IMF Cites Financial Neglect, Political Intrusion as Key Obstacles to Ghana’s Anti-Corruption Reforms
Ghana’s capacity to curb corruption is being “gravely undermined” by persistent financial shortfalls affecting its principal accountability bodies, according to the IMF’s 2025 Governance Diagnostic Report, which cautions that the nation’s anti-corruption framework is nearing institutional exhaustion.
The assessment, carried out in September 2023, reveals that core agencies — including the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) — frequently receive less than half of the funding approved for them by Parliament.
Consequently, the institutions charged with probing graft, prosecuting financial offences, protecting public finances and defending whistleblowers are functioning without the essential resources required to operate effectively.
Although annual allocations are sanctioned through the national budget, the IMF notes that actual disbursements from the Ministry of Finance fall drastically short, leaving agencies unable to hire personnel, sustain complex investigations, modernise equipment or pursue specialised prosecutions.
The OSP — created to spearhead high-stakes corruption cases — is still required to seek formal “clearance” from the Ministry of Finance before recruiting or compensating its own staff, a situation the IMF describes as inconsistent with institutional independence.
Beyond the chronic financing deficit, the report stresses that Ghana’s anti-corruption system remains structurally fragile, characterising it as “disjointed, duplicative and susceptible to political interference,” which exacerbates the vulnerabilities created by inadequate funding.
The IMF highlights significant overlaps in authority among the OSP, EOCO and CHRAJ — three bodies that investigate similar corruption-related infractions but lack well-defined coordination mechanisms.
This duplication, the report argues, breeds confusion, prolongs case timelines and opens space for political manipulation through institutional loopholes.
The Attorney-General’s constitutional control over all prosecutions further compromises the autonomy of EOCO and the OSP, rendering their prosecutorial independence largely nominal. The IMF cites recent incidents — including the resignation of the inaugural Special Prosecutor and the controversial removal of the Auditor-General — as illustrations of sustained political pressure.
While Ghana has made commendable progress in digital reforms, transparency measures and strengthened procurement regulations, the IMF concludes that these advancements are eclipsed by entrenched structural deficiencies. The nation’s anti-corruption agencies lack the independence, resources and legal clarity necessary to enforce the very statutes designed to combat graft.
Absent bold reforms — such as protected financing, clearer mandates and insulation from political influence — the report warns that corruption will continue to sap public revenue, erode investor confidence and obstruct Ghana’s economic recovery.
Source: William Narh