The National Poll Tracking report by Global InfoAnalytics has revealed that the majority of Ghanaians (62%) believe corruption, particularly among government agencies, is getting worse by the day.
A smaller section of the Ghanaian populace (13%) however think measures put in place by government to curb the menace are working and that there has been some level of improvement in the fight against corruption.
Some 21% of the population also think corruption in the country has not changed, that is, neither has there been improvement in the fight against corruption nor has it worsened.
Ghana is estimated to be losing some GHS 13.8 billion ($3 billion) annually through corruption-related activities.
The estimated amount represents more than 300 percent of the country’s 2016 annual budget estimates.
On the continent, the Global Corruption Barometer in 2018 found more than one in four people on the African continent paid bribes for public services.
Ghana, in the 2020 Corruption Perception index by Transparency International ranked 75th and scored 51.9% and 49% in the World Bank’s (2016) Worldwide Governance Indicators.
Also, according to the 2017 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), Ghana ranks in the top 10 highest scoring countries (8 out of 54) with a score of 65.0 (out of 100.0) in overall governance.
In the last 10 years, however, it is also the eighth-most deteriorated country on the continent in overall governance, having declined by -1.5 points during this period.
Government can address corruption by bolstering anti-corruption institutions, reforming judiciaries, and addressing poor governance or risk indirectly weakening its long-term national security agenda as well as continue to lose billions of cedis.
Proposed strategies to adopt to mitigate corruption include;
- Enforcement and implementation of the existing laws.
- Investment in technology for tracing and tracking corruption and corruption-related activities.
- Empowering of the various Anti-Corruption agencies and Institutions in such a manner that does not encourage political interference.
- Implementing recommendations of the Auditor-General, Public Accounts Committee and other stakeholder Institutions.
- Reducing human interference in the functions of the anti-corruption institutions and bodies.