Too much power in presidency fuels corruption, says anti-corruption advocate
A leading anti-corruption voice is pushing for a fundamental rethink of how power is structured in Ghana, arguing that the country’s long-standing battle against corruption cannot be won while one office holds so much unchecked authority.
Emmanuel Wilson Jnr, Chief Crusader of Crusaders Against Corruption, has renewed his call for the decentralisation of executive power, describing the current constitutional arrangement as a system that actively enables corruption by concentrating too much control in the hands of the President.
In his view, the problem is structural. As long as a single office retains the power to appoint, influence, and oversee nearly every significant arm of government, independent institutions will remain vulnerable to political interference, and accountability will remain selective.
“If we are serious about fighting corruption and building strong institutions, then we cannot continue with a system where one office holds the power to appoint, influence, and control nearly every arm of government,” he said.
Wilson Jnr was careful to frame the argument beyond partisan lines, insisting the conversation he is calling for transcends political loyalties. “This is not about politics. It is about the future of our governance system,” he stated.
His proposed path forward centres on the Constitutional Review Commission, whose work he believes holds the blueprint for meaningful reform. He is urging Ghanaians, across class, faith, and profession, to demand the release and full implementation of the Commission’s report, and to push for clarity on whether the executive provisions of the 1992 Constitution can be legally and practically restructured to ensure greater institutional independence.
For Wilson Jnr, dispersing power is not a weakening of government; it is the very condition under which government can be trusted. He called on civil society organizations, religious bodies, traditional leaders, and ordinary citizens to unite behind the demand, framing decentralization as a collective national interest rather than an activist cause.
The call comes at a moment when Ghana’s anti-corruption institutions are themselves under strain, with the OSP’s prosecutorial powers now in legal dispute and public confidence in accountability mechanisms visibly shaken, giving Wilson Jnr’s argument a sharper edge than usual.
Source: myjoyonline.com
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