By Morkporkpor Anku
Accra, July 15, GNA-Dr Akwasi Opong-Fosu, Chair, Africa Global Emergence Centre, says corruption is corrosive and its consequences reach deep into every fabric of society.
It erodes trust in government and public service and distorts markets, deters investment, and stunts economic growth.
Dr Opong-Fosu was speaking at the Anti-Corruption Roudtable Forum Co-hosted by the Global Chamber of Commerce and the University of South Carolina Sonoco International Business Department.
The Forum was on the theme: “Towards a New Anti-Corruption Agenda: Lessons from Diverse Stakeholders in Africa and the West.”
The Virtual event brought together African and Western leaders from the public and private sectors, civil society, and academia to identify new issues and solutions to the persistent problem of corruption and its impact on African business.
Effective anti-corruption efforts in a rapidly changing world require a shared understanding of the changing nature of the problem and an openness to new solutions.
He said it also deepened inequality, as resources meant for the many were captured by the few and undermined security, enabling organised crime and political instability.
The Former Minister said when people lost faith in the fairness of a system, they disengaged and democracy faltered as a result.
Dr Opong-Fosu gave examples and some cases that illustrated how corruption manifested globally.
He said 1 Malaysia Development Berhard Scandal often referred to as 1MDB (Malaysia): Over $4 billion stolen from a state investment fund implicating international banks and political elites.
He said Panama and Pandora Papers exposed how the global elite used offshore structures to hide wealth and avoid taxes, while Oracle, ABB, Frank’s International each paid tens or hundreds of millions in penalties for bribery in emerging markets.
The Former Minister said Former President Nicolas Sarkozy (France) was on trial for allegedly receiving illicit campaign financing and the U.S. Senator Bob Menendez was recently sentenced to 11 years for corruption and bribery.
He said these cases showed that corruption was not a uniquely African problem but it was global, embedded in both public and private sectors.
“It will be disingenuous to critique international corruption and ignore our own house. Ghana, too, faces a crisis of accountability,” he added.
He said Ghana lost a staggering amount to corruption annually.
According to Professor Isaac Boadi, Dean of the Faculty of Accounting and Finance at the University of Professional Studies, Ghana loses approximately 9.02 billion annually to corruption, tax evasion, smuggling, and systemic inefficiencies.
Dr Opong-Fosu said the amount was equivalent to six times the annual cost of the Free Senior High School programme and nearly five times the National Health Insurance Scheme’s budget allocation.
He said these examples cited across continents were not just isolated incidents but they were symptoms of systemic failures.
“Until we build institutions that demand and enforce accountability, these patterns will persist,” he said.
GNA
Christian Akorlie