Prof Samuel Kobina Anim, Government Statistician, has announced that Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) together with CHRAJ and its stakeholders would be evaluating the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACAP) within a six-month period and the evaluation launched in June 2024.
Prof Anim said the evaluation would complete the cycle between laws, policies, and statistics in the anti-corruption campaign in Ghana.
“We hope to deepen the collective interest and mobilise national efforts in fighting corruption.”
Prof. Anim said in a nationally representative survey of people’s experience of corruption in Ghana, “26.7 per cent of adult population paid a bribe to a public official in 2021″.
According to him “a total of GHC5 billion was paid in cash bribes to public officials in 2021.”
NACAP has led to the automation and digitalisation of the Law courts, revision of code of conduct for Judges and Magistrates, unification of allowances of boards, councils and Committees of Public Service, among others.
NACAP, a 10-year plan (2015-2024), is a strategic action plan consultatively developed by stakeholders to help fight corruption and promote national development in the country.
It also provides a framework for mobilising public support and resources for anti-corruption activities and promoting integrity, transparency, and accountability in all areas.
The occasion was used to commemorate this year’s International Anti- Corruption Day (IACD), which is marked annually on December 9 to promote collective action against corruption.
Speaking at the event, Charles Abani, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ghana, said United Nations estimated that corruption cost the global economy around 3.6 trillion dollars annually adding: “It is estimated that Africa lost 50 billion to illicit financial flows.”
Mr Abani said United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) recently produced a report on Sahel countries and estimated illicit financial flows from illegal mining at 12 billion dollars per annum.
“We talk about corruption as if it is a moral issue that needs to be dealt with by the Church, but it is not only an immoral issue, a crime…”
He noted that corruption was organised, and it crossed borders and called for collaboration among institutions.
Touching on the theme: “Uniting the world against corruption,” Mr Abani said it was extremely important the Ghana Statistical Service, CHRAJ other stakeholders worked assiduously in achieving the objectives and goals of NACAP.
He said a Public Service Survey Report indicated that Ghana loses GHC5 billion through corruption and illicit financial flows.
“If we don’t stem corruption, it would be stemming the plan that we want to achieve. The nature of corruption is diverse, that is, it exists in public procurement.”
Mr Abani urged stakeholders to connect with international institutions such as the Global Operations Network of Anti-Corruption Enforcement Authority to fight the canker
In a related development Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), has called for the creation of a specialised anti-corruption court to handle cases of bribery and corruption.
The Coalition said that would help enhance and fast track the adjudication of corruption-related cases to promote Ghana’s fight against the menace.
Mr Samuel Harrison Cudjoe, Programmes Officer of GACC, made the recommendation during a presentation on GACC’s 2023 Corruption Report.
The report showed that the country was experiencing declining performances on international corruption indices, alarming rate of petty corruption, deepening levels of grand corruption among public officers and institutions, and election-related corruption and vote-buying.
Mr Cudjoe said their study showed that corruption seemed to have been normalised among the populace.
He said the normalisation posed threats to the country’s development aspirations to transform and advance inclusive development.
“In addition, recent happenings raise concerns that the government is not providing the public with a clear pathway to dealing with corruption.
“Ghanaians feel that some persons in authority appear to be sending wrong signals all the time. It is as if we take one step forward and two steps backwards.”
Mr Cudjoe said the government must continue to invest substantially in the anti-corruption state institutions and intensify implementation of anti-corruption laws.
“We need to institutionalise a value system that prompts a person whose conduct in public office comes into disrepute to resign or recuse themselves from further administration of the office they occupy,” he added.
Madam Beauty Emefa Narteh, Executive Secretary of GACC, urged state anti-graft agencies and the judicial arm of government to deepen collaboration to ensure that perpetrators of corruption and corruption-related offenses were adequately punished.
She stressed that until all stakeholders committed holistically to the fight against corruption, all efforts would amount to only scratching the surface of corruption instead of winning the fight against it.