Police Service tops list of most corrupt public institution in Ghana

The latest survey conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service together with other stakeholders has ranked the Ghana Police Service as the most corrupt institution in Ghana.

It was disclosed in the latest research dubbed; corruption in Ghana, People’s Experience and View.

The survey aims to unearth corrupt institutions and make available data that will guide the formulation of policies to fight against corruption in the country.

According to the study, more than 17.4 million cedis bribes were paid in 2021 with the police institution topping the list of 23 other institutions that received bribes with 53.2%.

The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and the GRA customs officers come next, at 37.4% and 33.6% respectively. Meanwhile, elected government representatives came last at 2.9%.

According to the survey, people with the highest level of (tertiary) education were 1.6 times more likely to have paid a bribe than people with no formal education.

Again, ten out of the 16 administrative regions recorded a prevalence of bribery higher than the national average.

There are, however, sizable variations across the 16 regions of the country.

The prevalence of bribery in the Bono East, Savannah and Volta regions, for example, is substantially lower than the national rate, at 11.8, 14.5, and 19.1 percent respectively.

Moreover, in the Western North, Ahafo, and North East regions, bribery is substantially higher at 53.4, 47.0, and 41.9 per cent respectively.

The results of the survey are expected to provide benchmark indicators that can be used to inform relevant policies and track future progress while ensuring international comparability with surveys of a similar nature carried out in other countries.

The survey findings are also to strengthen the capacity of national institutions to make corruption monitoring a regular activity in the country.