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🇬🇭 Ghana /Crime & Justice

Ghana loses over US$3bn annually to corruption, NCCE

From Ghanaian Times · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Ghana loses over $3 billion annually to corruption, according to the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).
  • This lost revenue could be invested in critical areas like infrastructure, job creation, and essential services.
  • The NCCE urges youth to actively engage in fighting corruption and demanding accountability, rather than leaving it solely to state institutions.

Ghana is losing more than $3 billion each year due to corruption, a staggering figure that Deputy Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Samuel Asare Akuamoah, says could be better utilized for national development. He highlighted that these resources could instead fund much-needed infrastructure projects, create jobs, and improve essential services, addressing the country's high demand for development.

The resources lost through corruption could instead be invested in infrastructure, job creation and essential services, where the demand for development remained high.

— Samuel Asare AkuamoahMr. Akuamoah, Deputy Chairman of the NCCE, highlighting the economic impact of corruption in Ghana.

Akuamoah made these remarks at a Youth Leaders Empowerment Dialogue in Accra focused on civic engagement, the rule of law, and the fight against corruption. He emphasized that the scale of financial loss should motivate all Ghanaians, particularly the youth, to take the anti-corruption fight seriously. He stressed that the responsibility should not rest solely on state institutions.

Transparency International Ghana's Executive Director, Mary Addah, echoed these sentiments, challenging young leaders to spearhead the anti-corruption efforts. She expressed concern over Ghana's stagnant performance on the Corruption Perceptions Index between 2020 and 2024, viewing it as a worrying sign of insufficient progress. Addah noted that while Ghana possesses a strong legal and institutional framework, the challenge lies in consistently applying these principles in daily conduct.

Ghana could not afford to surrender to cynicism and impunity.

— Mary AddahMrs. Addah, Executive Director of Transparency International Ghana, urging action against corruption.

Both Akuamoah and Addah urged young people to move beyond passive participation in civic education programs. They encouraged them to become active champions of accountability, utilizing social media, community outreach, and educational clubs to disseminate accurate information, demand transparency, and engage public officials. The panelists stressed that public office is a responsibility to citizens, not a license for personal gain, and that integrity and selflessness are crucial in combating corruption.

Public office was a responsibility to citizens and not a licence to pursue personal interests.

— Mary AddahMrs. Addah emphasizing the ethical obligations of public officials.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Ghanaian Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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