Branding My Entire Gov�t As �Corrupt� Not Fair - Mahama

President John Mahama has said it is unfair to tag his entire administration as corrupt just because a few of his appointees may have behaved corruptly. �The fact that a few individuals out of the hundreds of people who make up the Government have engaged in acts of corruption does not mean an entire government is corrupt and unable to efficiently perform,� Mr Mahama said Monday at a high level conference on the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP) in Accra. �It rather means once we have weeded out the corrupt individuals, we must examine our systems, we must strengthen the weaknesses, we must close the gaps that exist within our institutions to ensure future acts of corruption cannot occur.� He said: �There�s a saying that one should not throw out the baby with the bathwater. �This saying comes to my mind when I think of the damage that has been done to the reputation of institutions because of the behaviour of some individuals. As a country, we are in no position to dismiss the efficacy of entire institutions,� he stressed. Some public officials have been linked to a few high profile corruption scandals involving the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) and the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Authority (GYEEDA). According to President Mahama, �In respect to allegations of corruption at the GYEEDA, there are on-going prosecutions of public officials involved, including former high-ranking officials. Service providers who breached the terms of their contracts are being held to refund the monies to Government.� �But does this mean that GYEEDA, and all the positive work that it was intended to do in our communities must now be abandoned?� he questioned; adding that �in a democracy, the wheels of justice turn rather slowly.�