Persons who intend to blow the whistle (report) on corrupt personnel or acts have been advised to be mindful about the way they go about it to avoid being victimized in the end.
“You should not tell anybody if you blow the whistle,” Madam Florence Dennis, Executive Secretary of Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition told Evans Mensah on Top Story Tuesday.
Even though the Whistle Blower Act has been in force since October 2006, majority of the people know very little about it, whilst others do not know about its existence at all. To increase awareness about the law, a whistle blower guide has been launched to teach people when, where and how to blow the whistle.
“The guide discusses what is whistle blowing; where can you make the disclosure; who can you disclose to; how should we deal with the media; how should you collaborate with the institution during the investigation process; how you should handle yourself,” she pointed out.
The Executive Secretary said the guide has simplified the Act using “ordinary simply English” that one does not need a legal person to explain the contents.
She said despite the fact that the law has faced some implementation challenges, it has not failed.
“There have been implementation challenges but that does not mean that the law has failed… The implementation challenges are that people are not aware about the law so they just go to these agencies as just going to report, not specifically stating that they are coming under the Whistle Blower’s Act. And if you go and do any report to any police station it will be taken as a normal informant report that has no protection whatsoever as it has under the guide.”
She said there is the need for more advocacy work and education to be done on it so that a lot more people would be aware of its importance.
Story by Isaac Essel/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana
