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General News on Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2019-01-29
Martin Amidu Appointed Special Prosecutor by President Akufo-Addo to Combat Corruption
The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) score for 2018 shows that Ghana's performance improved by one point compared to its 2017 score, which was 40.
"This score is a positive departure from the country's steady decline since 2015," said a statement from the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII).
The IPC 2018 scores a score of 41 out of 100 for Ghana and ranks the country out of 78 among the 180 countries included in the index.
The 2018 CPI used nine data sources out of thirteen (13) from independent institutions with high credibility to calculate the Ghana score.
Data sources include:
World Bank Country Policy and Institutional Assessment
World Economic Forum Leaders Opinion Poll
Global Insight Country Risk Ratings
Transformation index of the Bertelsmann Foundation
Political and Institutional Assessment of African Development Bank Countries
Global Justice Project Rule of Law Index Survey of Experts
The Country Risk Guide of the International Political Risk Service
Project Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem).
Read the full press release on IPC 2018 below.
PRESS RELEASE
CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX (CPI) – 2018
Accra, January 29, 2019 –
The 2018 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released this morning by Transparency International (TI) around the world marks and ranks 180 countries and territories according to the degree of corruption they perceive in the public sector . The 2018 CPI relies on 13 surveys and expert badessments to measure public sector corruption, badigning each country a score ranging from zero (very corrupt) to 100 (very own).
According to TI, the IPC 2018 reveals that the persistent inability of most countries to significantly control corruption contributes to a crisis of democracy in the world.
Global highlights
In this year's index, Denmark and New Zealand top the list with 88 and 87 points respectively. Somalia, South Sudan and Syria are at the bottom of the index, with 10, 13 and 13 points, respectively. The region with the highest score is Western Europe and the European Union, with an average score of 66, while the regions with the lowest score are sub-Saharan Africa (mean score 32), Eastern Europe and Central Asia (average score 35).
More than two-thirds of countries score below 50, with an average score of only 43. Since 2012, only 20 countries have significantly improved their scores, including Argentina and Cote d 'Ivoire, and 16 have fallen sharply, notably Australia and Chile. and in Malta.
Ghana Performance
The 2018 Consumer Price Index scores Ghana with a score of 41 on a no-fault score of 100 and ranks the country 78 out of 180 countries / territories included in this year's index. The 2018 CPI used nine (9) data sources out of thirteen (13) from independent institutions with high credibility to calculate the Ghana score. Data sources include:
World Bank Country Policy and Institutional Assessment
World Economic Forum Leaders Opinion Poll
Global Insight Country Risk Ratings
Transformation index of the Bertelsmann Foundation
Political and Institutional Assessment of African Development Bank Countries
Global Justice Project Rule of Law Index Survey of Experts
The Country Risk Guide of the International Political Risk Service
Project on Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem)
Country Risk Unit of Economist Intelligence Unit
The 2018 CPI score shows that Ghana's performance improved by 1 percentage point compared to its 2017 score, which was 40%. This score marks a positive departure from the country's steady decline since 2015.
The following are Ghana's CPI scores from 2012, when they became comparable – 2012 (45); 2013 (46); 2014 (48); 2015 (47), 2016 (43); 2017 (40) and 2018 (41).
Several factors, including the policies and initiatives of governments and state institutions implemented during the reporting period, may have contributed to this improvement.
Improving the performance of the audit department and the Auditor General in fulfilling their constitutional mandate and ensuring the protection of public funds could have had an impact on the CPI score. 2018. Clearance system for paperless ports as part of the Digital Inclusion Strategy and the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor to combat corruption and related crimes despite the growing challenges of the Office would have also impacted Ghana's CPI score for 2018. Ongoing reforms in the justice system, including efforts to promote high standards of integrity among judges, magistrates and judicial staff, as well as the online justice system, can not be ignored.
These links are important because they correspond to some of the indicators evaluated by the experts. For example, some of the surveys used to calculate the 2018 CPI focused on the extent to which the executive branch can be held accountable for the use of funds; the extent to which executive officials are accountable for the use of resources, administrative decisions and results achieved. These levels of accountability are reinforced by transparency in decision-making, public control institutions, timely access to relevant information, as well as public and media monitoring.
In other surveys, answers to corruption questions that it is common for companies to pay undocumented additional payments or bribes related to the following: imports and exports ; public services; annual tax payments; Procurement and licensing and obtaining favorable judicial decisions have been provided.
Ghana's performance vis-à-vis other countries in sub-Saharan Africa
It should be noted that although Ghana has performed better than 37 other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Benin 40, Swaziland 38, Gambia 37, Tanzania 36 and Ghana, the results have been below 9 others:
COUNTRIES 2018 CPI SCORE 2018 SSA RIK WORLD RANKING IPC 2018
Seychelles 66 1 28
Botswana 61 2 34
Cape Verde 57 3 45
Rwanda 56 4 48
Namibia 53 5 52
Mauritius 51 6 56
São Tomé and Príncipe 46 7 64
Senegal 45 8 67
South Africa 43 9 73
Burkina Faso 41 10 78
Ghana 41 10 78
Lesotho 41 10 78
In 2016, Burkina Faso and Lesotho were located below Ghana. In 2017, these two countries had better results than Ghana, but Ghana is now at par with them.
What needs to be done
According to Patricia Moreira, Executive Director of Transparency International (TI), "With many democratic institutions under threat around the world – often by authoritarian or populist leaders – we need to do more to strengthen control mechanisms and protect human rights. citizens" . To make real progress against corruption and strengthen democracy in the world, Transparency International calls on all governments to:
strengthen the institutions responsible for maintaining the balance of power over political power and guaranteeing their ability to function without intimidation;
bridge the gap between legislation, practices and anti-corruption implementation;
support civil society organizations that reinforce political commitment and public control of public spending, especially at the local level;
support free and independent media and ensure the safety of journalists and their ability to work without intimidation or harbadment.
Despite Ghana's performance, GII is of the view that the country could have achieved a better result if allegations of corruption during the reporting period were promptly investigated, prosecuted and the appropriate sanctions imposed on the perpetrators .
Specifically, GII recommends that:
The government needs to take a critical look at the elements that promote corruption in the public sector, including favoritism, nepotism, funding of secret political parties, suspicious links between politics and the business world, and so on. stakeholders in the different surveys used to calculate the CPI;
GII again urges Parliament to ensure that the Right to Information Bill (RTI) and the Bill on the Conduct of Public Officials become law as they are essential to promoting the transparency and integrity of the public sector necessary for the fight against terrorism. Corruption;
Finally, the government must adequately provide the necessary resources to enable state accountability institutions to effectively carry out their tasks and facilitate the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan ( NACAP), as well as creating a supportive environment ensuring the safety and security of the fight against corruption Crusaders, including civil society organizations and journalists.
The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) is the local arm of Transparency International (TI), the global civil society organization that has been leading the fight against corruption for 25 years.
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