Corruption is one of the most destructive impediments to social and economic development of countries. Currently, one can say that corruption in Ghana, our motherland, is not just a mere perception but a reality which is depriving the masses of development. Other devastation fueled by corruption include human trafficking, child mortality, poor education standards, and environmental destruction, poverty and so on.
Ghana ranked 7th in Africa in the corruption perception index (CPI) for 2015 released by Ghana Integrity Initiative, the local chapter of Transparency International. This means that Ghana still has serious issues with regards to corruption.
There has been several corrupt practices in Ghana and the two major political parties both share such appalling records. I may have to write another article if I mean to site examples of such corrupt practices common during both NDC and NPP past administrations.
Now, through my own research which is fueled by sheer passion to see the nation develop, I found out that lie detectors may help to effectively fight corruption. The human race became corrupt from the time of Adam and Eve’s disobedience against God. This means that there is the need to consider public officials as having a natural tendency of becoming corrupt through no fault of theirs but because they are descendants of Adam. Thus the need to have a check on what they are or aren’t supposed to do since the destiny of millions and those yet unborn are at stake.
In July 2003, the ex- president Jerry John Rawlings made mention of lie detectors. He did so when he stated that he knew the people who had masterminded the serial killings of 33 women during his tenure in office. He however refused to mention the names of the perpetrators unless the state provided the lie detectors and a chemical test. Again, in July 2006, Jerry John Rawlings advocated for the use of the device, lie detectors, in African courts. He believed that its use at the courts would go a long way in restoring the culture of truthfulness, justice and social instability. Though the ex-president did not directly advocate for the use of lie detectors in fighting corruption as a whole, he gave us a clue in which direction we are to go. I am therefore advocating a serious consideration by all well-meaning Ghanaians especially those at the helm of affairs to research further the use of lie detectors in combating corruption.
The lie detectors, also called polygraph, is an instrument used to monitor changes occurring in the body. As a person is questioned on a certain event or incident, the examiner looks to see how the person’s heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate and electro-dermal activity. However, there is a new type of lie detector, known as the EyeDetect Lie detector which has 85% accuracy in terms of identifying deception. It is reliable and economical and it can help countries to ensure integrity among public employees.
Before I give my suggestion as to how exactly the lie detector could be used in fighting corruption in Ghana, I think it is worth mentioning that in February, 2016, the Associated Press which has its headquarters in New York, United States published an article captioned “ Moscow will use lie detector tests to tackle government corruption’’. Interested Ghanaians reading my article can google that for more information on that publication. Furthermore, in 2015, the Colombian government announced plans to conduct polygraph test on 72 of its departments.
Now, to use the lie detector, I suggest that we must love the country first and work together irrespective of our political colouration. A committee should be formed comprising members of a ruling party, opposition members (to ensure no manipulations in favour of ruling party officials), and religious leaders among others. The procurement of the lie detectors abroad should be done by that committee so that the device would be used to screen only honest persons to occupy certain public offices. Then periodically, the devices would be used to test persons who are already occupying positions to ensure that they are detected if they had embezzled public purse, taken bribes or engaged in any other corrupt practice. The presence of opposition members in such a committee would ensure that lie detector results of persons are always a true reflection of the tested especially those in power. The use of the detectors would create the fear factor in public officials and politicians so they realize that their actions and inactions will be detected by the lie detector. This will ensure that only honest persons are given the chance to rule the country. God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong.
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