The Upper East Regional Minister has called for the expansion of Ghana’s national corruption survey to explicitly track sexual exploitation in exchange for public services, arguing that current data on gifts and bribes fails to capture the full scope of corruption facing citizens.
Speaking at the release of the Ghana Statistical Service’s Governance Series Wave 2 Report during African Statistics Day commemorations, Donatus Akamugri Atanga urged statisticians to broaden their definition of “exchange of favors” to include what he termed “sexual incentives.”
“When people are looking for jobs, they go to people, they want to sleep with them. The men will say they want to sleep with the women before they offer them,” Mr. Atanga said, addressing the gathering in Bolgatanga. “Is that not true? Your back must see the ground before. I haven’t seen that one here [referring to the Governance Wave 2 Report].”
The minister’s remarks came after the presentation of Governance Wave 2 findings, which showed that 14.3 percent of Ghanaians gave gifts or money to public officials between January and June 2025, down from 18.4 percent in the previous survey period. However, among those who gave bribes, repeat giving surged, with the share reporting five or more payments rising from 6.9 percent to 24 percent.
Mr. Atanga also called for the corruption survey to expand beyond public sector workers to include religious bodies and private sector officials.
“The corruption can be throughout every one of them. It’s not only the public officers,” he said. “There’s a collaboration between all the sectors. If everybody’s on board, then you see that the religious bodies do this; other people who are providing public sector services are also taking bribes. Everybody will be alerted.”
The Ghana Statistical Service said the Governance Series provides timely, citizen-centered data that can help shape reforms, urging policymakers to use the evidence to strengthen trust and improve public services.
The Wave 2 report, covering data from over 5,640 respondents across more than 50 public institutions, found that money remains the most common form of gift, with more than half of those who gave reporting amounts of 100 Ghana cedis or less.
The Motor Traffic and Transport Division of the Ghana Police Service continued to be the institution most associated with gifts or bribes, though its share reduced from 61 percent in Wave One to 51.9 percent.
Source: a1radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Bolgatanga
