News24 | Ghana: Uncertainty over new anti-corruption plan

Ghana has launched its new National Ethics and Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NEACAP), with Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama pledging to strengthen accountability, ethical leadership and public participation in government institutions in the fight against corruption.

Unveiling the five-year strategy at the University of Ghana in Accra last week, Mahama described corruption in the country as “a national development challenge” that weakens institutions, discourages investment and erodes public trust.

The leader called for collective effort involving government, civil society, the private sector and citizens, saying the fight against corruption requires the participation of all Ghanaians.

Often regarded as one of West Africa’s most stable democracies, Ghana has enjoyed decades of relatively peaceful elections and democratic transfers of power.

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Yet corruption continues to undermine public confidence across the nation, weakening public service delivery and discouraging investment.

The new action plan seeks to change this by improving coordination among anti-corruption institutions, strengthening oversight, promoting ethical leadership across the public sector and increasing citizen participation in accountability efforts.

It will replace Ghana’s previous National Anti-Corruption Action Plan, which had widely been criticised for falling short of its objectives as its implementation remained inconsistent despite an extensive legal and institutional framework.

The launch comes as Ghana continues to make only modest progress in international corruption rankings.

According to the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by Transparency International, Ghana scored 43 out of 100, ranking 76th globally while remaining above the sub-Saharan African regional average.

The country continues to trail behind African leaders such as the Seychelles, Cabo Verde and Botswana.

Transparency International Ghana says the country’s performance has stagnated because of weak enforcement of anti-corruption laws, political interference and insufficient institutional reforms.

Analysts like Mary Awelana Addah, executive director of Transparency International Ghana, agree the country’s problems are not based on a lack of anti-corruption institutions, but rather on ensuring that these mechanisms are able to operate independently and effectively.

“The corruption problem in Ghana is a very large one. It’s been very costly to the state. It is endemic and systemic in nature,” Addah tol