Bribery, widely known form of corruption in Nadowli
Bribery, favouritism and illegal contribution have emerged as the most widely known forms of corruption among citizens in the Nadowli/Kaleo District of the Upper West Region.
Nepotism, abuse of discretion and paying facilitation fee are the least known forms of corruption among the people.
This was made known by a survey report on Citizens’ Knowledge, perceptions and experiences of corruption in the District under the Accountable Democratic Institutions and Systems Strengthening (ADISS) project.
It is being implemented by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition and SEND Ghana with funding support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Mr Mohammed-Tajudeen Abdulai, a SEND Ghana Field Officer in a presentation on the research findings at a stakeholders meeting in Nadwoli said over three-fourth of the respondents were of the view that corruption in the District had increased.
He noted that while there was perceived increase in the level of corruption in the area, 44 per cent of respondents were of the view that the District had not made any effort to fight the canker.
Twenty-nine per cent however acknowledged that there were some efforts being put into arresting the cancerous corrupt acts in the District while 27 per cent were not aware whether there had been any effort to fight the vice.
Mr Abdulai also pointed out that majority of respondents in the survey ranked the media as the most trusted institution to fight corruption followed by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, non-governmental organisations and officials of the District Assembly respectively.
The SEND Ghana Field Officer said respondents in the Nadowli/Kaleo District perceived the police as the top most corrupt institution followed by political parties, educational institutions, health institutions, judiciary and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority.
Mr Abdulai said the survey revealed that about 35 per cent of sampled residents of the District paid bribes to avoid problems with authorities whilst 34 per cent could not recollect the exact reasons.
“A fifth of the respondents however paid bribes to speed up the process,” he hinted.
He expressed worry that a significant percentage of 40.5 per cent of respondents were unwilling to report issues of corruption when they come across them.
Mr Bashiru Jumah, Regional Programme Officer of SEND Ghana said ADISS was being implemented in 50 districts across the 10 regions over the period of September 2014 to September 2018.
He said the purpose was to renew and build upon ongoing anti-corruption civil society organisations to motivate citizens to apply pressure on policy makers and institutions with the aim of reducing corruption in Ghana.
“This comes against the backdrop of a seeming low citizens’ drive in the fight against corruption,” Mr Jumah said.
Source: GNA