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Paper short abstract:

The work examined the causes of corruption in Ghana and the strategies to address them. Specifically, it focused on the investigative, preventive, and enforcement roles the capacity of CHRAJ using the principal-agent theory and qualitative research methods.

Paper long abstract:

The effective performance of anti-corruption institutions (ACIs) has raised concerns, especially in most African countries. Ghana's stagnation in the fight against corruption continues to trigger renewed debate over the relevance of the existence of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) as the first independent constitutionally mandated body created under the Fourth Republican Constitution to curb corruption. This paper assesses how the CHRAJ has fulfilled its anti-corruption mandate since its inception.

The objectives are to examine the causes of corruption in Ghana and the strategies to address them. It discusses the investigative, preventive, and enforcement roles and its capacity using the principal-agent theory, the concept of accountability and qualitative research methods. The work adopted semi-structured interviews of fifty respondents including commissioners, directors and staff of the CHRAJ, public officials, civil society organisations, private sector organisations and development partners.

The study found that despite Ghana's progress regarding constitutional democratic governance in Africa, the country is not immune from corruption's menace leading to stagnation in various sectors. Also, Ghana adopted comprehensive constitutional, legislative, institutional reforms and strategies over the last thirty years to fight corruption. Nevertheless, the country lacks the political will and bureaucratic commitment to ensure effective implementation of anti-corruption policies. The study made a number of recommendations and shared some lessons learned to improve the fight against corruption in Ghana and Africa.