72% of Ghanaians believe resources intended for COVID-19 response were lost to corruption – Survey

A survey by Afrobarometer has revealed that Ghanaians were not impressed with the government’s handling of the disbursement of resources during the peak of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

According to findings of the survey led by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), “more than seven in 10 (72%) [Ghanaians engaged] believe that “some” (28%) or “a lot” (44%) of the resources intended for the COVID-19 response were lost to corruption.”

Among other things, only two in 10 Ghanaians (20%) reported that their household had received COVID-19 relief assistance from the government, while 80% said they had not

Only three in 10 citizens (31%) said that COVID-19 relief was distributed “somewhat fairly” or “very fairly,” while two-thirds (67%) said the distribution was unfair.

Meanwhile, three-fourths (76%) of Ghanaians said the government had performed “fairly well” or “very well” in managing the response to the COVID-19 pandemic

On specific aspects of the pandemic response, smaller majorities expressed satisfaction with the government’s efforts to ensure that health facilities were adequately resourced (61%) and to minimise disruptions to children’s education (59%).

Only half (50%) praised the government’s provision of relief to vulnerable households