GHS9.6bn swallowed by corruption in 3 years – CDD

Civil society group Centre for Democratic Development – Ghana has said Ghana has lost close to GHS10 billion to corruption, alone in the last three years.

At a premiering ceremony of CDD’s Corruption Watch initiative, its Executive Director, Prof Henry Kwasi Prempeh, said: “Weak governance and corruption hurt every nation, and the poor are often the hardest hit”.

“Over the years, Ghana has lost a great fortune to corruption and since its inception in November 2017, Corruption Watch, alone has discovered GHS9.6 billion stolen from public purse.

“Everyone here – every individual and every organisation – has an obligation to act with integrity, expose corrupt practices, and more importantly, help retrieve funds that have been embezzled”, Prof Prempeh said.

Per the Afrobarometer report, he said: “Almost two-thirds (64%) of Ghanaians want corrupt officials prosecuted, and, if found guilty, jailed and forced to return stolen funds, which should be used to build a public facility with the culprit’s name inscribed on it.”

“Another one-fifth (22%) favour government retrieval of stolen funds without prosecution. Only one in 10 (9%) would opt for prosecution without retrieval of stolen funds,” Prof Prempeh added.