The Center for Democracy and Socio-Economic Development (CDS) Africa, has charged the government and stakeholders to initiate and implement a proactive and strategic framework to help tame corruption in the country.
CDS Africa was worried about the 2022 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) report from Transparency International, which came out on January 31, 2023.
In the report, Ghana, which is an exemplar of African democracy, received a score of 43 on the CPI. The country scored 43 on the CPI ranking in 2020 and 2021, respectively. According to the report, Ghana’s efforts to combat corruption have stalled.
Based on this, CDS Africa has made some recommendations that will help heighten the fight against corruption in the country.
A statement signed by Dr. Frank Bannor, Senior Research & Policy Analyst at CDS Africa recommended that Ghana’s strategy for combating corruption should include a proactive framework for foreseeing and managing corruption risks. To minimize potential corruption risks, a thorough review of every possible project and contract is required within the public sector.
It further stated that government and political influence should not be allowed in state agencies that the law requires to identify and punish corruption cases. To strengthen monitoring, the government must ensure that public complaint procedures are incorporated into projects and contracts.
It recommended that Corruption prevention should become a strategic tenet of Ghana’s governance system. To mitigate corruption, it noted that deterrence is of great essence. Such a measure would send a strong message to potential wrongdoers about the latent consequences of their misbehavior and inaction.
“The government needs to establish a system that rewards appropriate behavior and penalizes corrupt conduct in the public sector. All citizens must understand they have a role to play in the fight against corruption. Citizens and public sector workers must immediately report any suspicions of bribery or corruption to mandated agencies and institutions.
Corruption poses a significant risk to Ghana’s economic development. It noted that economic inequality is made worse by corruption, with a one-unit rise in corruption resulting in a 0.15 to 1.5 percent decline in GDP per capita. Petty corruption, in particular, impacts citizens’ perceptions of corruption in a country because it interferes with their daily lives and undermines public trust in democratic processes, government legitimacy, and state institutions.
The CPI has grown as the most crucial global indicator of corruption in the public sector since its launch in 1995. Using information from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, World Economic Forum, private risk, consultancy organizations, think tanks, and others, the Index assigns ratings to 180 nations and territories based on perceptions of public sector corruption.
Until 2012, the CPI was computed between 0 and 10, with a lower value of 0 indicating a high level of corruption and a higher score value indicating a lower level of corruption. At that time, Ghana’s average score was 41, which was recorded in 2010 (see Figure 2 in the attachment). Since the methodology of the CPI changed in 2012, where countries are now ranked based on a score of 0 to 100, Ghana’s average score has not changed significantly, obtaining only 48% in 2014. It is worrying, that since 2000 when the CPI report was launched, Ghana’s score has always been below average, and this leaves much to ponder about as a nation”. The statement added.