Draft National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP) Regional Consultations

1. Draft National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP) Regional Consultations

2. Objective of today’s session • To create awareness about NACAP • To elicit perspectives on key issues to be addressed in the NACAP • To elicit your views on what should be included in the NACAP and your role

3. The process • Semi-structured interviews, focus groups discussions and workshops with representatives from Government, civil society, Parliament and private sector • Consultations in Accra and in 36 districts • Gap analysis and recommendations developed • Consultation with Parliamentarians • Consultations led by CHRAJ in 10 regions • Submission of NACAP to Parliament end of April 2011

4. The concept of corruption in Ghana Corruption is understood broadly in Ghana: Chop Chop, greasing the palm, percentage system, under-invoicing, over-invoicing, conflict of interest, absentism, ghost names on payrolls, misapplication of funds, shoddy work, favoritism, ineffective and inefficient structures leading to excessive use of discretional powers, misuse of time, collusion

5. Corruption in Ghana Surveys have revealed that Ghana is perceived by its citizens as a very corrupt country: The most recent survey (TI 2009) showed that 42% of all households in Ghana paid a bribe in the last year: • to the police by 63% • to the judiciary by 44% • to get register and permits by 32% • to land services by 29% • to education authorities by 20%

6. Corruption in Ghana World Bank 2007 Enterprise Survey: • 39% of firms expected to pay informal payments to public officials (to get things done), 23% of firms expected to give gifts to get an operating licence, 18% of firms expected to give gifts in meetings with tax officials and 61% of firms expected to give gifts to secure a government contract

7. Corruption in Ghana Ghana Audit Service and the Public Accounts Committee have drawn attention to widespread occurrences of misappropriations including unauthorized payment, waste, misuse and gross mismanagement of funds in public administration in their annual reports.

8. On the positive side Ghana: • is on its way to become a well functioning democratic nation • has made significant progress in achieving a system of good governance compared to its neighbours • has laid foundations for a legislative and institutional framework to combat corruption • has a vibrant and dynamic civil society and media • has a Parliament that is becoming increasingly effective as an oversight body

9. There are however still challenges • Missing and ineffective or poorly performing legislation • Inadequate implementation of legislation • Limited compliance with existing legislation • Inadequate sanction regime • Under resourced anti corruption institutions and limited collaboration

10. Challenges cont. • Weak reporting and follow up system • Public apathy to the fight against corruption • Weak civil society influence on Government • Private sector fuels corruption

11. Vision and purpose of NACAP • The vision: to contribute to a democratic and prosperous Ghana built on good governance, ethics and integrity • The purpose: to implement strategies aimed at reducing and ultimately eradicating corruption in all sectors and by all citizens

12. Strategic Objectives for the NACAP • A society where corruption is strongly condemned • Efficient, accountable and transparent public, private and not-for profit institutions • Engagement of individuals, civil society and the private sector in reporting and generally combating corruption • An enabling environment for effective investigation and prosecution of corrupt conducts

13. Macro-Issues Institution building and reform Strengthening oversight Public awareness and education Prevention of corruption Creating an enabling environment Key elements of the Plan

14. Macro issues As part of Ghana’s commitments to transparent and accountable governance: • Ghana has ratified the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and African Union Convention Against Corruption (AUCAC) • The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness: Ghana having endorsed this Declaration, has committed itself to strengthening its public financial management system in exchange for DP using country systems • Ghana was the first country to be reviewed under the African Peer Review Mechanism

15. Macro-Issues Ghana has ambitions to become a middle-income country by 2020. In line with this ambition: • The strong growth in GDP nearly halved the poverty rate in Ghana from approximately 52.0% in the beginning of the 1990s to 28.6% in 2005/6. • At this rate, Ghana is poised to achieve the MDGof halving extreme poverty ahead of the 2015 time frame. In order for the NACAP to be successful these key macro-economic and political issues need to be understood and addressed.

16. Institution Building and Reform • Building and strengthening strong public and private institutions is an important component of good governance. • Poorly performing institutions result in declining quality of services, inadequate policy formulation, weak financial management, misallocation of resources and poor decision-making. • Measures to deal with this could include: fostering an environment of meritocracy; improving the working conditions of public servants; reviewing financial management practices

17. Strengthening Oversight • Watchdog and oversight bodies, including CHRAJ and Parliament, play a vital role in the fight against corruption and require strengthening in order to fulfil their mandate effectively. • This will need to be achieved by: • Providing adequate resources to enable them to achieve their mandate; • Reviewing legal frameworks to enhance operational environment; • Opening avenues for grassroots participation

18. Public Awareness and Education • The fight against corruption will bear little fruit without raising the awareness of the general public on the dangers of corruption and rights and responsibilities. • This will help to build intolerance towards corruption and encourage active participation of society. • To create this environment, the following strategies are recommended: • Civic and formal education on ethics and anti-corruption • Ensuring access to information; • Strengthening the monitoring role of civil society; • Strengthening investigative journalism. etc.

19. Prevention of Corruption • In order to prevent corruption it is necessary to: • eliminate loopholes in legal acts and fill in the gaps in operational procedures of public authorities as well as the other areas promoting the conditions for corruption; • Enforcing asset declaration; • Improving the financial accountability of ministries, departments and agencies, as well as local government; • Clarifying conflict of interest guidelines; • Publication of political party accounts. Etc.

20. Creating an Enabling Environment • The creation of an enabling environment to tackle corruption includes many of the elements mentioned previously particularly prevention, education, strengthening oversight etc. • To create an enabling environment, the priority actions would include: • Reviewing pertinent legislation to ensure they are adequate and effective; • Enforcing the Code of Conduct by ensuring that it is passed into legislation; • Continuous advocacy on transparency and advocacy in all sectors (possibly through the Ethics Desks in MDAs)

21. Timeframes • Short term 1-2 • Medium 3-5 • Long term 6-10

22. Role of Stakeholders For NACAP to work, all stakeholders need to work and collaborate together to achieve the needed results. • The stakeholders directly involved in this action plan include:

23. Discussion