Why Akufo-Addo is ashamed to mention the word ‘corruption’ - Manasseh Azure Awuni explains

President Akufo-Addo has stopped mentioning the word 'corruption'

Manasseh said, it never featured in any of his SONA

He assumed because the President is ashamed

Manasseh Azure Awuni, an investigative journalist, has been explaining why President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is ashamed to mention ‘corruption’ in his speeches following an abysmal performance by his administration to fight the canker.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express programme on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, Azure Awuni attributed the President’s failure to use the word ‘corruption’ in his speeches as a sign that he [Akufo-Addo] is feeling guilty.

He said, in 2021 despite President Akufo-Addo giving two State of the Nation addresses, the word ‘corruption’ or any of its synonyms did not feature in his addresses.

“And this was the first time in 13 years since the word corruption, graft or its synonyms failed to feature in the president’s statement,” Manasseh Azure Awuni said.

He added, “he [Akufo-Addo] is so guilty and I think the word ‘corruption’ is now too heavy for him to mention and that would be for anybody who has any sense of shame.

“You should be ashamed as a president to mention corruption or your fight against it if these are the realities on the ground.”

The journalist made these remarks due to Ghana’s stagnated performance on the Corruption Perception Index, where Ghana managed to rake 43 points out of 100, just like it did the previous year.

Transparency International report indicated that, “Ghana [has] failed to make progress in the fight against corruption in the year 2021 as the score of 43 is the same as the country’s 2020 score.”

Ghana ranked 73 out of 180 countries/territories on the Index and 9th in Sub-Saharan Africa.