Support reforms in party, campaign financing - Coalition urges govt

The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) has urged the government to support reforms in political party and campaign financing.

It also called for the development of a framework to curtail incumbency abuse.

The coalition made the call at the launch of the GACC's 2024 State of Corruption Report, which assesses the country's performance on key corruption indices, actions by state accountability institutions and efforts by non-state sector actors.

The launch took place last Sunday, June 8, 2025.

"Events around the 2024 general election and the manner of campaign spending make it imperative for reforms to be carried out in political party and campaign financing as well as developing a framework," it said.

"The government should lend its support to the efforts commenced by some civil society organisations toward the development of legislation to address party and campaign finance issues," the report stated.

Public confidence

To restore public confidence in the fight against corruption, the GACC recommended that the President and his appointees prioritise measures that demonstrate their commitment to fighting corruption.

"One way to demonstrate this is to lead by example and refrain from profligacy while applying sanctions to appointees who fall foul of the law and codes of conduct," the report stated.

The GACC noted that "the existing disclosure framework is neither prohibitory nor binding enough to instil a high sense of good conduct and integrity among public officials."

To address this, the GACC called for the prudent review and passage of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers Bill. 

"The political leadership must also demonstrate that there is a personal price to pay for corruption by speeding up the investigation and prosecution of corruption cases as well as the recovery of proceeds of corruption," the report emphasised.

Radical approach

The coalition urged the government to adopt a more radical approach in the fight against corruption, citing marginal progress in 2024.

"We need to be more radical in our efforts to achieve results in the short term if Ghana is to make a substantial impact in the fight against corruption," the GACC stated in the report.

The report noted that public approval ratings of the government's efforts at fighting corruption have waned, according to the Afrobarometer (Round 10, 2024) survey results.

Background

The production of the 2024 report was supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and it built on the maiden report of 2023.

It highlighted election-related corruption, misuse of public funds, and financial irregularities that continue to challenge the country's development.

It drew data from the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), Afrobarometer and key accountability institutions, including both state actors (such as the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the Auditor-General) and non-state actors (such as CDD, ACEP and the media).

The report provides evidence-based analysis and proposes strategies for meaningful reform.