Whistle Blowing

Enhancing Public Sector Corporate Governance Through Ghana’s Whistleblowers Act - 8/10/2009 -

Ghana has passed the long-awaited Whistleblowers Act. Under the Act, disclosures may be made regarding:

breaches or likely breaches of the law;

miscarriages of justice;

environmental degradation;

endangerment of individual and community health and safety; and

waste, appropriation or mismanagement of public resources.

The act is the culmination of stakeholder consultations and lobbying by civil society groups to enhance probity and accountability in the use of government resources. It outlines the instances and processes through which employees can disclose information on the illegal conduct or corrupt actions of their employers or fellow employees without fear of retribution. The law allows the whistleblower to disclose the misuse of public funds to various groups. Consequently, the whistleblower is presented with several options on whom to disclose the information to. These include:

the whistleblower’s employer;

a police officer;

the attorney general;

the auditor general;

a staff member of the intelligence agencies;

a member of Parliament;

the Serious Fraud Office;

the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice;

the National Media Commission;

the Narcotics Control Board;

a traditional chief;

a minister of state; or

the Office of the President.

Where a disclosure is made to any of these persons or institutions, the recipient of the information must investigate the matter or refer it to the attorney general or other body as directed by the attorney general, who will initiate an investigation into the disclosure. Protection and Immunity A whistleblower is not liable to civil or criminal proceedings in respect of the disclosure unless it is proven that the whistleblower knew that the disclosure was false or that it was made with malicious intent. Additionally, a provision in an employment contract or other agreement between...