“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 Transparency International (TI).

“This marks a decline from Ghana’s score of 43 in 2023, signalling a setback in the country’s anti-corruption efforts,” a release issued by Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), a local chapter of TI, noted.

The report pointed out that a 10-year trend of Ghana’s per­formance on the CPI shows persistent challenges in tackling corruption despite several policy interventions and institutional reforms.

“Since 2015, Ghana has dropped five points on the CPI. The decline suggests that policy, legal and administrative reforms require further review and strengthening,” the GII stated.

In view of the development, the GII has called on the government to take urgent steps to reverse the troubling trend and advance Ghana’s fight against corruption for improved governance

The anti-graft organisation rec­ommended key reforms in the leg­islative, judicial, and executive arms of government including enhanc­ing Parliament’s financial oversight responsibility by empowering the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) with enforcement authority, while establishing the Budget and Fiscal Analysis Department (BFAD) to enhance fiscal discipline and prevent the mismanagement of public funds.

It further called for the estab­lishment of specialised anti-cor­ruption courts to handle corrup­tion-related cases with speed and efficiency.

Additionally, the GII called for the depoliticisation of the civil and public services to ensure “mer­it-based appointment” into the sectors to promote professional competence and efficiency.

“Stronger legal protections must be established for individuals exposing corruption and the Ex­ecutive must prioritise the passage of the Conduct of Public Offi­cers’ Bill to strengthen the legal framework on asset declaration, conflict of interest, and sanctions for non-compliance.

Government agencies must develop standardised systems for tracking climate financial flows at all levels while stakeholders are engaged to review political party financing laws to reduce undue pressure on government,” the GII advised.

Ghana’s latest ranking places it 11th among 49 Sub-Saharan Afri­can countries alongside Alabana.

It lags behind countries such as Seychelles (72), Cabo Verde (62), Botswana (57), Rwanda (57), and Mauritius (51), all of whom scored above 50.

However, Ghana performed better than Burkina Faso (41), South Africa (41), and Tanzania (41).

BY ABIGAIL ANNOH