Corrupt civil servants make ¢5billion on every 500 businesses registered - PEF alleges

Chief Executive Officer of Private Enterprises Federation (PEF), Nana Osei-Bonsu has bemoaned the rate of corrupt practices in state-owned institutions that administer licenses for business to operate.

Citing a recent report released by his firm to buttress his claim, Mr Osei-Bonsu alleged that civil servants who render administrative services to clienteles make an amount of GH¢500 million to GH¢5 billion on every 500 businesses they register.

Not only that, but businesses also suffer a great loss which is pegged between GH¢10 - GH¢12 billion due to the unnecessary delays by the service providers, administrative agencies, the back and forth during the acquisition of licenses, among others.

“Is it right to do business to lose that much money because you don’t have the processes and procedures that are efficient and transparent enough to allow people not to cheat,” he quizzed.

Nana Osei-Bonsu averred that most of these businessmen after paying the extra money to these ‘corrupt’ officials who speed up their documentation process tend to either reduce the quality of their products and services or pass on the cost incurred on consumers.

Due to the rigid system businessmen face when they want to go through the right procedures, others resort to the patronage of the services of 'goro boys' to secure either fake or original licenses, do not pay taxes because they can not be tracked among other key issues which hinder development.

The CEO of PEF made these revelations during the maiden multi-stakeholder business integrity forum of the year in Accra on the theme, “Promoting business integrity and anti-corruption in Ghana; the role of the private sector” in Accra yesterday.