Dr Rebecca Atswei Lomo, President of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) Ghana Chapter, has underscored the need for effective collaboration among anti-corruption stakeholders to combat fraud and corruption.
She noted that more strategies were needed to stop looters of resources as the menace exposes the vulnerable in society to dangers such as poor health, poor education, poverty, and to a large extent derails the economic progress made.
Dr Lomo said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of ACFE’s first Fraud Conference held in Accra, on the theme: “Winning the Fight against Fraud and Corruption in Ghana, A Collective Responsibility.”
Dr Lomo said it was time to collectively move away from the talk and act swiftly on issues of corruption.
She noted that the theme of the event underscored the gravity of the issues and necessity of collective efforts and as such demands synergy, dedication and unwavering commitment.
She told the GNA that the two-day conference formed part of activities marking the Anti-Fraud and Corruption Week by ACFE Chapters in about 180 countries around the globe.
“Our objective is to strengthen the fraud fighting skills of our members and others and also to educate the general public on how to protect their resources from fraudsters,” she added.
Dr Justice Ernest Owusu-Dapaah, a Justice of the Court of Appeal, urged citizens to consider the fight against corruption as a core patriotic duty.
He said looking at the consequences of corruption it should be considered as a personal fight; adding that “we must all come to the realisation that we need to be honest.”
Mr Wilfred Neneh Addico, a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (ICAG), who represented the President and Council of ICAG, also touched on the Association’s interest and commitment in working with ACFE in the fight against fraud.
He said areas of concern as far as fraud was concerned had to do with how it was becoming sophisticated through the use of technology to conduct fraud.
“We see a lot in the financial sector and it is harming victims and causing huge loses to financial institutions”.
Mr Addico anticipated that the Conference would be a platform to discuss ways and means of combating fraud and corruption.
He stated that the Conference would come out with action plans that participants coukd implement in their quest to address the menace of fraud, particularly within the financial sector, which were technology-driven.
Mr John Awuah, the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Association of Bankers, said corruption increases the cost of doing business, impacts adversely on employment generation and wealth creation and affects the cost of quality of social services.
He stated that transparency and strengthening institutions remained essential to the fight against corruption, thus, separation of powers should be promoted whiles checks and balances must be reinforced.
