Ghana drops 3 places in CPI but 58% of Ghanaians trust President

• Posted on December 5, 2019December 5, 2019
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Despite Ghana dropping three places in Transparency International’s 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), a significant 58% of Ghanaians say they President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Ghana ranked 78th out of 180 countries, three places below its 2017 position.   

Only 37% trust opposition political parties
Ahead of next year’s polls, only 37% of Ghanaians trust opposition political parties.
49% trust NPP
A new Afrobarometer study shows that 49% of Ghanaians trust New Patriotic Party (NPP).
2,400 respondents interviewed between 16 September and October 3, 2019
The Afrobarometer team in Ghana, led by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), interviewed 2,400 adult Ghanaians between 16 September and 3 October 2019
Corruption is 8th most important problem for Ghanaians
The report showed that corruption is the 8th most important problem that Ghanaians want government to address (cited by 10%).
53% of Ghanaians say corruption has risen in 2018
According to the report, 53% of Ghanaians said the level of corruption in the country has risen in 2018, a 17 percentage-point increase compared to 2017.
Compared to 2017, there has been a 27-percentage-point decline in the approval rating of government’s performance in fighting corruption, the report revealed.
Most widely perceived as corrupt
Among key public officials in Ghana, the report cited the police, judges and magistrates, Members of Parliament (MPc), civil servants, and tax officials as most widely perceived as corrupt.
Police is most corrupt
The police are the institution that the largest number of citizens report bribing to access services.
Among those who had contact with key public services during the previous year, four in 10 say they paid a bribe to avoid problems with the police (42%) or to obtain police assistance (39%).
But, perceived corruption among the police has declined slightly compared to 2017.
Most trusted public institutions
The Afrobarometer said the Army, religious leaders, and the presidency are the most trusted public institutions (by 72%, 63%, and 58% who say they trust them “somewhat” or “a lot”).
 Least trusted public institutions
According to the report, opposition political parties (37%), local government officials (38%), and tax officials (39%) are least trusted.   
6 in 10 Ghanaians retaliation if they report corruption
According to the report, six in 10 Ghanaians believe they risk retaliation or other negative consequences if they report incidents of corruption.
34% not afraid of reporting corruption
Only one-third (34%) say they can report corruption without fear of retaliation.  
Compared to 2017, there has been a 27-percentage-point drop in popular approval ratings of the government’s performance in fighting corruption – a dramatic reversal of earlier gains, the report said.
40% say govt is doing good job in fighting corruption
According to the report, 40% of Ghanaians said the government is doing a “fairly” or “very” good job.
It said compared to 2017, popular trust in the president, Parliament, and courts has declined by more than 10 percentage points.
Young, poor, and highly educated citizens are more likely to think government is performing badly in fighting corruption.
Afrobarometer conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with nationally representative samples.