Since it is our civic responsibility as citizens to assist in the fight against corruption, we shall not keep quiet on any deliberate omission or overlook the recklessness of any Ghanaian who has a responsibility to serve the state.
Government and appropriate stakeholders have been petitioned on many occasions relative to the corrupt practices that reign in certain public institutions and although some of these dishonest systems have been severed,still many others are operational including the birth and death registry.
The birth and death registry is an office that is charged with the duty of recording all births and deaths in the country and the issuance of certificates to citizens. But unfortunately, this department has been turned into a stall for making unrealistic personal profits.
Workers in this department are charging huge amounts of monies for the services they render to the citizenry and amazingly, charges differ from one worker to the next and from one service point to the other.
To worsen the frustration of innocent applicants to these department, workers rain heavy drops of insults on anyone who dare demands a receipt or asks of the approved Government charges. This act of our public servants is simply Unghanaian,a denigrating instrument to the presidency and an affront on the entire Ghanaian society.
I already a have birth certificate but it’s over ten (10)years and I need to update it to the recent computerized system. I trekked the births and death offices at the Cocoa Board near Adjabeng’s court, the other one around the Accra Poly and the Assembly press as well as their head office which is closer to the ministry of Agriculture near the sea and there were series of revelations that proved the fraudulent practices and thievery that goes on there.
Each of these bureaus had a different price tag to the job they do. It ranged between thirty (30) and fifty (50) Ghana cedis.
There was no posted notice directing applicants how much is appropriate to pay and there were no issued receipts to support their deeds.
I am therefore by this means calling on all stakeholders to rise up to this complaint and act on them expeditiously.
Especially, the minister and directors responsible must do so to safeguard the integrity of the Registry and shed away the unnecessary stress it has mounted on citizens.