Ghana has been ranked 72nd on the 2022 global Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) on score of 43 over 100 which is a repetition of its marks for the two previous years.
However, the ranking for the two previous years were 75 for 2020 and 73rd for 2021.
With the CPI score being the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0-100, where 0 means highly corrupt and 100 means very clean, it means Ghana has not improved in the anti-graft fight.
The CPI released yesterday by Transparency International (TI), the mother organisation of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption.
Ghana with a score of 43, ranked 8th out of 49 countries in SSA which were included in the index which focused on corruption, conflict, and security, alongside Benin (43), Senegal (43), and South Africa (43).
index this year, with Finland and New Zealand following closely, both with a score of 87 while the least-performing countries were Somalia (12), Syria (13), and South Sudan (13).
They are all enveloped in protracted conflicts as years of violence and war has decimated resources and left them vulnerable to corruption, and governments essentially incapable of making any progress.
The report indicated the need for Ghana to address the canker as “corruption is a major contributor to the country’s current economic woes as evinced by several reports including that of the Auditor General’s report on Government of Ghana’s COVID-19 expenditure.”
Chairperson for Transparency International, Delia Ferreira Rubio, described corruption as a phenomenon that “has made our world a more dangerous place.”
“As governments have collectively failed to make progress against it, they fuel the current rise in violence and conflict – and endanger people everywhere. The only way out is for states to do the hard work, rooting out corruption at all levels to ensure governments work for all people, not just an elite few,” he added.
A statement issued by the GII on the index said in Ghana, corruption continued to negatively affect citizens’ trust in government and institutions, hinder the provision of essential services, impede economic development, and created vulnerabilities that have the tendency of being exploited by extremists.
“Corruption if not addressed has the potential to lead to social unrest and conflict. As such, it is essential that steps are taken to combat corruption in order to ensure a more peaceful and secure society”, it said.
To address the problem of corruption in Ghana, GII recommended that relevant state agencies should address security vulnerabilities and protect the country against external threats.
It urged the government to promote economic development and reduce barriers to investment; the executive should urgently take steps to lay the Conduct of Public Officers’ Bill in Parliament while parliament should ensure implementation of recommendations contained in the Auditor General’s report including prosecution.
The Auditor General was urged to exercise its powers of disallowance and surcharge to recover misappropriated funds and prevent the reoccurrence of wastage in the public sector.
It urged the government to ensure that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) is adequately resourced to work effectively.to stand next has from on of the document long-Billy ex-related been being crimes Advocate
BY TIMES REPORTER
