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Ghana’s attempt at fighting corruption did not yield any results in 2024 as the country’s scores and ranking on the annual Corruption Perception Index dropped.
According to the latest report released by global anti-graft agency, Transparency International, the country scored 42, which is a point lower than the 43 it had consistently garnered in the last four years. Ghana placed 80th in the global ranking–its worst in five years. In the 2023 report, the country was ranked 70th.
The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people, uses a scale of zero to 100, where “zero” is highly corrupt and “100” is very clean.
Denmark topped the list of being the least-corrupt nation, followed by Finland and Singapore.
Ghana’s best CPI score in the past 10 years was in 2014 when the country scored 48. It dropped to 40 in 2017 and went up marginally to 41 in 2018 and 2019 before climbing up marginally to 43 in the past four years.
Since 2020, the country has maintained a score of 43/100 with fluctuating ranking each of those years.
The Sub-Sahara African situation
According to the report, the Sub-Sahara African region recorded the lowest score on the Corruption Perception Index as a majority of countries, 90% scored below 50. Regardless of that, some African countries progressed in fighting corruption by investing in anti-corruption institutions. Seychelles had the highest score (CPI score: 72) in Sub-Saharan Africa, with Cabo Verde coming second with a score of (62). Both Botswana and Rwanda had (57). The lowest scorers declined further on this year’s CPI: Equatorial Guinea (13), Eritrea (13), Somalia (9) and South Sudan (8).
At the regional level, Ghana was ranked 11th out of 49 countries.
According to the report, “Cote d’Ivoire (45) consolidated its progress, gaining 10 points in total since 2019.” Seychelles on the other hand has “improved by 20 points since 2012.”
The reports mention that Seychelles “has been actively prosecuting high-profile corruption cases and has taken steps to improve beneficial ownership transparency and strengthen information exchange among relevant law enforcement institutions.”
Akufo-Addo’s tenure and corruption
Before handing over as President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo in his last State of the Nations Address (SONA) on Friday, February 03, 2025, heaped praises on his administration for putting the needed structures in place for tackling corruption.
“Through robust institutional reforms and unwavering commitment, we have fortified the structures to enhance transparency and accountability,” he said in Parliament.
Nana Akufo Addo stated the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has been instrumental in the war against corruption. In 2018, Akufo-Addo established the OSP to be a flagship specialised independent anti-corruption institution in Ghana, which is expected to investigate and prosecute suspected corruption and corruption-related offences in the public and private sectors.
Some of the high profile corruption cases under former President Akufo-Addo’s tenure include:
ii. Sputnik-V COVID-19 scandal
iii. Kelni GVG deal for telcos revenue assurance
iv PDS/ ECG privatisation deal
President Akufo-Addo’s claims during the SONA was not the first time the former president eulogised himself for putting structures in place to fight corruption. However, many Ghanaians and civil society organisations have questioned the OSP’s competence with the Institute of Economic Affairs(IEA) describing the anti-corruption agency as “toothless.”
Among many plights of the special prosecutor, the OSP has been reported to be understaffed, and heavily underfunded. While the country’s first Special Prosecutor, Mr Martin Amidu, accused former President Akufo-Addo of interfering in his work, his successor’s beef is with the judiciary.
The current special prosecutor laments that some judges have ganged up against the OSP to make his work difficult.
That is not all. Former President Akufo-Addon had on many occasions indicated that his appointees who were alleged to have been involved in various corruption cases were investigated and found to be innocent.
However, the former President’s comments and claims do not reflect the positions of some civil society organisations and government critics.
In September 2024, Kwaku Ansa-Asare, a former Director of the Ghana School of Law described the Akufo-Addo government as the most corrupt in the history of Ghana.
“Akufo-Addo’s government is the worst ever, the most corrupt government we have ever had,” he said in an interview on Channel One TV’s Face to Face.
Although former President Akufo promised that he was going to deal with corruption, his government was marked by one too many scandals with several protests against the mismanagement of state resources, corruption and economic crises.
GII’s recommendations
1. Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the Local Chapter of Transparency International, in a press statement recommends that the government establish a specialized anti-corruption court to handle corruption-related cases as done in Tanzania.
2. The GII also believes that enhancing the legislature’s financial oversight role by empowering the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) with enforcement authority and establishing the Budget and Fiscal Analysis Department (BFAD) will help address the mismanagement of public funds.
3. The GII recommends stronger legal protection for whistleblowers and journalists who expose corruption.
4. Reviewing of party financing law by engaging stakeholders to review political party financing laws to reduce undue influence on governance.
5. The GII recommends a merit-based appointment system overseen by an independent civil and public service commission into the public sector would help reduce opportunities for corruption by minimizing politically motivated appointments that often lead to mismanagement and abuse of public resources.
John Mahama’s ORAL and the fight against corruption
With Ghanaians concerned about the level of corruption in the Akufo-Addo administration, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama, promised to deal with corruption. He has been elected.
Comparatively, President Mahama ‘s Mahama tenure recorded a relatively better performance on the CPI.
President John Dramani Mahama upon assumption into the highest office in Ghana set up the Operation Recover All Loot committee, popularly called ORAL intended to recover state funds that have been stolen and embezzled through acts like corruption in the public sector while holding people accountable.
This was one of the President’s promises to “investigate, prosecute and recover the proceeds of wide-spread corruption.”
The ORAL Committee has presented its report containing 2,417 corruption-related complaints to President John Mahama following a public call to report suspected corruption cases to it.
“This is a defining moment in our fight against corruption. We must all play our parts, citizens, civil society, the media, and public officials alike. Together, we will build a Ghana that is just, transparent, and prosperous for generations to come,” the President said receiving the report.
However his critics t are questioning his commitment to combating corruption after the Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, discontinued all corruption cases against appointees of Mahama’s first administration, who served from January 7, 2013, to January 7, 2017
