The 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) report released by Transparency International (TI) has revealed that Ghana’s Anti-corruption efforts has declined as score drops for the first time in five years.
The report, which was made available to the Ghana News Agency by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) said over the past decade, corruption remained a critical governance issue influencing citizens decisions on the performance of governments across the globe.
It said despite several efforts to address this menace, Ghana’s performance on the CPI was still below the average of 50 out of a 100 clean score.
Ghana has scored 42 out of a clean score of 100 in the CPI 2024, ranking 80th out of 180 countries and territories assessed in this year’s report released by TI.
This marks a decline from Ghana’s score of 43 in 2023, signaling a setback in the country’s anti-corruption efforts.
The report said since 2015 (a 10-year trend), Ghana had dropped 5 points on the CPI, reflecting persistent challenges in tackling corruption despite various policy interventions and institutional reforms.
It said the decline suggested that the policy, legal and administrative reforms required further review and strengthening.
With regards to Ghana’s Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa, the report said with a score of 42, Ghana ranks 11th among 49 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries included in the index, alongside Albania.
It said Ghana’s performance was behind regional leaders such as Seychelles (72), Cabo Verde (62), Botswana (57), Rwanda (57), and Mauritius (51) who scored above 50 but ahead of countries like Burkina Faso (41), South Africa (41), and Tanzania (41).
The report said in 2024, the Sub-Saharan African region once again registered the lowest average score on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), at just 33 out of 100, with 90 per cent of countries scoring below 50.
“Yet amid this very low annual performance, there were African countries that invested in anti-corruption and made remarkable progress,” it said.
For example, Tanzania (41) has gained 10 points since 2014, as corrupt officials finally faced consequences for their actions.
It said Global Trends and Implications the CPI 2024 highlights a worrying trend: over two thirds of countries worldwide scored below 50, indicating serious corruption problems in the public sector.
The global average remains at 43, showing little progress over the past decade. Countries with weak democratic institutions, ineffective law enforcement, and inadequate anti-corruption frameworks continue to perform poorly, reinforcing the urgent need for systemic reforms.
The report said in Ghana, corruption remains a significant challenge, particularly in the allocation of mining licenses, where abuse of power and discretion threaten the integrity of natural resources such as forests and water bodies.
It cited that a striking example was the recent attack on three staff members of the Multimedia Group Limited, including journalist Erastus Asare Donkor, by armed men allegedly working for Edelmetallum Resources Limited, a mining company in the Ashanti Region.
It said the incident highlights the dangers faced by journalists and the broader implications of corruption in the mining sector.
To reverse this troubling trend, GII called on the new government to implement some key recommendations such as enhance the legislature’s oversight role, urging that Parliament should enhance its financial oversight responsibilities by empowering the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) with enforcement authority and establish the Budget and Fiscal Analysis Department (BFAD).
This, it said, would enhance fiscal discipline and prevent the mismanagement of public funds.
GNA