An Assessment of National of National Anti-corruption Institution in Africa: A Case Study of Ghana

Abstract

Corruption in Africa has been highly debated mainly due to the fact that it has become cancerous affecting societies and affecting people from diverse background. Globally, the mid-1990’s paved way for new international attention to corruption. Among these international attention was the establishment of transparency international (TI) an NGO founded in 1993, to publish an influential perceptions Index. The United Nations (UN) and African union (AU) both has a convention against corruption which sets out a comprehensive agenda for combating corruption in the public and private sector. This gave rise to the establishment of anti corruption institutions in Africa. In Ghana, the 1992 constitution under the fourth republic which came into effect on the 7th of January 1993 made provision for anti corruption institutions. The study assesses national anti-corruption commissions in Ghana looking at their successes and challenges especially issues that hinders their effectiveness and also making relevant comparisons to the legal and institutional frameworks in other African countries and finally give practical recommendations on these issues to these anti-corruption commissions. The study was informed by Klitgaard model on corruption which states that corruption in Africa lies deep in bureaucratic and political institutions and tend to flourish were institutions are weak and government policies generates rent .In addition, the study looks at the various anti-corruption institutions in Ghana. The data was collected through interviews, questionnaires and focus group discussions and methodically analysed mainly through thematic analysis. The research found out that there are endogenous and exogenous factors affecting the effectiveness of national anti-corruption commissions in Ghana and if these factors are not checked, anti-corruption institutions will keep failing when it comes to effective delivery. The study went on to propose recommendations based on the findings of the study on measures that are necessary to ensure the effectiveness of anti-corruption institutions in Ghana as they work to create zero tolerance against corruption nationwide.