Political Risk:
Very High
Score:
32/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
33/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
View Question
Parliamentary scrutiny of defence policy is performed under the Constitution of Ghana and provides Parliament with executive oversight power. According to Art. 103 (3)…
Explore
Parliament rarely debates issues on defence and security because of their lack of expertise in the subject matter, and self-censorship by the majority leadership…
Explore
Due to the hybrid system that underpins the type of governance system that governs Ghana, the executive easily manipulates and controls the legislature through…
Explore
Q2
21/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
View Question
The Parliament Select Committee on Defence and Interior’s task (PSCDI, 18 members) is to “examine all questions relating to defence and internal affairs” (1).…
Explore
Examining the composition of the PSCDI, few of its 18 members have the requisite expertise to adequately perform their oversight responsibilities (1), (2), (3),…
Explore
The PSCDI does not engage in robust and regular debates, or reviews of major defence policies and decisions (1), (2), (3), (4). However; the…
Explore
The PSCDI rarely scrutinizes defence budgets. When they do debate defence budgets, it is, almost without exception, to ask for more funds for the…
Explore
The PSCDI do not make long term strategic security projections based on gathered evidence, and as such, long-term investigations are not conducted or commissioned…
Explore
Although oversight by the PSCDI is weak, the committee occasionally makes recommendations to Ministry of Defence and the armed forces on mundane issues, such…
Explore
Q3
0/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
View Question
Ghana’s defence policy and security strategy are not publicly available (4). There is a purported defence policy, but it is treated as a secret…
Explore
Since there is no debate on defence policy, the indicator is scored Not Applicable.
Explore
There is no formal consultation process on defence policy or strategy (1), (2), (3).
Explore
There is reportedly a defence policy, but it is treated as a secret document, and it is not publicly debated or available to mid-level…
Explore
Q4
50/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
View Question
The National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACAP), which is the country’s main strategy for addressing corruption, mentions CSOs as an important stakeholder for the oversight of…
Explore
Ghana does not have any specific law governing CSOs, which are registered in the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) as non-profit organisations. Despite the…
Explore
Although signs of openness towards CSOs have been expressed (1) no specific instances of engagement have been found regarding the defence and security sectors…
Explore
Q5
63/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
View Question
Ghana signed and ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in 2004, and 2007 respectively (1), (2). Ghana also signed the African Union…
Explore
Ghana adopted the Anti-Money Laundering Act (Act 749) in 2008, which was amended in 2014 (Act 874), the Whistleblower Act (Act 720) in 2006…
Explore
Q6
38/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
View Question
Outside the government, public debate about defence issues is extremely limited. According to the publicly available information, only the most salient issues are discussed…
Explore
There is no evidence of regular engagement of the government with academia, opinion-formers, and CSOs about defence issues (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6).…
Explore
Q7
38/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
View Question
Ghana ratified the ECOWAS Protocol on the Fight Against Corruption (ECOWAS Protocol) in 2003 (1), the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) (2), the…
Explore
The NACAP identifies institutional weaknesses as one of the prominent causes of corruption in Ghana, together with “poor ethical standards including limited commitment to…
Explore
Q8
25/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
View Question
There are several institutions mandated with oversight and prevention of corruption in Ghana, although not specifically the defence and security sectors: the Audit Service,…
Explore
These institutions are, at differing levels, under political control, and therefore lack of substantial independence. For instance, both the Auditor-General and the CHRAJ’s Commissioner…
Explore
It is difficult to assess the degree of effectiveness of these institutions with regards to the defence and security sectors. While the NACAP displays…
Explore
Q9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
View Question
This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. With particular reference to the defence and security sectors, the National Commission for Civic…
Explore
Q10
0/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
View Question
There are no publicly available corruption risk assessments for ministry and armed forces personnel. However, activity 11 of the NACAP “Strategic Objective 1: to…
Explore
This indicator is scored Not Applicable because there is no evidence that risk assessments are conducted.
Explore
This indicator is scored Not Applicable because there is no evidence that risk assessments are conducted.
Explore
Defence Budgets
Q11
17/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
View Question
The acquisition planning cycle is regulated by the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) (1), (2) which was subsequently amended by the Public Procurement…
Explore
Information on the acquisition planning process is not publicly available. The MOD’s budget includes information on the procurement activity (1), (2), (3), (4).
Explore
The PPA is the regulatory body responsible for implementing and enforcing compliance of the procurement laws, regulations, manuals, and guidelines and ensuring that all…
Explore
Q12
38/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
View Question
The defence budget is publicly available on the Ministry of Finance website (1), (2), (3). The budget contains comprehensive and disaggregated information on expenditures…
Explore
For 2018, the legislature received the budget statement on the 15th of November 2017 (1) and approved it on the 5th of December 2017…
Explore
Q13
63/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
View Question
Article103 (3,6) of the Consitution of Ghana gives Parliament a broad mandate of oversight, and in particular articles 174,178,179, and 187 also gives parliament…
Explore
There is no publicly available evidence of the PSCDI exercising its legal capacity to influence or closely scrutinise the defence budget. Records of the…
Explore
Q14
42/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
View Question
The approved defence budget is proactively published for the public on the Ministry of Finance’s website (1). The budget is published in a disaggregated…
Explore
The Budget contains comprehensive and disaggregated information, which is disclosed to the media and CSOs on expenditure across functions. However, the information available to…
Explore
Although the budget is transparent (1) not all aspects of the defence budget are publicly available to CSOs (1), (2). The Ministry of Finance…
Explore
Q15
25/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
View Question
There are selective publications on sources of income. For instance, there is a publication on internal income such as those from the 37 Military…
Explore
The Audit-Service is the main public institution mandated with promoting “good governance, transparency, accountability and probity in Ghana’s public financial management system”. The audits…
Explore
CSOs and the media do not conduct scrutiny on non-central government sources of funding (1), (2), (3), (4), (5). Looking at the research of…
Explore
Q16
38/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
View Question
The MOD’s Audit Committee was established in August 2017 and it is composed of five members. Three members are appointed by the Internal Audit…
Explore
The PSCDI and the PAC are responsible for oversight of the MOD’s activities, including defence military expenditure. According to Standing Order 184 (1), the…
Explore
As mandated by the Public Financial Management Act (1), the activities of the IAU are coordinated, facilitated and supervised by the IAA which provides…
Explore
Since the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament started subjecting the management of Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to a high level of scrutiny,…
Explore
Q17
58/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
View Question
The Audit Service has the mandate to review and regularly audit the defence sector’s spending. According to the Constitution, the Audit Service reports its…
Explore
The Auditor-General is appointed by, and also reports to the executive rather than Parliament, a fact that has raised concerns over its independence (1).…
Explore
When the 2018 budget was submitted, seven out of the eight audit reports for the financial year that ended on the 31st of December…
Explore
This indicator has not been assigned a score due to insufficient information or evidence. There is limited evidence that the Ministry of Defence implements…
Explore
Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
56/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
View Question
There are no restrictions on defence institutions having control or interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation (1), (2), (3). Art.…
Explore
There is no evidence that defence institutions have financial stakes in natural resource extraction. They protect mining sites within the framework of military operating…
Explore
Following research into the mainstream Ghanaian media (Modern Ghana, Myjoyonline, GhanaWeb, Ghana News Agency, Graphic Online) no evidence of individual defence personnel being involved…
Explore
There is no evidence of the involvement of the armed forces in the country’s natural resource exploitation (1), (2), (3), (4). As a result,…
Explore
The PSCDI has broad powers of scrutiny over the defence sector (the committee “shall examine all questions relating to defence and internal affairs”) including…
Explore
Organised Crime
Q19
25/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
View Question
There is no evidence of military involvement in sectors in which organised crime operates (1), (2), (3), (4), (5). However, there is a record…
Explore
The Ghanaian government has not demonstrated any proactive measures to deal with potential threats from organised crime, because of the assumption that the Ghanaian…
Explore
Q20
67/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
View Question
The Ghana Police Service has the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards (PIPs) Bureau that is mandated with dealing with issues of corruption and crimes…
Explore
The policing functions within the defence and security sector do not operate independently of the bodies that they investigate as they respond to their…
Explore
Prosecutions against corruption are rare, and there is no evidence of prosecutions for corruption against the upper echelons of the armed forces (1), (2).…
Explore
Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
0/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
View Question
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and Interior (PSCDI) lacks a clear-cut mandate for scrutinising the intelligence service’s policies, administration, and budgets. The committee…
Explore
Because of the lack of a clear-cut mandate over the intelligence agencies, the PSCDI has little to no influence on the intelligence services. Likewise,…
Explore
Q22
0/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
View Question
The selection criteria for the senior positions within the intelligence services are not made publicly available by the Ministry of National Security or the…
Explore
Senior positions in the intelligence services are appointed by the executive branch. According to Section13.2 of the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act (1996), “The…
Explore
The current legal framework does not allow the parliament to scrutinise the appointments of senior positions within the intelligence services. Furthermore, no investigation of…
Explore
Export Controls
Q23
NEI/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
View Question
Ghana signed the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) on September 2013 and ratified it on December 2015. The treaty entered into force 90 days later.…
Explore
This indicator has not been assigned a score due to insufficient information or evidence. It’s not been possible to find the initial report of…
Explore
Ghana does not manufacture arms in its territory. As a result, this indicator has been marked Not Applicable. However, illicit circulation and production of…
Explore
Lobbying in Defence
In Ghana, there is no legal framework in place to regulate lobbying activity. In 2013 the then minority party proposed, without success, a bill…
Explore
Since there is no legal framework in place to regulate lobbying activity, this indicator is scored Not Applicable.
Explore
Since there is no legal framework in place to regulate lobbying activity, this indicator is scored Not Applicable.
Explore
Since there is no legal framework in place to regulate lobbying activity, this indicator is scored Not Applicable.
Explore