Police Service tops corruption league table in Ghana – UN, CHRAJ, GSS report

A corruption report from 2022 has exposed deep-rooted issue of bribery within Ghana’s public sector, shedding light on concerning statistics. According to the study conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in collaboration with the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), police officers have emerged as the most susceptible group to bribery, with an alarming prevalence rate of 53.2 per cent.

Officers of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) customs officers also featured prominently on the list, experiencing bribery rates of 37.4 per cent and 33.6 per cent, respectively.

On the contrast, elected government representatives displayed a significantly lower involvement in bribery, with a mere 2.9 per cent prevalence rate.

The types of bribes paid to public officials vary, with cash being the most common form, accounting for a staggering 84.8 per cent of cases.

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While the exchange of public services for other services and the offering of food and drinks are less frequent, rural areas witnessed a higher prevalence of food and drink bribes at 17.8 per cent compared to urban areas at 10.1 per cent.

The financial impact of these illicit transactions is striking.

The total cash bribes paid in Ghana equate to almost one third of the Ministry of Education’s 2021 budget.

Cash bribes in urban areas are 1.5 times larger than those in rural regions, and the average national bribe stands at Ghanaian cedi 348.

Given an estimated 17.4 million bribes paid in Ghana during 2021, the annual cash bribes to public officials reach approximately Ghanaian cedi 5 billion, equivalent to 32.9 per cent of the 2021 Ministry of Education budget.