The Ghana Statistical Service’s Governance Series Wave 2 has revealed a decline in bribery in Ghana.
However, informal payments continue to impose significant costs on businesses.
The report indicates that direct bribery decreased from 18.4% to 14.3%, while voluntary or appreciation payments nearly doubled to 32.9%.
Requests for unofficial payments from public officials also fell sharply, from 51.3% to 38.6%, according to the report.
For the private sector, while the likelihood of being explicitly asked for a bribe appears to be falling, businesses continue to face informal expectations that services will be expedited if “something small” is offered.
These payments, often modest, with more than half below GH¢100, remain frequent and recurring, typically occurring in areas where businesses interact most with state agencies, such as licensing, inspections, utility services, and other administrative processes.
As a result, firms still face hidden costs in routine compliance, even when overt bribery is not involved.
According to the report, such informal transactions undermine predictability in service delivery.
The report further states that because these payments are discretionary and unofficial, businesses struggle to anticipate how long approvals will take or how consistent administrative processes will be, leading to delays, inconsistent standards, and opaque operational costs.
Although each payment may be small, their cumulative impact, especially for firms engaging regularly with regulators, is substantial.
By: Rainbowradioonmine.com/Ghana
