GSS moves to improve fight against corruption
IN a major effort to assess and improve its fight against corruption, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) is coordinating an independent final evaluation of the Ghana National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP), a framework that has guided the country’s anti-corruption efforts since 2015.
The evaluation, which will run through to 2024, is a critical step in measuring the success and impact of the first NACAP, ahead of the development of a second action plan slated for 2025 to 2034.
This comprehensive assessment is part of Ghana’s broader initiative to combat corruption across all sectors of the economy. The evaluation is being carried out by national consultants with technical support from the Independent Evaluation Section (IES) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
It targets a wide range of stakeholders, including the Executive, Parliament, Judiciary, Public Sector Institutions, Law Enforcement Agencies, and civil society organizations (CSOs), ensuring an inclusive and holistic review.
Strategic Objectives of NACAP
The NACAP initiative has four core objectives:
- Building public capacity to condemn and fight corruption, while making corruption a high-risk, low-gain activity.
- Institutionalizing efficiency, accountability, and transparency in the public, private, and non-profit sectors.
- Engaging individuals, media, and CSOs in reporting and combating corruption.
- Conducting effective investigations and prosecutions of corrupt activities.
The High-Level Implementation Committee (HiLIC) and the Monitoring Committee (Monicom) are responsible for overseeing the implementation of NACAP, with the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) playing a key coordinating role. CHRAJ collaborates with various implementing partners to ensure that the program meets its objectives.
Evaluation Approach and Process
The evaluation will measure NACAP’s success in achieving its strategic goals, assessing its impact, effectiveness, and sustainability. By examining the progress made since 2015, the evaluation will identify strengths, challenges, and areas requiring improvement.
Various methods, including document reviews, surveys, questionnaires, and in-depth interviews, will be used to gather insights from the diverse range of NACAP stakeholders.
Since the launch of the evaluation by the President of Ghana during the 2023 International Anti-Corruption Day, NACAP’s implementing institutions have been engaged through a series of interviews, offering firsthand perspectives on the challenges and successes of the action plan.
The Ghana Statistical Service, as the lead agency for the evaluation, has been given the mandate to ensure impartiality, bolstered by the involvement of national consultants from academia and quality assurance by the UNODC. This ensures that the evaluation adheres to international best practices, reinforcing the credibility and independence of the findings.
Preparing for NACAP 2.0
The results of this independent evaluation will play a crucial role in shaping NACAP 2.0, which will guide Ghana’s anti-corruption strategies from 2025 to 2034. The evaluation will help design more effective approaches to resource utilization, learning, and accountability, with a focus on improving transparency and integrity in governance and across sectors.
The second NACAP will incorporate feedback from the public, government, private sector, media, and CSOs, aiming to build on the lessons learned from the first NACAP. GSS has called on all citizens to participate in the evaluation process, encouraging openness and honesty in responses to ensure the next phase of anti-corruption efforts reflects the will and needs of the population.
As Ghana moves forward in its fight against corruption, the ongoing evaluation of NACAP is a significant step in ensuring that future strategies are well-informed and targeted.
By engaging stakeholders at all levels and ensuring transparency in the evaluation process, Ghana is laying the foundation for more robust, sustainable anti-corruption measures in the years to come. With the evaluation results set to inform NACAP 2.0, Ghana’s renewed focus on integrity, transparency, and accountability will be key to strengthening the economy and governance.
