ALAC

Programme Facts

First pioneered in 2003 by Transparency International national chapters in Eastern Europe, the Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre concept has quickly spread all over the world. By 2017, TI has over 100 ALACs in over 60 countries around the world. Well over 250,000 people have sought support from TI’s Legal Advice Centre. The ALAC strongly believes that people are usually apathetic in the face of corruption because they are not provided with the simple, credible and viable mechanisms to effectively combat the menace.

ALAC has, therefore, been created to provide an avenue for people and corporate bodies, who either become victims or witnesses of corrupt practices, to seek legal advice to pursue the cases with the appropriate authority.

The Centre receives and monitors instances related exclusively to corruption or having high potential of corruption from the public sector.

The ALAC’s main office is in Accra with two regional desks set up in offices of SEND Ghana, in Tamale and Wa.

Main Objectives

GII’s ALAC provides free, confidential and professional legal advice and assistance to victims and witnesses of corruption. It aims to:

1. Empower citizens and corporate bodies to make and pursue corruption related complaints.
2. Undertake advocacy for broader structural and institutional reforms with the view of minimizing corruption in Ghana.
3. To complement the anti-corruption work of public institutions including the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Legal Aid Scheme and the Attorney General’s (AG’s) Department.
4. To build synergies with civil society with similar objectives to broaden the frontiers of a just, fair and caring society in Ghana.
5. To educate the people on corruption related issues

Services Offered by ALAC

The ALAC offers the following services free of charge to its complainants:

1. Consultation with trained legal professional
2. Case receipt and   preparation
3. Referrals to Anti-Corruption Agencies for investigations and redress of corruption
4. Toll-free hotline, walk-ins, email, WhatsApp and postal complaint submission

ALAC is accessible to all persons in Ghana including corporate bodies. However, emphasis is given to indigent or the poor and the vulnerable who otherwise may find it difficult to access justice. Furthermore, the ALAC seeks to particularly support individuals who are empowered and are seeking to assert their rights.

The ALAC deals with all types of reported instances of corrupt behaviour; from small-scale to large-scale in service delivery. Cases may come from across sectors such as health, education, mining, business and governance from anywhere in Ghana.

Services NOT provided by the ALAC:

1. The ALAC does not have the power to pronounce judgments. As a matter of law and practice, it is the judiciary that has this power. The centre can only, based on the evidence presented, counsel  victims,  refer cases to the appropriate authorities, monitor the solution,  prepare periodic reports, and publicize monitored cases;
2. The Centre exposes cases of corruption only to advocate for their solution, without campaigning against persons or institutions;
3. The Centre does not represent victims of corruption in court;
4. The Centre does not investigate reported cases;
5. The Centre does not publicize cases of corruption UNLESS it has sought explicit prior consent of the parties involved in the matter.
6. Though the ALAC takes anonymous complaints; it cannot pursue such complaints.
7. Call our toll free hotlines:

How to Contact

Airtel: 0800 100 250

MTN : 0800 100 250

Vodafone: 0800 100 25

Office line: 0302 760 884

1. Post: Advocacy & Legal Advice Centre, PMB CT 317, Cantonments, Accra
2. E-mail:alac@tighana.org / info@tighana.org

Results Achieved so Far

• Since its establishment, the ALAC in GII has worked on more than 60 reports from citizens. In 2016 alone, the ALAC team engaged in broad sensitization and engagement of community members. Mobile ALAC clinics reached more than 940 community members. Furthermore, in the contact of the USAID Accountability Democratic Institutions and Systems (USAID-ADISS) Project, GII & its partners sensitized more than 9,660 citizens on the availability of the ALAC during community durbars throughout the ten regions of Ghana.

One example of a case successfully resolved by the ALAC is a 2015 case brought to us by a lube attendant who reported a case of some level of malpractices at the Kwabenya Goil Filling Station. The complainant alleged that the filling station was using unapproved and adjusted measuring instruments in their daily operations; which meant that citizens who purchased fuel from this filling station were continuously paying for fuel they did not actually tank. In an impressive operation with the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), ALAC was able to clasp grab the wrongdoers on the spot. The necessary measures were taken to bring the case to a close.The Complainant’s employers were eventually sanctioned by the GSA.

Related Publications

Success Stories

Contact us today if you are a victim or witness of corruption