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Executive Director for Media Foundation for West Africa, Mr. Sulemana Braimah has urged President Akufo-Addo’s government to adopt stringent measures to deal with corrupt officials to deter others from engaging in the act.

According to him, setting up offices to deal with corrupt officials and eventually imprisoning them is not enough to stop the canker as past approach by the previous administrations have failed to curtail the menace.

Speaking on Okay FM’s 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, Sulemana Braimah averred that it is time to see those who engage in corruption as thieves and not corrupt officials; thus, there should be investigation after the prison sentence to ascertain that their properties were made out of the monies they stole from the public purse.

He stressed that selling off their properties made out of corruption and not just refund of the amount stolen is the sure way of killing the interest of politicians engaging in corruption in the country.

“From President Rawlings’ era, people were shot to death for corruption. When President Kufuor came, he announced zero tolerance for corruption and during Mills-Mahama regime, the same thing happened by setting up offices to deal with corruption and now Nana Addo is saying he won’t shield any corrupt officials. We have heard this rhetoric on countless times and it is time to change the approach,” he posited.

“We heard of the bus branding scandal and the only consequence was that the culprit should refund in tranches. With this kind resolution, if we don’t find a way to stop it, there can be civil war as it happened in Liberia and Sierra-Leone,” he argued.

“One person, due to politics can own about 10 houses, 1 Filling Station and other properties from the purse and when such a person is dragged before the court for corruption and eventually sentence to maybe 3 years imprisonment, it won’t change anything because the person will come back to meet all 10 houses, 1 Filling Station and properties in tact,” he pontificated.

He therefore asserted that “if it happens that someone has stolen from the public purse as a thief, apart from the prison sentence, there must be investigation to ascertain that the properties of the person were made out of our monies and then sell them off.”