Since independence in 1957, Ghanaians have been plagued with corruption, which involves taking what is not yours in an official capacity. Corruption can manifest as peddling influence for monetary gains, demanding payment for official services, or outright bribery. All post-independence leaders in Ghana have had to deal with corruption as a national problem, and military coups have often cited corruption as justification for overthrowing the government.
Corruption operates to frustrate fair dealings with government agencies, advance unequal treatments of individuals, continue to widen the gap between the rich and the poor and renders state institutions undesirous to effectively and efficient discharge their lawful duties. There is therefore, the urgency to revisit the discussions on corruption in Ghana and suggest some appropriate measures in dealing with the canker more effectively.
Corruption Perceptions Index of Ghana
Why is Corruption so Pervasive in Ghana?
Several reasons contribute to the prevalence of corruption in Ghana:
- The Ghanaian Culture of “Giving Thanks and Appreciation”: This tradition, intended as gratitude, often encourages corruption. Sociologically, it is showing gratitude which must be welcomed and encouraged but a simple thank you verbally is recommended instead of what pertains to today that encourages corruption.
- Poor Pay of Civil Servants and Government Employees: Low salaries can force civil servants to solicit cash gifts for services rendered. A senior civil servant lamented that his take-home salary does not do much and hence he is forced to ask for cash gifts when he renders services to people.
- A Way of Life and an Acceptable Tradition: The society brands you a fool if you fail to participate in corrupt schemes at your workplace. Workplace leadership should through organizational learning encourage workers to understand that what is meant by the proverb is metaphorical and not literally permissible.
- Respect for Wealth: Ghanaians often fail to question the source of wealth, leading to pressure to become rich regardless of how. Ghanaians fail to question how the wealthy and famous got rich and hence tends to respect and adore the rich and famous in the society so there is that inherent pressure from family members to be rich regardless of the source of the wealth, whether genuine or dubious.
- Failure to Prosecute: Corrupt individuals are often dismissed rather than prosecuted, emboldening others. Oftentimes and sadly so rampant, Ghanaians are not prosecuted for corruption but dismissed by their employers.
- "It is Government Money" Mentality: Citizens often believe government funds are detached from their personal actions, justifying corrupt practices. Ghanaians believe the government is detached from their personal actions.
Understanding Corruption
Corruption is universally illegal. Most literature on economic development and good governance cites it as one of the major ills that stifle development in many countries. Meanwhile, there exist a variety of laws on corruption which touches on issues including: money laundering, government transparency, organized crime, and trade and investment regulations among others.
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In Ghana, there is hardly any political platform in an election year, where the presidential aspirants do not propose to make corruption a thing of the past. For instance, in 2016, the current President of the Republic of Ghana assured the State of abating corruption upon his election.
Despite the huge investments by African Economies to fight corruption, statistics from the World Bank estimates, that about 5% of the world’s economy translating into over a trillion dollars is associated with corrupt activities.
According to Afrobarometer, the general public’s view of the most corrupt persons and institutions in Ghana is: the police, judiciary, members of parliament, civil servants and tax officials. They blame the government of failing the fight against corruption. In similar observation, Transparency International ranked Ghana 74 out of 180 countries with a score of 43% in its 2020 corruption perception index.
To date, it is difficult to chance upon a universally acceptable definition of corruption. However, because of the criminal law principle, that a conduct amounts to a crime only if there is a statute that has clearly criminalized it, the meaning of corruption has become territorially defined. What further undergirds a universal definition of corruption is informed by the urge to make laws that can deal with particular needs of particular societies.
In attempting a definition of corruption, Cordell et al. (2020) considered several definitions from some philosophical theorists and pointed out the features shared by all the definitions as follows: “Firstly, they all refer to a form of dereliction of a duty. Secondly, that dereliction is caused by some form of gratification, whether in the form of wealth or power. Thirdly, that dereliction is generally considered to be detrimental to the society in question, based upon that society’s particular values” (Imiera, 2020: p. 73).
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It can be deciphered from the readings on corruption that it generally encompasses three broad areas. First, the misuse of public office for private benefit; secondly, the inappropriate exchange of favours and or money to influence the exercise of power; thirdly, violations of public interest for private gains.
Various categorizations of corruption have been identified in the literature. Generally, however, three basic types of corruption are identified. First is corruption that aims at achieving what otherwise the citizen is entitled to. The second type of corruption is corruption that infringes legal rules or biased against the enforcement of the rules. The final type of corruption is aimed at state capture. Here, the aim of the corruption is rather, to change the rule to suit the political governors.
As outlined by Goto & Ogunnubi (2014), they include: bribery and graft; kleptocracy; non-performance of duties (cronyism); influence peddling; acceptance of improper gifts; abuse of power; manipulation of regulations; electoral malpractice such as vote buying and rigging of elections; rent seeking; illegal campaign regulations.
The Rule of Law, is threatened when corruption is endemic in a state. For instance, where the government diverts revenues reserved for specific developments away from investment in public capital which in turn is a necessary input in private production, private marginal product of capital is diminished.
Corruption therefore has the greatest potency of contributing to underdevelopment, poverty, deprivation and exclusion of individuals. Where public servants and citizens do not respect the law, that is a threat to the rule of law. Eschewing corruption in a state, thus, is a major critical factor to upholding the rule of law.
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Corruption is evinced in the hearts of rapacious and covetous individuals as an obsession with money and metastasizes into a burning, red-hot flame that destroys two sacred values of humanity-virtue and morality. In Africa, apart from the wars and social conflicts tearing the continent apart, corruption can be likened to a dreaded virus that weakens or adversely affects economies, justice systems, governance, and human rights.
Due to corruption's harmful effects and the potential punishment for offenders, people who engage in it normally seek to excuse, justify, or neutralize their involvement and corruption's impact by pointing to conditions that contribute to or allow corruption to occur.
Corruption has different bases, including social-psychological (individual actors), institutional/organizational (quality of institutions), structural (inequality and poverty), social (expectations about the behavior of others), and cultural (e.g., particularism). All these components influence the development of corrupt behavior, particularly through perverse socialization processes.
Also, the stable political environment, diverse market-based economy for trade and investment, rich natural resources (e.g., gold, bauxite, crude oil, timber, etc.), and steady economic growth make Ghana one of the best places to do business in Africa. Although more businesses moving to Ghana can promote economic growth and prosperity, levels of corruption, which are already perceived as high and widespread can be increased.
It is argued that high and widespread perceptions of corruption in Ghana could be due to the availability of techniques for justifying, neutralizing, and denying official- and public-initiated corruption and its impact.
Corruption, defined as the (mis)use of entrusted power for personal, institutional, or third-party gain, is a highly contested subject due to its complex nature and form, diverse disciplinary perspectives, and the dynamism and uniqueness of socio-political and economic societies and interactions in which it occurs.
Steps Recommended for Promoting Compliance and Preventing Corruption in Ghana
To combat corruption effectively, the following steps are recommended:
- Establish an Office of Ethics and Compliance Education in every workplace with more than 5 workers that render services to the general public and receive government assistance in various forms.
- Establish and maintain policies and procedures to prevent and detect fraud, abuse, neglect, and waste in the administration of your organization.
- Establish and maintain internal controls of program operations to promote and realize the efficient management and monitoring of applicable regulations, rules, laws, requirements, and policies.
- Establish a mechanism within the organization which promotes self-monitoring, detection, reporting, and resolution of compliance issues.
- Recommend appropriate disciplinary actions to supervisors for non-compliance conduct by any employee.
- Review periodically compliance policies and regulations to reflect current needs and recommend all employees annually participate in compliance training and education.
- Establish a system to report where conflicts of interests do occur.
- Establish a system for enforcement where compliance policies are violated.
Corruption can be fought at different levels. There is an urgent need to raise people’s awareness and consciousness of the dangers of corruption and its harmful effects on their societies. Awareness-raising campaigns must be organized in the media, schools, and workplaces to educate citizens about the various aspects of corruption, its multiple forms and the means to combat it.
Lack of transparency in the day-to-day conduct of public and private affairs is one of the main causes of corruption. Governments should make information on budgets, government contracts, and resource allocations public in order to prevent fraud and corruption from taking root. It should also be noted that punishing every act of corruption would serve as an effective deterrent to discourage corrupt actors and their cronies from continuing their practices.
Practical mechanisms can be used to stamp out corruption, a veritable contemporary scourge in Africa. Tools such as awareness-raising campaigns, training and capacity building, transparency, and heavy penalties for corrupt practices should be used to combat corruption and reduce its negative societal impacts.
The Ghana Civil Service was modeled on that of Great Britain and there is no reason why we cannot stamp out corruption. I believe that an efficient civil service drives and promotes efficiency in all walks of life. The rules and regulations are in the Books. We have failed to apply them. There is no excuse as citizens. That is responsible citizenship.
A corrupt society is a failed nation.
Dr. Augustine Amenyah
| Year | CPI Score | Global Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 41 | 78 |
| 2019 | 41 | 80 |
| 2020 | 43 | 75 |
| 2021 | 43 | 73 |
| 2022 | 43 | 72 |
| 2023 | 43 | 70 |
Ghana Corruption Survey: About GHS 5bn bribe paid in both private and public sector in 2021
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