Anti-corruption campaigners have described as shocking and unfair the decision to suspend the Eastern regional head of the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) Fred Dzeny over his comments on corruption.
Mr. Dzeny in an interview with Starr News said government must have the political will to prosecute corrupt officials within its government before prosecuting others in the opposition.
“The ruling government should be ready first and foremost to prosecute their own when the slightest incident of corruption is raised against the ruling government then they can also get the guts to prosecute the opposition.”
“When you look at the corruption cases in Ghana, it is not just politicians who are corrupt, the public servants, civil servants they are all corrupt. When you look at it, it is the Chief Directors who prepare contract documents and other things so if we are blaming the Politicians, it is not right, it is the public servants generally,” Mr. Dzeny said in an interview with Starr News.
The Eastern regional Boss of EOCO also appealed to Government to resource the anti-corruption institutions to be able to execute their mandates satisfactorily. He bemoaned the Challenges facing EOCO adding that it is inhibiting it to the fight against corruption.
But a statement by EOCO stated that the conduct of Mr. Dzeny is “against the ethical and professional standards of the Office. He has therefore been suspended and the matter referred to the appropriate unit for investigation.”
Speaking on Starr Today Monday evening, Edem Senanu, the Co-Chairman of the Citizens Movement against Corruption described the suspension as disturbing and an overkill.
According to Mr. Senanu, Mr. Dzeny’s comments were fair and balanced and does not need to suffer any form of punishment for expressing his views.
“I am lost for words because the sound bites I heard were fair and balanced commentary…the whole statement was objective…I can’t for my life begin to understand what he did wrong for him to be suspended,” Mr. Senanu told Naa Dedei Tettey.
According to Mr. Senanu, “government must investigate what standards and ethics he [Mr. Dzeny] has breached…the man was fair and objective and this is an overkill…Mr. Dzeny should hold his peace because he hasn’t done anything wrong.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM