Individual Corruption

Many citizens identify the process of obtaining licences and permits as corrupt, as illustrated by Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2010. Citizens sometimes report either offering or being required to pay a bribe in connection with obtaining permits, medical services, getting connected to public utilities, or dealing with the education system.

Business Corruption

The US Department of State 2011 notes that low-level government employees have been known to ask for a 'dash' (tip) in return for facilitating licence and permit applications. According to the same source, the government has committed itself to ensuring that public officials do not abuse their positions to demand bribes. However, companies applying for licences and permits are frequently confronted with demands for facilitation payments.

Another area for corrupt practices is business inspections conducted by government officials. Global Integrity 2009 reports that, in practice, business inspections by government officials to ensure public health and safety standards are often carried out in an arbitrary and ad-hoc manner, and bribes are paid by companies in return for favourable treatment or expedited processing.

Political Corruption

The Government of Ghana has publicly ensured that public officials do not abuse their positions of trust to enrich themselves. Richard Anane resigned his post as Minister of Roads and Transport in October 2006 after he was found guilty of conflict of interest, perjury and abuse of power in September that same year by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). The CHRAJ judgements were quashed by the High Court, leading the CHRAJ to file an appeal with the Supreme Court, which it lost, as reported by Daily Graphic in an October 2007 article. Anane was subsequently absolved of corruption charges on technical grounds and was reappointed Minister of Roads and Transport by former President Kufuor in March 2008, although not without criticism.

Frequency

The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2011:
- Starting a company requires the entrepreneur to go through 7 procedures, taking 12 days and costing slightly more than 20% of income per capita.

- Building a warehouse in Ghana requires a company to go through 18 administrative steps, which take an average of 220 days at a cost of approximately 1,017% of per capita income.

- It takes an average of 1.9 years to close a business at a cost of 22% of the estate.

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011:
- Business executives give government administrative requirements (permits, regulations, reporting) in Ghana a score of 3.5 on a 7-point scale (1 'extremely burdensome' and 7 'not burdensome at all').

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010:
- 24.2% of households who had contact with registry and permit services in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

- 19.7% of households who had contact with education system in 2009 report having paid a bribe.

- 10.5% of households who had contact with medical services in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

- 10.7% of households who had contact with utilities authorities in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

Transparency International: Bribe Payers Index 2008
- The interviewed business executives perceived the registry and permit service to be one of the most corrupt among a number of institutions and assigned it a score of 4.1 on a 5-point scale (1 being 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt').

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2007:
- 5% of companies indicate business licences and permits as a major constraint to doing business.

- Senior management can expect to spend an average of nearly 4% of its time dealing with the requirements of government regulations.

- Nearly 39% of companies surveyed report that they expect to make informal payments to public officials to get things done.

- 23% of companies expected to pay gifts in order to get an operating licence.

- 48% of companies expected to pay gifts in order to get a construction permit.

- Slightly more than 32% of companies surveyed expect to give gifts to obtain an electrical connection, 16% for a telephone connection and nearly 32% for a water connection.