Police, Presidency perceived as most corrupt in Ghana — Afrobarometer survey

The Ghana Police Service and the Presidency are perceived as the most corrupt public institutions in the country, according to an Afrobarometer survey.

The survey, which interviewed a nationally representative sample of 2,400 adult Ghanaians in August 2024, found that 63% of respondents believe almost every police official is corrupt.

A press statement released on Friday, February 14, revealed that 54% of respondents view the Presidency as widely corrupt, followed by tax officials (53%) and Members of Parliament (51%).

“Almost two-thirds (63%) of citizens say ‘most’ or ‘all’ police officials are corrupt, while more than half see widespread corruption at the Presidency (54%) and among tax officials (53%) and MPs (51%),” the report stated.

The report also highlighted that the majority of Ghanaians do not feel safe reporting corrupt practices due to fears of retaliation or other negative consequences.

“Only about a quarter (26%) of Ghanaians believe that people can report corruption without fear of retaliation, a decline of 4 percentage points compared to 2022. Seven in 10 (71%) say people risk retaliation or other negative consequences if they report incidents of corruption to the authorities,” the report noted.

It further revealed that three-fourths (74%) of Ghanaians believe the level of corruption in the country increased over the past year, including 63% who think it rose “a lot.”

Meanwhile, the report stated, “Perceptions of increasing corruption declined by a modest 3 percentage points compared to 2022 (77%) after more than doubling between 2017 and 2022.”