7 in 10 Ghanaians fear retaliation for reporting corruption — Afrobarometer

Seven in 10 Ghanaians say people risk retaliation or other negative consequences if they report corruption to the authorities, an Afrobarometer survey has revealed.

The survey, which interviewed a nationally representative sample of 2,400 adult Ghanaians in August 2024, found that only 26% believe corruption can be reported without fear of reprisal—a 4-percentage-point decline from 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 in part.

It also revealed that public perception of corruption remains high, with 74% of Ghanaians saying the level of corruption increased over the past year. Of this number, 63% believe it rose “a lot.”

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

The Ghana Police Service and the Presidency were identified as the most corrupt public institutions based on public perception.

According to the survey, 63% of respondents believe that almost every police official is corrupt.

A press statement released on Friday, February 14, also noted 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.

Meanwhile, the Whistleblower Act, 2006 was enacted to provide a framework for individuals to disclose, in the public interest, information on unlawful or corrupt practices.

It also aimed to protect whistleblowers from victimization, establish a fund to reward individuals who make such disclosures, and address related matters.