Ghana must progress in anti-corruption fight – GII

The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the local chapter of Transparency International, has called on the government and its stakeholders to do more to bring about actual progress in the war against corruption in the country.

The GII made the call in a statement to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).

The day, which is observed annually on December 19, has its 2023 theme of “Uniting the World Against Corruption.”

According to GII, since Ghana signed the Convention on December 16, 2005, as a state party of the UN, the country has localised considerable provisions of the UNCAC into the country’s local laws and frameworks, which include the development of the Ghana National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP) as the country’s blueprint to promote and bolster anti-corruption initiatives.

It noted that the argument had been made about Ghana’s plethora of anti-corruption legislation and institutions, yet citizens’ perceptions of the level of corruption in the country was worsening with every round of perception. surveys. 

“According to the 2022 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released

Transparency International Ghana, since 2019, has stagnated in its fight.

It stated, “Also, the recent lamentations of the Special Prosecutor in his latest press conference are a testament to the country’s’ much ado

about nothing,’ three decades of continuous constitutional governance.”

GII indicated that it was joining its partners in anti-corruption, both in the public and private sectors, and the larger Transparency International community globally, to call for domestic and global introspection on commitments to fight corruption. 

GII also demanded the immediate passage of the Conduct of Public Officers Bill to regulate the conduct of public officers as well as strengthen Ghana’s asset and liability declaration regime.

GII further called on African governments, especially the Government of Ghana, to reflect and commit to promoting the ideals of the convention, strengthen anti-corruption institutions, and promote their independence.

It expressed its appreciation to state and non-state actors for their outstanding efforts and commitments to combat the canker in Ghana, adding that, a lot had been done by successive governments to fight corruption, “however, despite all the effort, corruption remains an existential governance challenge to the country’s growth and development.

According to the GII, at the global level, the UN SDG 2022 report anticipated that systemic corruption was an obstacle to achieving sustainable development, estimating that 12 billion dollars were lost annually to corruption globally.

The anti-corruption agency noted that another estimate suggested that corruption cost the global economy 3.6 trillion dollars annually, while 50 billion was estimated to be lost to corruption in Africa through illicit financial flows.