By Yussif Ibrahim, GNA
Kumasi, Aug. 20, GNA – Financial irregularities within Ghana’s public boards, corporations and statutory institutions surged by 109.3 per cent in 2024, rising from GH¢8.8 billion to GH¢18.4 billion, according to the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition’s (GACC) State of Corruption Report, 2025.
The report, which draws on the Auditor-General’s report for the period under review, described the sharp increase as a signal of weak expenditure controls across public institutions, warning that the resources involved, if effectively managed, could have been channelled into critical social and economic development interventions.
While irregularities within public boards and statutory institutions rose steeply, the report noted a different trend among Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and District Assemblies.
Irregularities within MDAs fell by 14.6 per cent, from GH¢2.4 billion in 2023 to more than GH¢2 billion in 2024, while District Assemblies recorded a 14.9 per cent decline over the same period, from GH¢22.2 million to GH¢18.9 million.
Despite the declines at the MDA and district levels, the report noted a sharp rise in cash, outstanding debtor and loan recoverables, payroll, procurement and rent-related irregularities within MDAs, describing the trend as alarming and pointing to the need for enhanced accountability and internal controls.
In total, irregularities across public boards, MDAs and District Assemblies amounted to more than GH¢20.4 billion during the year under review.
The report attributed the recurring nature of the irregularities to weak enforcement, noting that although state institutions had the necessary administrative and internal control systems to prevent financial leakages, the systems had proven ineffective because public officials had found ways to circumvent the rules without facing consequences.
It called for a multifaceted approach to addressing the problem, stressing the need for stronger oversight and enforcement mechanisms in public procurement and contract management, particularly within public boards and statutory institutions, where the most significant increases were recorded.
The report situated the audit findings within a broader picture of stagnating anti-corruption performance.
Ghana scored 42 out of 100 points on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in 2024 and dropped 10 places in the global rankings, from 70th to 80th, a regression to its 2018 position.
It also cited the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which showed that Ghana’s anti-corruption mechanisms score fell from 62 in 2014 to 46 in 2023, with the sharpest declines recorded in anti-corruption investigations and independent appointments to anti-corruption bodies, both of which dropped 25 points over the period.
Findings from the Ghana Statistical Service’s Governance Series further showed that 14.3 per cent of Ghanaians reported giving gifts to public officials to access services in 2025, with the Ghana Police Service, MMDAs, health facilities, the Passport Office and the DVLA ranking among the institutions most associated with bribery.
The report noted that 94.2 per cent of Ghanaians who experienced bribery did not report it, reflecting low trust in redress mechanisms.
The Afrobarometer survey, also referenced in the report, found that only 16 per cent of Ghanaians rated the government’s performance in fighting corruption as “fairly well” or “very well” in 2024, down sharply from 60 per cent in 2017.
It also found that the gap between citizens who felt safe reporting corruption and those who feared retaliation widened from 26 percentage points in 2017 to 46 percentage points in 2024.
GACC is, therefore, calling for stronger enforcement of existing anti-corruption laws, improved whistleblower protections and sustained political will to translate the country’s anti-corruption architecture into measurable results.
GNA
Edited by Kwabia Owusu-Mensah/Audrey Dekalu
Reporter: Yussif Ibrahim
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