The Auditor-General (A-G), Mr. Daniel Yaw Domelevo has appealed to Public Servants to see themselves as privileged people “called to serve the nation through the positions they are occupying and not to loot the resources of the nation.”

The A-G was speaking at the 6th International Institute of Certified Forensic Investigation Professionals’ (IICFIP) Global Forensic Conference in Accra. The theme for the three-day Conference was “Harnessing Forensic Investigation Skills and Tools for Effective Fight against White Collar Crimes.”

To the AG, anyone who chooses to occupy a position in the Public Service as an auditor, a judge, a teacher, a revenue officer, or a nurse must know that he / she is occupying a position of trust. Such persons, he reiterated, should demonstrate a sense of transparency and accountability.

He said transparency and accountability were key pillars of public financial management and anyone who chose to be part of the Service must uphold these tenets. Mr. Domelevo advised the participants, some of whom were from other African countries, to uphold these principles for the development of their respective countries.

Mr. Domelevo reminded the participants that they have a constitutional duty to expose corrupt practices. He added that Article 35(8) of the 1992 Constitution states that “…the state shall take steps to eradicate corrupt practices and the abuse of power” and the state had done that by engaging Public Servants.

The AG commended the IICFIP for taking the step to sharpening the skills of forensic investigators and to exposing them to the tools that will enhance the fight against such crimes.

On his part, the Global Chairman of IICFIP, Dr. Rama Subramaniam, said that white-collar crime had become a big problem in the world and Africa in particular hence the theme for the conference.

The country director of the IIFCIP, Mr. Bismarck Abode Allegra, urged governments in Africa to retool forensic investigators to enable them reduce corruption and impact positively on society.