RESULTS OF TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL SURVEY ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ACCRA 001505

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE PLEASE PASS FOR TREASURY LUKAS KOHLER
USTR FOR LAURIE-ANN AGAMA
COMMERCE FOR MARIA RIVERO
MCC FOR ROD NORMAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON GH PGOV PHUM SOCI
SUBJECT: RESULTS OF TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL SURVEY ON
CORRUPTION IN GHANA

REF: ACCRA 1386


1. (U) Summary: On July 19, the local chapter of
Transparency International released a public opinion poll on
perceptions of corruption in Ghana. The survey, while
limited to three urban areas in the south, indicated that
most people view corruption as pervasive and getting worse,
although they express a high tolerance for it, and are not
overly concerned. The police, the Ministry of Education, and
the customs service are perceived to be most corrupt. Half
of those surveyed thought the government was committed to
fighting corruption. End summary.


2. (U) On July 19, the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII),
the local chapter of Transparency International, held a press
conference to release the results of its March 10-26 public
opinion survey on perceptions of corruption in urban
households. The survey was based on 900 interviews of a
representative sample of households in the three main cities
in southern Ghana: Accra-Tema, Takoradi-Sekondi, and Kumasi.


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Pervasive Corruption
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3. (U) The survey revealed a strong perception of
significant corruption in Ghana. Ninety-two percent of
respondents consider corruption a serious problem in Ghana,
with around 60% stating that corruption is getting worse.
Respondents attributed corruption primarily to low income and
poverty. Almost 70% of respondents had been involved in
bribery or corruption, mostly as victims. Two thirds said
they had experienced corruption within the past year, with
the same number reporting having witnessed incidents of
bribery or corruption (20% said they see bribery on a daily
basis). Roughly 50% said they occasionally experienced
bribery in their day-to-day activity, while 33% said it was
"very frequent". In one of the most interesting findings,
76% said they readily accepted the offer of a bribe, while
17% said they rejected the offer of bribes. And 88% reported
that they are normally unconcerned when they witness
incidents of bribery or corruption.

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Police and Ministry of Education Seen as Most Corrupt
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4. (U) When asked which institutions they perceived to be
highly affected by corruption, 77% put the police at the top
of their list, 31% said the Ministry of Education, and 31%
said the Customs and Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS).
Around sixteen percent cited the judicial service, civil
service and Ministry of Health. The lowest (best) scores of
the ten institutions cited in this study were politicians
(9%),and the Electricity Company, the Internal Revenue
Service, and the Ghana Immigration Service (which each scored
around 5%). One third of respondents said "most" civil
servants are involved in corruption. Over half thought
government contracts are awarded on the basis of party
loyalty, backdoor deals, nepotism, and/or ethnicity.


5. (U) The GOG got mixed reviews in its efforts to tackle
corruption, with 51% of those surveyed saying the government
is committed to the fight against bribery and corruption.
Although the police are perceived to be the worst offenders,
most of those surveyed said they rely most on the police
service to combat corruption.

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What To Do About It?
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6. (U) Respondents offered a variety of ideas to tackle
corruption. Most were economic: increase the pay of
government employees and reduce poverty in the country. They
also argued for stronger anti-corruption laws, stiffer prison
terms, and stronger education efforts to change values which
tolerate corruption. In its presentation of the report,
Ghana Integrity Initiative Executive Director Daniel Batidam
recommended the adoption of a Code of Conduct for public
servants and cited the need for more civic education. He
hoped the GOG's anti-corruption entities could be given
prosecutorial powers and called for passage of Whistle Blower
and Freedom of Information Act bills which have been
languishing in parliament.

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Comment
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7. (SBU) The study does not provide a basis to compare
corruption perceptions over time or with other countries.
However, it makes a compelling case that corruption in Ghana
is perceived as pervasive and widely tolerated. The GII
survey reinforced the results of a broader opinion poll
released on July 6, the Center for Democratic Development
(CDD)'s "Afrobarometer", which reported the perception that
corruption in Ghana is increasing (reftel).


8. (SBU) While the police were perceived to be most corrupt
in both surveys, we were somewhat surprised with the GII's
finding that the Ministry of Education was perceived to be
the second most corrupt institution in Ghana. This may
reflect in part some high profile exam cheating incidents and
teacher corruption which rocked higher education in the
Spring. In addition, the education sector has one of the
biggest budgets in the GOG, with significant construction and
procurement providing opportunities for corruption. Press
reports over the past year have noted petty corruption in
school admissions, and large numbers of ghost names
discovered on the education payroll for teachers and teaching
staff. All of these may have impacted perceptions about the
sector. GII contacts told PolChief that they are not totally
surprised by this result but could not explain it fully.


9. (SBU) Clearly more work needs to be done in increasing
the awareness of the need to fight corruption (many of the
media questions at the press conference were also
ill-informed) and in strengthening anti-corruption laws and
institutions. Nonetheless, we are impressed by the apparent
willingness of respondents to answer honestly about their own
participation in petty bribery. Almost 20% of respondents
said they refuse bribes and over half believe the government
is serious about fighting corruption. When asked whether
ministers, parliamentarians, civil servants or municipal
officials are involved in corruption, thirty percent of
respondents thought "few" were involved, while forty percent
said they did not know.


10. (SBU) It was also encouraging that the Minister of
Finance sent a number of senior ministry officials to the
press conference with the stated purpose of highlighting the
GOG's commitment to fighting corruption. Even if their
comments were not altogether convincing. For example,
Commissioner of CEPS General Baiden said no one is going to
stop corruption", remarking that if corruption were so bad at
CEPS, why did so many people seek employment there (because
of corruption opportunities, others responded -- a conclusion
he was unwilling to accept.)


11. (SBU) The kind of open discussion and extensive media
coverage given this report was also positive. While some in
the media tell us they feel government pressure not to report
on incidents of corruption, the fact is that there is
extensive coverage of corruption issues in the press. The
directors of both GII and CDD have told PolChief they do not
feel threatened or pressured by the government because of
their outspoken stance on corruption. Corruption does not
now seem to be so great a threat that it is significantly
impacting the stability of Ghana's democracy, although the
general tolerance of corruption among average Ghanaians is
worrisome. However, government corruption is a frequent
complaint of businessmen (including American businessmen) and
it is undermining the investment climate and the effective
use of economic resources.










LANIER