The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has stated that the new Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) report findings which highlighted bribery as a major canker in the country is apt and not surprising.
The latest report indicated that a total of GH¢5 billion has been paid in bribes last year to access basic services in both the private and public sectors.
The survey dubbed ‘2021 Ghana Integrity of Public Services Survey’ noted that 26.7 per cent public sector officials were engaged in bribery acts, whilst 9.1 per cent were officials from the private sector showed that the prevalence of bribery in the country means one out of four people who have contact with public official in the 12 months prior to the survey, have been asked to pay bribe by public official, or asked to pay bribe but refused to do so.
On regional basis, the prevalence of bribery in the Bono East, Savannah and Volta Regions, for example, were substantially lower than the national rate and the three regions recorded corruption cases of 11.8 per cent, 14.5 per cent and 19.1 per cent respectively and in the Western North, Ahafo and North East regions, the corrupt cases reported were substantially higher, at 53.4 per cent, 47.0 per cent and 41.9 per cent respectively.
According to Mary Awelana Addah, the Programmes Manager of GII, previous studies conducted by her outfit produced similar report findings which only gave credence to the fact that the menace was endemic.
“We have done such a survey before and it is not so different from the figures we have found and we are impressed that the study was able to quantify losses to that effect so the onus now lies on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to take up the report’s findings and act on it if he is indeed committed, dedicated and determined to the fight against corruption,” she stressed.
Madam Addah noted that the survey revealed that, on average, there was no difference in the prevalence of bribery in rural and urban areas of the country and there were, however, sizable variations across the 16 regions of the country.
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