appropriate capacity and incentive systems in organisations established to perform the tasks related to corruption control. iii. Recommendations 113. The Panel recommends that the Government of Ghana: Corruption ? ? ? ? Seek the cooperation of civil society and private business organisations to improve performance in aspects of corruption control. Address the public perception that corruption at the level of the judiciary, coupled with the difficulty in producing concrete evidence, has hampered the fight against corruption. Do this by investigating the basis of the perception and the gravity of the difficulties, using independent bodies if necessary. Pass the Whistleblower Bill and Freedom of Information Bill as soon as possible, and implement them fully in addressing the problems. Consider consolidating different bodies working on anticorruption matters, in view of the limited financial and human resources available to support such activities. 79