The Executive Director of Transparency International (TI) Ghana, Mary Awelana Adda, has cautioned that anti-corruption institutions are failing the state by their inability to confront entrenched corruption and pursue decisive prosecutions.

This failure, she said, impacts the country’s business climate adversely, making cost of doing business unbearably high and leading to a gradual loss of investor confidence. It also has consequences on fiscal discipline and public debt management, as corruption continues to haemorrhage the state’s valuable resources, she lamented.

She made these remarks at the International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) Conference 2025, organised by her outfit.

Despite the proliferation of anti-graft legislation and institutions in the Ghanaian governance architecture, Adda maintained that Ghana has secured zero convictions resulting in jail time for a standalone corruption offence.

According to her, this statistic impacts the country’s investment appeal. She said what makes the situation worse is the fact that the architecture meant to protect public resources remains ornamental.

“The statistic is not just disturbing; it is a crisis of accountability with a direct financial cost to every citizen,” Adda stated.

She said the legislation and institutions are there, but the commitment to transparency is usually rhetorical.

“If we cannot enforce the laws we have, we signal that the misuse of public funds is a high-reward, low-risk enterprise. This perception is a significant drag on our business climate,” she explained.

She noted that while charges like ‘misapplication of funds’ may surface from the Auditor-General reports, the specific crime of ‘corruption’ remains unconvictable. This she attributed to the narrow definition in the Criminal Offences Act and complexities of prosecuting crimes built on collusion.

“The gap between identification of malfeasance in audit reports and a successful criminal prosecution is a chasm where billions of cedis and investor confidence disappear,” Mrs. Adda explained.

In response to these systemic failures, Adda highlighted two pivotal legislative instruments critical for reshaping Ghana’s governance architecture: The Conduct of Public Officers (COPPA) bill, promulgated in 2013 but stalled, seeks to codify ethics, mandate comprehensive asset declaration and manage conflicts of interest; and The Corrupt Offences bill seeks to expand the definition of corruption and serve as a foundation for the upcoming National Anti-corruption Action Plan.

“This expansion is an economic imperative. It will plug the loopholes that currently allow vast sums of illicit wealth to be created and laundered through our economy without legal consequence,” she said.

Reacting to fervent calls for abolishing the Office of the Special Prosecutor, with some coming from parliament, Adda said it is too early to demand abolition of the anti-corruption institution that has yet to achieve the purpose for which it was established.

She warned against “knee-jerk reactions” that could undermine strategic efforts to de-risk the Ghanaian economy for investors.

“Scrapping the OSP now would send a catastrophic signal to the financial markets. It would suggest Ghana is retreating from the difficult path of institutional strengthening,” she said, drawing parallels with the Attorney-General’s office, which has been in existence for many decades.

“The Attorney-General’s office has had over a century while the OSP has had a handful of years. We must allow specialised institutions time and political space to build the requisite capacity and case history,” she added.

She maintained that OSP and other anti-corruption agencies’ success is critical for Ghana’s ability to attract foreign direct investment under transparent terms and secure lower risk premiums on international capital markets.

Adda warned that when the youth are continually being socialised into a culture of impunity, the nation risks losing the most talented and ethically conscious ones seeking a level playing field, as they’ll conveniently opt to travel abroad.

“The generation we rely on for innovation and growth is learning that integrity is not the currency of success. This is not a social concern alone; it is also an economic one. We are actively depleting our future human capital. Empowering youth in this fight is an investment in a more competitive, innovative and trustworthy national economy.”

This year’s conference was on the theme ‘Uniting with Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow’s Integrity’.