The Anti-Corruption Campaign in Ghana has shown no improvement over the past four years, according to the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.

The index for 2023 indicates that Ghana's stagnant score of 43 out of 100 reflects a broader global trend of failed justice systems, providing fertile ground for corruption to persist.

Ghana has scored 43 out of 100 consecutively since 2020. If corruption perception were likened to an examination paper, Ghana would have consistently failed for over a decade scoring below 50.

Let’s do this analysis. In 2013, former president John Mahama inherited a corruption perception index of 45. By 2014, he had improved it to 48 which is Ghana’s best since featuring in 2012.

Unfortunately, Ghana dropped on two consecutive occasions bringing Mahama’s final score to 43 in 2016.

After inheriting this score, president Akufo-Addo experienced his first dip in 2017 sending Ghana’s index to 40 out of 100. By 2020, Ghana was back to 43 after scoring 41 in both 2018 and 2019.

After that massive climb in 2020, Ghana has failed to improve its score under the Akufo-Addo administration.

In fact, the corruption perception index report has stressed the connection between the Ghana’s CPI score and its performance in the Rule of Law Index, published by the World Justice Project, is particularly striking. Ghana’s fallen justice system leads to low score in the corruption perception index.

The Ghana Integrity Initiative believes addressing the weaknesses in the justice system should be a key focus of anti-corruption efforts.

About the writer:

Isaac Kofi Agyei is a Data & Research Analyst/Journalist at JoyNews based in Accra, where he covers mostly finance, economics, banking, and politics across Ghana and West Africa, from detailed analytical reports on all key issues to debt crises to IMF programmes. He also serves as the data and research correspondent for SBM Intelligence, an Africa-focused market/security leader in strategic research, providing actionable analyses of West Africa’s socio-political and economic landscape. With his solid academic background in economics and statistics and additional training from credible institutions such as the UNDP, Afrobarometr, Ghana Statistical Service, and a host of others, Isaac has honed his skills in effective data storytelling, reporting, and analysis.

Isaac Kofi Agyei