Officials engage in corruption with impunity, lack of transparency in Akufo-Addo's government — US report
The 2021 human rights practice on Ghana compiled by the US Department of State has reported corrupt practices and a lack of transparency in Akufo-Addo's government per its assessment.
It noted that although the law provided criminal penalties for corruption by government officials, the government did not implement the law effectively.
Per the report, government officials engage in corruption constantly with impunity.
According to the report, corruption practices were present in all sectors of government including security services.
“Since the first special prosecutor took office in 2018, no corruption case undertaken by that office resulted in a conviction. When the new prosecutor took office in August, his staff included one investigator and one prosecutor, both seconded from other offices,” it indicated in the report.
Furthermore, the report showed that even though government tried to foster transparency through the passage of the Right to Information Act (2020), sufficient progress has not been made in the implementation of the law.
The report found that “the country continued use of the national anti-corruption online reporting dashboard, for the coordination of all anti-corruption efforts of various governmental bodies.”
The report further revealed wastage of funds on corrupt practices. It noted that “a June report by the auditor-general revealed widespread corruption and waste of public funds remained pervasive problems. For example, the honorary consul general and the Ghanaian consulate in Washington D.C could not account for visa fees totaling $335,000.”
It also indicated that “approximately one-half were confident in the government’s ability to uphold the rule of law, 53 percent believed the government did not adequately protect financial resources and 62 percent doubted government efforts to address corruption and official impunity.”
It continued “Transparency Internationals Global Corruption Barometer published in 2019 found 59 percent of respondents claimed there was rampant corruption in the Ghana Police Service, more so than any other government institution.”
Find below an excerpt of the report:
Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government
The law provides criminal penalties for corruption by government officials, but the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. There were numerous reports of government corruption. Corruption was present in all branches of government, according to media and NGOs, including recruitment into the security services. Since the first special prosecutor took office in 2018, no corruption case undertaken by that office resulted in a conviction. When the new special prosecutor took office in August, his staff included one investigator and one prosecutor, both seconded from other offices.
The government took steps to implement laws intended to foster more transparency and accountability in public affairs. In July 2020 authorities commissioned the Right to Information (RTI) secretariat to provide support to RTI personnel in the public sector; however, some civil society organizations stated the government had not made sufficient progress in implementing the law.
The country continued use of the national anti-corruption online reporting dashboard, for the coordination of all anti-corruption efforts of various governmental bodies.
Corruption: A June report by the auditor-general revealed widespread corruption and waste of public funds remained pervasive problems. For example, the honorary consul general and the Ghanaian consulate in Washington D.C. could not account for visa fees totaling $355,000. The Free Senior High School Secretariat misspent more than $3.16 million. A former minister of tourism retained three official vehicles for personal use after leaving office. The report concluded that corrupt practices resulted in $340 million of financial mismanagement, including misapplication and misappropriation of funds, theft, and procurement mismanagement.
On August 31, the Ghana Center for Democratic Development released highlights from a survey conducted between May 23 and June 3. Less than 30 percent of respondents were optimistic regarding the government’s ability to fight corruption. Approximately one-half were confident in the government’s ability to uphold the rule of law, 53 percent believed the government did not adequately protect financial resources and 62 percent doubted government efforts to address corruption and official impunity. Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer published in 2019 found 59 percent of respondents claimed there was rampant corruption in the Ghana Police Service, more so than any other government institution.