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Corruption today far exceeds June 4 revolution trigger: Rawlings

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has questioned why Ghanaians tolerate corruption in spite of its negative effects on national development and morals.
He said that as a nation, we know corruption is killing us in many ways, and he wonders why we tolerate it to the extent of sometimes idolising those who are corrupt.
In a statement he issued on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the June 4 uprising, he said only recently Ghana was the world’s fastest growing economy, and has also been applauded as one of a few to achieve ahead of time, the UN’s Millennium Development Goals of halving poverty. However in spite of all the high accolades, the masses can hardly feel the improvements.
“Corruption hurts us because it takes out of the public purse scarce resources that could be used to turn our economy into an engine for sustained growth.
“Corruption hurts us because it siphons out of the economy the substantial investment that is needed in the social sector to pay the salaries of doctors, nurses and teachers, build more and better schools and hospitals, and create the physical infrastructure needed to take our nation to a greater level of human and economic development.
“And finally, corruption hurts us because it is destroying the moral fiber of our nation. That was the message of June 4th, 1979. The attack on the moral fiber of Ghanaians was what led to the popular uprising of June 4th,” the former president said.
He said while there are no food shortages because food is plentiful, the desperation that the sustained rise in food prices is creating has resulted in a situation where cheating is becoming the order of the day

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