Ghana needs a radical leader to tackle corruption, says GII boss
Linda Ofori-Kwafo, the Executive director of Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) – the local arm of Transparency International – has said Ghana needs a radical leader to deal with corruption.
Ofori-Kwafo’s comment comes on the back of the latest Afrobarometer survey conducted by CDD-Ghana, which cited the Ghana Police Service and the Office of the President as most perceived corrupt public institutions.
The key findings of the report showed that the perceptions of corruption among public officials and public institutions have increased in 2022 compared to 2019.
Among key public officials, the police, the presidency, MPs, judges, magistrates and tax officials are most widely perceived as corrupt.
According to the survey, more than three-fourths representing 77% of Ghanaians say the level of corruption in the country increased “somewhat” or “a lot” over the past year, a 24-percentage-point jump compared to 2019.
Eroding confidence
Speaking on the findings with Kofi Abotsi on Townhall Talk on Asaase 99.5 Accra on Friday (29 July), Ofori-Kwafo said corruption is gradually eroding the confidence people have in Ghana.
“I think you asked a question in relation to this corruption surveys and studies, that so sadly governments and institutions don’t take them seriously, but I am sure the external world are taking them seriously, and the more they keep on saying Ghana is a corrupt country, they might at a point not deal with us,” the anti-graft campaigner said.
“Sometimes you go for a meeting outside and you meet people and their perception of your country, it makes you feel a bit uncomfortable where you are coming from,” Ofori-Kwafo said. “Sometimes you feel shy that you’re coming from Ghana, after all they said about “Ghana Beyond Aid” today you are running to IMF.”
Ofori-Kwafo added: “You are not even proud to talk about your country (Ghana). Maybe at a point we have to pause this our democracy and get a ruler that will be able to stamp his feet (I am not saying we are not doing so), but then to be able to get the results we want and subsequently go back to our democracy.”
