Police and judiciary remain most corrupt institutions in Ghana – GII

A survey conducted by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has named the Ghana Police Service and the judiciary as among the most corrupt institution in Ghana.

Both Services were given the same ranking in a similar survey conducted by the GII in 2011.

The survey, which sought to access the understanding of citizens on corruption, their perception and actual experiences also named the Driver Vehicle and Lisencing Authority (DVLA) and political parties among the most corrupt entities in the country.

It, however, stated that the topmost institutions, where citizens have had actual experiences of bribery in order of descent, are the Customs division of Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Drivers Vehicle and Licensing (DVLA), Passport Office and the Police Service.

According to the survey, majority of Ghanaians identified only bribery, embezzlement and fraud as forms of corruption.  But are split on whether nepotism is an act of corruption.

On the other hand, the respondents do not consider conflict of interest, abuse of discretion and payment of facilitation fees as forms of corruption.

The survey also indicated that nearly two-thirds of respondents believed that corruption was on the rise at the time of the survey.

The study sampled the views of 17,996 Ghanaians across the ten regions of Ghana. Data was collected between the period April and May 2016.

The GII has recommended as part of measures to deal with corruption, the provision of adequate financial resources to the Commission on Human  Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE).

These institutions will, working in collaboration with Civil Society Organisations to scale up the level of public education on the types of corruption, its impact and ways for citizens to engage in denouncing the canker.

It also proposes that the Ghana Education Service and Ministry of Education should systematically incorporate anti­-corruption education as well as ethical norms and standards that influence perceptions of wrongdoing in the curriculum at all levels of education.

For the Ghana Revenue Authority, Driver Vehicle and Licensing Authority, Passport Office and Ghana Police Service, the GII recommends a significant scale up and increase visibility of all measures instituted to address corruption citizens encounter in their interaction with officials of their institutions.

Source: myjoyonline