Ghana has recorded a slight decline in its ranking on the global Corruption Perception Index (CPI), dropping from a score of 43 to 42 in the 2024 assessment.
This was disclosed in a press release by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the local chapter of Transparency International, on February 11.
According to the report, “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, signaling a setback in the country’s anti-corruption efforts.”
The GII highlighted that Ghana’s CPI score has been on a downward trend since 2015, dropping by five points over the past decade. This decline, despite policy interventions and institutional reforms, reflects persistent challenges in tackling corruption.
“Since 2015 (a 10-year trend as depicted in Chart 1), Ghana has dropped five points on the CPI, reflecting persistent challenges in tackling corruption despite various policy interventions and institutional reforms. The decline suggests that the policy, legal, and administrative reforms require further review and strengthening,” the statement noted.
In response to the drop in ranking, the GII has proposed several measures to strengthen the country’s anti-corruption efforts. These include key legislative, judicial, and executive reforms.
The organization urged Parliament to “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 will enhance fiscal discipline and prevent the mismanagement of public funds.”
Additionally, it called on the judiciary to “establish a specialized anti-corruption court to handle corruption-related cases with speed and efficiency, similar to Tanzania,” while also urging the executive to “prioritize 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.”
The GII emphasized that addressing these concerns is crucial to reversing the negative trend and restoring confidence in Ghana’s governance and anti-corruption efforts.