IMANI explains why NPP performed 'poorly' on Corruption, PA and Governance

The IMANI Centre for Policy and Education has outlined reasons leading to the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) poor performance on Governance, Corruption and Public Accountability (PA).

President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo prior to ascending the presidency was touted for his abhorrence for corruption, hence, a zero tolerance for it when he becomes president.

However, all corruption indices have proven otherwise since the NPP assumed office in 2017.

Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) has seen Ghana performing poorly on ameliorating the canker by placing 40th, 41st and 41st in the first three years of the Akufo-Addo rule..

On the final score card of the think tank’s IMANIFesto, IMANI scored the NPP government 43% on governance, corruption and accountability.

It states reasons such as the inappropriate support for the Office of the Special Prosecutor to execute its fully mandate, certain setbacks at the Ghana Audit Service, and Ghana’s performance on the CPI as part of reasons for the abysmal performance.

However, it cites the creation of the OSP, passage of the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill 2020, categorising corruption as a felony instead of a misdemeanour, as some gains for the NPP in its corruption fight.

Below is the full report on the three subsectors

GOVERNANCE, CORRUPTION & PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY (43%)

IMANI’s assessment of government’s performance in the areas of Governance, Corruption and Public accountability is a score of 43 percent. The administration was able to successfully implement a third of its campaign promises within its tenure. Key milestones made include the passage of the Right to Information (RTI) Bill and the setting up of the Office of the Special Prosecutor. Notable of the unfulfilled promises include the establishment of an interactive website for public reporting of corrupt practices per the Whistle Blower’s Act, 2006 (Act 720), the reformation of asset declaration laws, enactment of the Municipal Finance Bill, implementation of the Representation of The People’s Law, 1992 (PNDCL 284), among others.

IMANI estimates that Ghana loses over GHS3 billion every year to corruption, an amount which is about 300 percent of all the aid we receive in the same period. Particularly on corruption, the party made promises targeted at ensuring public accountability and rooting out corruption at all levels. The passage of the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill 2020 which categorizes the offence of corruption as a felony rather than a misdemeanour is a significant achievement by the NPP.3 The party also promised to ensure the implementation of the recommendations of the Auditor-General and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament. Evidenced by the national budget statements, Government has stepped up its consideration of the PAC recommendation in the past two years and retrieved a total of GHS97.2 million between 2018 and 2019.

The promise to supporting and providing all institutions whose mandates cover anti-corruption with enhanced financial resources to investigate and educate against corruption was largely met. Significant financial commitments were made to agencies with the mandates to combat corruption. The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), Ministry of Justice and Attorney General’s Department, for instance, have seen nominal increments in budget allocation in the past 3 years.

Shortages of the government

On the other hand, while the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) received parliamentary budget approvals of GHC180 million in 2019 and GHc188million in 2020, only GHS 28.8 million was released by the Finance Minister . Currently, the OSP Office has limited office space, lacks the needed human resources and a seeming personal commitment to successfully prosecute corrupt officials. Though the establishment of the OSP was touted to be a major anti-corruption effort, there has not been commensurate cost savings by the office to the country as yet.

Similarly, the Ghana Audit Service which though has received adequate financial support from government has faced major set-backs. Notable is the directive from the President to the Auditor General to compulsorily go on his accumulated leave of 123 days in the midst of audits on sensitive financial matters like the US$ 1 million Kroll Deal, which was approved a day after his leave.

More, Government transactions such as the Agyapa deal, PDS contract, Ameri deal, and KelniGVG contract, among others has raised public concerns about the political commitment of central government and the effectiveness of independent anti-corruption agencies in dealing with corruption. Very worryingly, there has not been any concrete measure by Government to block weaknesses in the procurement system. These altogether may have led to Ghana’s failure to improve its position on international corruption indices such as the Corruption Perception Index
(CPI) ranking of 40th, 41st and 41st in 2017, 2018, and 2019 respectively.