WA, GHANA – September 26, 2025 – Stakeholders from across the Upper West Region gathered in Wa today to contribute to the formulation of Ghana’s new National Ethics and Anti-Corruption Plan. The consultation is part of a nationwide effort to create a comprehensive strategy to guide the nation’s fight against corruption from now until 2030.
This initiative is spearheaded by a 60-member group comprising representatives from Civil Society, the Judiciary, and other subject matter experts. Commissioned by the Chief of Staff, Hon. Julius Debrah, under the auspices of the President, the group is tasked with drafting a successor to the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP), which concluded in 2024.
The funds lost annually through corrupt practices could have built schools for our children, hospitals for our communities, provided clean drinking water, and improved infrastructure across the country
Held at the Blue Hill Conference Hall, the engagement brought together over 120 participants from all 11 districts in the Upper West Region, ensuring that diverse local perspectives are considered for the national document.
In a speech read on his behalf by Lawyer Charles Lwanga Puozuing, the Upper West Regional Minister highlighted the steep cost of corruption. “The funds lost annually through corrupt practices could have built schools for our children, hospitals for our communities, provided clean drinking water, and improved infrastructure across the country,” he stated. He urged the nation to move “beyond rhetoric into sustained action,” emphasising that the resolve to fight corruption is not optional.
Jonathan Gardor, in charge of Research and Policy with the National Anti-Corruption Program at the Office of the President, explained that the new plan will shift its focus toward ethics. He argued that corruption is fundamentally a moral issue before it becomes a legal one, citing the low corruption rates in ethics-focused countries like Norway, Sweden, and Denmark as examples.
“We think that if we bring ethics to the fore, it would ensure that the fight against corruption is won,” Mr Gardor remarked.
We think that if we bring ethics to the fore, it would ensure that the fight against corruption is won
He revealed plans to institutionalise this approach through a formal certification system. “We will provide a lot of metrics and indicators that institutions will have to comply with for us to be able to certify them, that could be EACC 1.0, 2.0, or 5.0,” Gardor explained. “We are hoping that when we start doing this, institutions will begin to align with ethical behaviour, and of course, it will come with incentives.”
