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applicable to the President, Vice-President and all heads of public corporations or
companies in which the government has a controlling stake, ministers, Members of
Parliament, the Chief Justice and Justices of the Superior Court, judicial officers, the
Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners of the CHRAJ and the Auditor-General.
This code includes submission of a declaration of all property, assets and liabilities
before taking office, every four years and at the end of the term of office. Ghana has also
undertaken a number of public service reforms (these are elaborated on in the
Democracy and Good Political Governance section of this report). Nonetheless, there
are concerns over poor public service delivery and high perceptions of corruption.
69. Business associations have adopted voluntary codes of conduct to which members
need to adhere. The media is also empowered by the 1992 Constitution, which
guarantees freedom of speech and expression, freedom of the press and media, and the
abolition of laws considered hostile to press freedom, such as the Criminal Libel Law.
The draft Whistle Blower Bill does not cover disclosures to the media. Proponents for
the inclusion of the media in the bill argue that if its coverage is expanded to include the
media, this would strengthen the ability of investigative journalists to enforce better
public administration and business ethics. Opponents feel that such coverage can only
be beneficial in an environment of responsible journalism.
70. The government collaborates with development partners within the context of the
Country Development Framework (CDF) in pursuance of its governance agenda. The
main partners are the UNDP, World Bank, DFID, CIDA, USAID, EU, Japan and GTZ.
Under the coordination of the UNDP, thematic groups have been formed to reflect on
the main areas of interest of the donors. The groups are for parliament, the judiciary,
anticorruption and oversight institutions, the Electoral Commission, civil society, and
decentralisation. A governance trust fund is being promoted, with support from the
thematic groups. This is primarily to implement the ten-year strategic plans of seven
governance institutions, as well as support for the Presidency, the Serious Fraud Office
(SFO), and the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition.
71. The African Development Bank (AfDB) is actively involved in the area of
governance in Ghana. The Bank seeks to promote good governance in the areas of
accountability, efficiency, transparency and anticorruption. This is done through
support to strengthen the institutional and human resource capacity of the
Parliamentary Service, Judicial Service, the CHRAJ and the National Development
Planning Commission that is responsible for coordinating the PRSP process.
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