his excellency jon benjamin s speech delivered at

8/10/2019 His Excellency Jon Benjamin s Speech Delivered at

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His Excellency Jon Benjamins speech delivered at the IMANI

10thanniversary dinner

His Excellency Jon Benjamin is British High ommissioner to !hana" He #as the

$eynote spea$er at the IMANI 10

th

anniversary dinner% held on Novem&er '(% '01) atAlisa Hotel"

*heme+ ,IN*E!-I*. IN /BI 233IE4

Good evening to all of you and especially my diplomatic colleagues from Morocco,

Denmark, Norway, Australia, Switzerland and Spain.

Im very grateful to !ranklin "ud#oe and all at IMANI for t$is invitation to speak to you t$is

evening. I%m not sure, !ranklin, a&out w$at you $ave me sitting in' it looks like you%re

$aving me enstooled. (ut, at least, t$is c$air was definitely made in G$ana.

I start &y congratulating IMANI on t$eir tent$ anniversary.A person w$o is ten years old is still a c$ild wit$ adolescence on t$e near $orizon &ut

adult$ood still )uite some way off. Since an organization suc$ as yours can reasona&ly aspire

to &e around at least as long as any person, and pro&a&ly muc$ longer, IMANI is still likewise

very muc$ a relative newcomer, still growing, still developing. *e wis$ you well on t$e

continuation of your #ourney w$ic$ you $ave started so impressively.

Now, Im a diplomat and diplomats are sometimes known for speaking wit$out actually

saying anyt$ing, at least in pu&lic. (ut t$at isnt really my style, so I start wit$ some caveats

to my remarks w$ic$ I would $um&ly re)uest you seriously consider &efore you pass

comment.

!irstly, in case any of you t$ink t$at anyt$ing t$at follows is too critical, t$en please know

t$at I am a $uge fan of, and advocate for, G$ana. I $ave &een privileged to call t$is country

$ome for t$e last e+actly si+ mont$s and I $ave received a fa&ulously warm and kind

welcome. I, my government, t$e people of (ritain generally wis$ not$ing &ut t$e very

greatest success and &rig$test possi&le future for G$ana and all its people on t$e long road

towards full economic development. So, my starting position is as a firm and supportive

friend &ot$ individually and as a representative of my country.

$e - and G$ana s$are common goals in many areas including economic development.

$e - $as a large aid programme and is t$e only G/ country to $ave reac$ed t$e -N target

of devoting 0./1 of its GD2 to development assistance, &ilaterally, t$roug$ t$e 3- and

t$roug$ -N and ot$er international agencies. (ut in eac$ country w$ere we $ave a

programme 4 and our programme $ere in G$ana amounts to tens of millions of pounds a year

5 we $ave to assure our citizens t$at money is &eing well5spent and can &e accounted for. I

dare say t$at is t$e same for all of G$ana%s Development 2artners. $at is not to say t$at we

are seeking to impose specific policies or systems on sovereign governments 4 we aren%t.

(ut we $ave to &e a&le to answer t$e reasona&le )uestions t$at our 2arliament and ta+payers

ask, and of course many of t$ose )uestions are asked &y citizens in t$e countries we are

assisting.

My second caveat is to tell you frankly t$at accepting t$is invitation was not necessarily astraig$tforward decision. I am well aware of a polarized party political climate. And, per$aps


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given some $istory surrounding $ow actions of t$e (ritis$ 6ig$ "ommission $ave &een

interpreted or misinterpreted in t$e past, I am also well aware t$at w$atever I say t$is

evening, even if I limit myself entirely to talking a&out t$e weat$er, will lead some to accuse

me of &eing eit$er a neo5colonialist or, more likely, of &eing pro one party or anot$er, or

per$aps of interfering in G$ana%s internal affairs.

So, let me address all t$at upfront. o start wit$ t$e 7neo5colonialist% tag. *ell I trust t$at

even t$ose $ere w$o profoundly disagree wit$ me or my government 4 w$ic$ is perfectly

legitimate &y t$e way 5 will do so on t$e &asis of arguments, not insults. !reedom of speec$

and t$e rig$t to disagree are very strong (ritis$ values. (ut also African ones' I en#oyed a

8am&ian prover& I $eard for t$e first time t$e ot$er day. It says' 9 If two wise men always

agree, t$en t$ere is no need for one of t$em"4 In s$ort, please feel free to c$allenge me on

w$at I say $ere' we welcome c$allenge.

And let me state unam&iguously for t$e record 5 t$oug$ I $onestly dont t$ink I s$ould need

to do so as I $ope it would &e self5evident 4 t$e (ritis$ government, t$e (ritis$ 6ig$

"ommission, are 5 and I, myself, am 5 entirely neutral politically as regards G$ana%s domesticpolitics. It is for t$e people of G$ana and t$e people of G$ana alone to decide in periodic

elections w$o s$ould govern t$em. $e (ritis$ government cele&rates G$anaian democracy

w$ic$ $as so muc$ it can teac$ ot$ers in t$is region. *e $ave, we do now and we always

will work $appily wit$ w$ic$ever government and leaders$ip G$anaian democracy produces

at any given moment. So, if anyone wants to claim t$at we are siding wit$ one party or t$e

ot$er, t$ey will get s$ort s$rift from us. *e arent and we wont. 2lease dont pray us in aid

for domestic party political point scoring 4 t$at is simply not a game we are getting involved

in.

And may&e t$ere, too, is somet$ing for IMANI and ot$er mem&ers of civil society to ponder,

given your a&solutely vital role in $olding government 4 all governments 4 to account,

oectively, analytically, factually. It is perfectly legitimate for a t$ink tank to &e associated

wit$ a political party, as long as it does so openly and doesnt instead pretend to &e neutral

w$ile actually &eing an actor in inter5party s)ua&&les. (ut any t$ink tank t$at descri&es itself

as neutral s$ould &e seen to &e so, criti)uing government certainly &ut e)ually and

oectively wit$out fear or favour. I trust t$at IMANI in protecting t$e reputation it $as &uilt

up as a fearless critic of government will always &e a&le to demonstrate t$at it is not $arder

on governments of one party t$an of anot$er, &ut e)ually $ard on all governments, wit$out

regard to t$eir political stripes and not &e$olden to any one political group. Indeed, t$e long5

term credi&ility of any suc$ t$ink tank depends on demonstra&ly taking suc$ a neutral stance

and avowedly maintaining real political independence.

Incidentally, to t$ose w$o $ave asked me w$y I accepted t$is IMANI invitation and not one

from anot$er civil society organization, t$e answer is simple. :nly IMANI invited me. 6ad

anot$er t$ink tank invited me to speak on t$is or anot$er relevant suect, I would $ave &een

similarly delig$ted to accept.

A t$ird and final caveat &efore I go furt$er. Some people suggested to me directly t$is week

t$at I s$ould pull out of t$is event, given t$at a part of t$e news agenda $as &een dominated

in t$e last week or so &y t$e conse)uences of a prominent drugs5related arrest in ;ondon of a

person #ust off a flig$t from Accra. (ut I dont run away at t$e first sign of trou&le or leave

people in t$e lurc$. $e fact is t$at t$is invitation was e+tended to me and I accepted it well


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&efore t$at story &roke. 6aving made suc$ a commitment, I $onour it 5 I keep my word

rat$er t$an letting down t$ose I give it to.

And to t$ose w$o accused us of interfering in internal affairs &y issuing a statement a&out t$e

case 5 our only statement I mig$t add 5 t$en Im sorry to tell t$em t$at we $ave every rig$t

pu&licly to correct an e)ually pu&lic, prior erroneous claim a&out our involvement in t$iscase. $at is precisely one of t$e t$ings diplomatic missions are t$ere for. *e would not

e+pect t$e G$ana 6ig$ "ommission in ;ondon to stay silent in t$e face of false information

a&out G$ana in t$e -. *e would certainly not accuse t$e G$ana 6ig$ "ommission of

supposed 9interference< for making suc$ a correction, and do not accept t$at allegation

against us in t$is case.

(ut, and Im sorry to disappoint some of you, I wont &e making new statements a&out t$is

drugs case today. :r, indeed, any day. It remains t$e suect of an ongoing police

investigation and legal proceedings. $e rig$t place for all relevant information to &e aired is

in court. rials take place in courts, not in t$e media. As you $ave no dou&t $eard, t$e lady

concerned in t$is case pleaded guilty today to t$e c$arges against $er and will &e sentencedon = >anuary. $at means t$at t$e legal proceedings are ongoing and we s$ould not &e

commenting on t$e detail &efore t$ey are resolved.

Since I $ave &een officially asked to do so $ere in G$ana, I can, $owever, repeat 4 and I stress

repeat, as I said t$is clearly and pu&licly from t$e outset' c$eck my witter account if you

dont &elieve me 4 I can repeat t$at t$e person arrested was not carrying a G$anaian

diplomatic passport. I $onestly dont know w$ere t$at claim came from in t$e first place. It

didnt come from us. It wasnt true at t$e start and, t$erefore, it still isnt true now. $e

repetition of an incorrect rumor, w$et$er &y an Austrian newspaper or anyone else, doesn%t

turn an untrut$ into a trut$. I $ope t$at is clear.

And so &ack to t$e topic at $and 4 integrity in pu&lic office. $at%s a $ig$5sounding p$rase, a

very sop$isticated one. Its also a eup$emism. *$at I suspect !ranklin really means &y t$at

p$rase is corruption. (ut even t$e word corruption is itself a &it of a longer word t$an it needs

to &e. $eres a muc$ &etter, s$orter word for it in t$e 3nglis$ language and t$at word is

7t$eft%. "orruption is t$ieving, it is stealing, it is ro&&ery.

So, let me give a s$ort perspective a&out $ow t$at suect looks from a - perspective. (ut

t$is is a speec$ not a lecture, so I am not lecturing. 6ow could I? Are we perfect in t$e - in

t$is regard? !ar from it. :f course were not. Growing up in ;ondon, I was well aware of

occasional serious corruption allegations against elements in t$e police@ t$ere are formerpu&lic officials in #ail now in t$e - for stealing from t$e pu&lic purse@ and anyone w$o like

me is a devotee of t$e (ritis$ satirical and investigative magazine 72rivate 3ye% reads in eac$

and every issue of it numerous allegations of corrupt practices, often incidentally allegedly

involving parts of local government in areas w$ere political power $as not c$anged $ands in

a long time.

My point $ere is t$at some level of corruption e+ists everyw$ere, in every country and always

$as. $at, sadly, #ust reflects t$e $uman condition' we are all imperfect &eings, fre)uently

falling s$ort of w$atever $ig$ standards we set ourselves or are set for us, t$oug$ we are also

capa&le of great good if we so decide. If eac$ individual person is imperfect, we can $ardly

e+pect government or society 4 &asically t$e sum total of some or all of t$ose individuals 4miraculously to &e perfect.


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(ut, not all governments and societies are e)ually imperfect eit$er 4 far from it. And t$ere is

some evidence of t$at, suc$ as t$e muc$ respected ransparency International "orruption

2erceptions Inde+, t$e latest version of w$ic$ comes out ne+t week. Incidentally in 0BC, of

t$e BB/ countries measured, t$e - and G$ana occupied places B/ and C respectively. $is

inde+ is not definitive &ut it allows us to see $ow countries are perceived to &e performing intackling, or not tackling corruption, &ot$ over time and in comparison to one anot$er.

And $ow does ransparency International define corruption? Simply as 9t$e a&use of

entrusted power for private gain


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game. $ey t$ere&y lose access to pu&lic goods and services t$ey $ave a legitimate rig$t to.

In some senses, corruption is t$erefore not #ust stealing, it can also amount to t$e ric$ stealing

from t$e poor.

o tackle corruption and keep it to a minimum in t$e conte+t of t$ose &asic $uman

imperfections I mentioned earlier, w$at can we do? I would suggest two overarc$ingapproac$es' firstly, minimize t$e opportunities for it to $appen t$roug$ strong institutions

wit$ good systems t$at catc$ and &ring to &ook t$ose w$o transgress@ and, secondly, set a

culture w$ic$ unam&iguously teac$es t$at it is wrong to &e corrupt and ena&les people to

&low t$e w$istle on corruption w$en t$ey see it.

In terms of minimizing t$e opportunities, t$at means creating institutions t$at $ave clear

values and lots of controls and &alances. I recall t$at 2resident :&ama famously said $ere in

Accra five years ago t$at w$at t$is continent needed was not more 7(ig Men% &ut more &ig

institutions' w$o can dou&t t$at t$at assertion remains generally #ust as true today?

*$at does t$is mean in practice? *ell, it includes $aving an incorrupti&le and demonstra&lypolitically neutral #udiciary. It includes $aving a fearless, confidence5inspiring anti5

corruption agency wit$ t$e rig$t mandate and full political and pu&lic support. It means for

e+ample replacing opa)ue single5source pu&lic procurement mec$anisms wit$ transparent

tendering processes@ it means even senior officials and ministers not &eing permitted to

approve ma#or spending decisions or payments alone wit$out ot$ers signing off too@ it means

w$erever possi&le putting services online andEor making legitimate payments for t$em

cas$less. And it means regular intrusive oversig$t. I can tell you t$at rig$t now, all t$is week,

t$e (ritis$ 6ig$ "ommission is receiving a visit &y t$e -%s National Audit :ffice w$ic$ is

com&ing t$roug$ all our accounts and management processes. If t$ey find anyt$ing

untoward, t$at we will &e pu&lis$ed and I will &e $eld accounta&le. *e manage (ritis$

ta+payers% money' t$ose ta+ payers $ave an a&solute rig$t to know we are using it properly.

$ey $ave a rig$t to know w$at officials earn and to &e assured t$at if a pu&lic servant is

known to &e &uying property or cars, or funding t$eir c$ildren%s education, at a cost way

&eyond t$eir nominal salary, t$at anomaly will &e fully investigated.

I s$ould add, too, t$at w$en employees of my organization, t$e !oreign :ffice, $ave our

regular security c$ecks, we $ave to provide asset statements and e+plain in detail any

apparent discrepancy &etween w$at we earn and w$at we own. $at seems to me an

important point of principle' if any pu&lic servant anyw$ere appears to &e living way &eyond

t$eir official means, s$ouldnt t$ey &e re)uired to e+plain w$ere t$eir wealt$ came from,

rat$er t$an glorying in it wit$out )uestion? And if t$ey can%t readily e+plain w$ere it camefrom, s$ouldn%t t$ey fear for t$eir #o&?

(ut I would argue t$at t$e cultural aspect of tackling corruption is even more important t$an

t$ese mec$anisms. 6eres a &asic, simple )uestion. If an official w$et$er $ere in G$ana, in

t$e - or anyw$ere else is tempted to steal from t$e pu&lic purse or solicit an illegal

payment, do t$ey instinctively know deep down t$at w$at t$ey are doing is wrong? 6as t$eir

cultural up&ringing given t$em some sort of innate sense t$at w$at t$ey are doing is morally

repre$ensi&le or, rat$er, t$at it is accepta&le?

If a c$ild grows up seeing $is parents paying off policemen w$o stop t$em in t$eir car or if

t$at c$ild gets used to a practice w$ere&y a few &anknotes are slipped in wit$ $omework oran e+am to ensure &etter grades, t$en t$e rot can set in very early. A c$ild will see suc$


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practices as normal and practice t$em as an adult. And if a newly $ired civil servant, teac$er,

policeman 4 any state official 5 is not given at t$e outset, and t$en repeatedly reminded of, a

code of et$ics, suc$ as ours in t$e -, w$ic$ stresses integrity, $onesty and impartiality as

prime values, t$en it may&e wont &e surprising if t$ey dont live up to t$em. (ut if t$ey do

$ave t$ose values drummed into t$em, t$ey wont t$en &e a&le to offer an e+cuse if later

found to &e corrupt.

Anot$er vital )uestion is t$is' are t$ose caug$t flagrantly indulging in corruption c$arged and

if found guilty are t$ey severely punis$ed? $at I would suggest is key. 2roper sanctions can

$ave a $uge deterrent effect. A former senior official, prominent politician or $ig$5flying

minister pu&licly disgraced, $is or $er assets confiscated, and #ailed for several years sends a

$ugely powerful message in any country in t$e world. $e opposite of t$at 4 in effect,

impunity 4 can send an e)ually powerful message' namely, t$at suc$ &e$aviour is some$ow

normal, accepta&le, unremarka&le, or at least unpunis$a&le. Its a c$oice ultimately 5 &etween

a zero tolerance and a 7we tolerate anyt$ing% approac$.

*$at people at t$e top do in any organization or system sets an important tone. Anot$erAfrican prover& I really like is t$at' 9a fis$ rots from its $ead


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for t$eir country &ecause t$ey are more focused on t$eir own s$ort5term prospects, if ordinary

voters start saying 9t$ose politicians t$eyre all t$e same< or 9parliament isn%t doing its #o&

his excellency jon benjamin s speech delivered at

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