Corruption present in all branches of Ghana gov't – US State Dept

A US State Department report for 2010 on human rights in Ghana says among other things that there is corruption in all branches of government, despite a law providing penalties for official corruption.

The report which was released April 8, 2011 and published on its website, also indicates that the Ghana government did not implement the law effectively adding “some officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices.”

The report citing the Ghana Police and judicial officials for corruption, says “Police set up barriers to extort money from motorists, and judicial officials accepted bribes to expedite or postpone cases or to “lose” records.”

According to the report, the World Bank’s most recent Worldwide Governance Indicators (2008) reflected that corruption was a problem.

In hearings in May and August, 2010 the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament uncovered numerous cases of embezzlement and misuse of funds by government ministries, departments, agencies, and district assemblies, the report says. The committee forwarded all cases to the Attorney General; however, no prosecutions had been reported at year’s end, the report said.

Referring to an investigative report by a journalist, the report said in January an undercover reporter filmed members of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service and the Ghana Immigration Service allegedly extorting money and harassing travelers at the Ghana-Togo border crossing in Aflao, Volta Region. The officers were removed from the post, and an investigation continued at year’s end.