Business Analyst - May 26

Thursday, May 26, 2022
Whistle Blowing: …A
banker’s dilemma (1)
employee reports to someone in a higher
position such as a manager, or a third
party such as their lawyer or the police.
In the private sector corporate groups
can easily hide wrongdoings by their
individual units. It is not until these
wrongdoings worm its way into the top
officials that corporate wrongdoings are
seen by the public.
The world suffers a lot not
because of the violence of
bad people but because of
the silence of good
people” …..napoleon
Bonaparte.
Many Ghanaians witness
different forms of crimes, which has
the potential to jeopardize the
health, safety or lives of others. Most
individuals who witness such
misconduct often remain silent,
indifferent or conclude that there is
nothing they can do to stop the
crime. however, some also decide to
speak out through “blowing the
whistle” on any unethical or corrupt
conduct. In Ghana, first person who’s
name come to mind easily is Anas
Aremeyaw Anas, the acclaimed
investigative journalist.
What is Whistle blowing?
According to Wikipedia, “A
whistleblower is a person who exposes
any kind of information or activity that
is deemed illegal, unethical, or not
correct within an organization that is
either private or public. The information
of alleged wrongdoing can be classified in
many ways: violation of company
policy/rules, law, regulation, or threat to
public interest/national security, as well
as fraud, and corruption.
Those who become whistleblowers
can choose to bring information or
allegations to surface either internally or
externally. Internally, a whistleblower
can bring his/her accusations to the
attention of other people within the
accused organization such as an
immediate supervisor. externally, a
whistleblower can bring allegations to
light by contacting a third party outside
of an accused organization such as the
media, government, law enforcement, or
those who are concerned.
Whistleblowers, however, take the risk of
facing stiff reprisal and retaliation from
those who are accused or alleged of
wrongdoing”.
The origins of the word date back to
the 19th century. The word is linked to
the use of a whistle to alert the public or
a crowd about a bad situation, such as the
commission of a crime or the breaking of
rules during a game. The phrase whistle
blower attached itself to law enforcement
officials in the 19th century because they
used a whistle to alert the public or
fellow police. Sports referees, who use a
whistle to indicate an illegal or foul play,
also were called whistle blowers.
Whistleblower Act, 2006 Act 720
Ghana’s Whistleblower Act 2006
provides for the manner in which
individuals may, in the public interest,
disclose information that relates to
unlawful or other illegal conduct or
corrupt practices of others. The Act
provides for the protection against
victimization of persons who make these
disclosures, and for a fund to reward
individuals for doing so.
In a study by haruna ndebugri and
emmanuel Tweneboah Senzu, published
in MPRA (Cape Coast Technical
University, Frederic Bastiat Institute)
Paper no. 85602, posted 30 Mar 2018, they
examined the whistle blowing Act of
Ghana, 2006, and its effectiveness in
combating corporate crime. (Dennis,
2010, -source
www.ghanaanticorruption.org.)
Since the Whistle blowing “Act”
was passed in October 2006, its
implementation has witnessed a lot of
controversies, mainly due to lack of
understanding on the part of individual
whistle-blowers and the organizations
that handle or are supposed to handle the
information provided by the whistleblowers.
It is reported, most Ghanaians
who blew whistle, had passed through
harrowing experiences. This has
significantly contributed fears in future
whistle-blowers, observed from our
findings.
Public sector whistleblowing
Recognizing the public value of
whistleblowing has been increasing over
the last decades. In the United States,
both state and Federal statutes have been
put in place to protect whistleblowers
from retaliation. exposing misconduct or
illegal or dishonest activity is a big
fear for public employees because
they feel they are going against
their government and country.
Private sector whistleblowing
protection laws were in place long
before the ones for the public
sector. After many federal
whistleblowers were scrutinized
in high-profile media cases, laws
were finally introduced to protect
government whistleblowers. These
laws were enacted to help prevent
corruption and encourage people
to expose misconduct, illegal, or
dishonest activity for the good of
society.
Whistle blowing in the
private sector
There is a general impression
that private corporations usually
“
There is a general
impression that private
corporations usually
have stricter regulations
that suppress potential
whistleblowers. An
example of private
sector whistleblowing is
when an employee
reports to someone in a
higher position such as a
manager, or a third
party such as their
lawyer or the police.
In the private sector
corporate groups can
easily hide wrongdoings
by their individual units.
It is not until these
wrongdoings worm its
way into the top officials
that corporate
wrongdoings are seen
by the public.
have stricter regulations that suppress
potential whistleblowers. An example of
private sector whistleblowing is when an
Whistle blowing policies
in Banks
What are the implications for banks
and bank staff? how easy and practical
can these be, since many banks
themselves already have whistle blowing
policies? It appears it is easier when it is
being done by the public. Can bankers
tackle this issue without facing reprisals
from their respective bank
managements, as happened in the star
case of Wells Fargo Bank in America. This
week’s article will focus on whistle
blowing from within an institution.
Why should it reach the
whistle blowing stage?
here are some pertinent questions for
reflection:
“Why should we hang our company’s
dirty linen in public”?
“how desperate can one be to go to
that extent”?
“Are the responsible persons so
heartless and callous that they can
deliberately shut their eyes to the
obvious or even look away despite the
writings on the wall?”
“Why should some people sell their
soul and trample on all others just to get
fame or even declare false profits and
enjoy self-gratification”
“Is it a matter of some people
thinking that their party is in power so
nobody can touch them when they are
reported….or they feel they are above the
law?”
Dangers to the whistle blower
Whistleblowers are sometimes seen
as selfless martyrs for public interest and
organizational accountability.