Chief of Staff Julius Debrah Charges New Working Group to Tackle and Combat Pervasive Corruption

Chief of Staff Julius Debrah has officially launched a high-powered working group tasked with crafting a comprehensive National Anti-Corruption Strategy to tackle the pervasive scourge of corruption in Ghana’s public and private sectors.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony at the Presidency in Accra, Mr. Debrah emphasized that the renewed effort is a prove to President John Dramani Mahama’s unrelenting commitment to fostering transparency and accountability during his current term.

Highlighting the achievements of the previous National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP), Mr. Debrah noted that it had successfully heightened public awareness of corruption and reporting mechanisms, digitized financial services, streamlined port operations, and established the Financial Stability Council – a feat that has positioned Ghana as only the second sub-Saharan country, after Mauritius, to achieve this milestone.

However, Mr. Debrah expressed concern over Ghana’s declining performance on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which has dropped from 48% in 2014 to 42% in 2024.

“We must reverse this trend,” Mr. Debrah stressed, “and this group is tasked with ensuring that the new strategy achieves precisely that, in line with President Mahama’s pledge to Ghanaians.”

Mr. Debrah advocated for a more sophisticated approach to combating corruption, one that leverages technology, robust legislation, institutional independence, and unwavering political will.

He also urged the group to rethink certain elements of the previous NACAP to yield more meaningful and sustainable outcomes.

“Ethics must be a cornerstone of the next strategy,” he emphasized, “because corruption is, first and foremost, a moral issue. We need a strategy that delivers a paradigm shift to the system.”

The new strategy will be coordinated by the Office of the Presidential Advisor on the National Anti-Corruption Programme (PANACP), in close collaboration with the Deputy Chief of Staff (Administration) and key agencies such as the Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). Prof. Francis Dodoo, Presidential Advisor on PANACP, described the new strategy as a decisive step by the Mahama administration to eradicate corruption, fortify integrity, and entrench ethical governance nationwide.

Mr. Debrah concluded by expressing confidence in the technical team assembled and set a deadline of August 31, 2025, for the submission of the draft strategy.