CPI shows that interventions to fight against corruption are bearing results – Information Minister

Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has said the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released by Transparency International (TI) does not indicate that government is failing to make progress in its fight against corruption.

According to Transparency International, Ghana failed to make progress in the fight against corruption in 2021 as the score of 43 is the same as the country’s 2020 score.

“Ghana’s current performance is still below 50, which is the expected average and thus leaves much to be desired,” it added.

But reacting to this, Mr Oppong Nkrumah noted that government, upon assuming power, has worked to improve its ranking by 3 points.

He explained that in the years 2019 and 2021, per the CPI, the country did not see a regression or progression in its corruption fight.

He, therefore, noted that such a government cannot be described as one failing to nip corruption in the bud.

“A government that has gone up 3 points since assuming power on the Corruption Perception Index is the one that is failing? That will be counterintuitive.

If you look at the data, from 2018 to 2020, Ghana has gone up three points. In 2019 and 2021, there was no change. Ghana did not get worse; Ghana did not get better. But from 2017 till now, the evidence is that when Ghanaians are sampled consecutively on about two different occasions and adding 3 points upwards, Ghanaians believe that we are doing better in our fight against corruption. That is what the data says.”

Speaking with JoyNews‘ Kwesi Parker-Wilson on Tuesday, the Minister noted the data instead proves that “the various interventions aimed at supporting the fight against corruption are bearing results.”

For him, this is to be expected as President Akufo-Akufo has made mention of the “the kind of investment that has been made in anti-corruption institutions, creating new institutions, funding them better.”

According to Mr Oppong Nkruamah, the data serves as feedback to the government since perception indices may not align with the facts.

“The feedback is that since 2017, Ghana has gone up about three points and we have to continue our efforts aimed at going up consistently.”

To reveal the accurate picture on the ground, the Ofoase-Ayirebi MP noted that Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) will be carrying out an empirical survey to ensure the fact aligns with the perception.

Ghana has been ranked 73^rd out of 180 countries in the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released today, with a score of 43 out of a total of 100. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the country placed 9^th with Senegal out of the 49 countries represented with a score of 43.