{"id":1071032,"date":"2022-04-29T13:43:57","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T13:43:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/04\/29\/ghanas-2020-polls-credible-reflected-will-of-the-people-us-report\/"},"modified":"2022-04-29T13:43:57","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T13:43:57","slug":"ghanas-2020-polls-credible-reflected-will-of-the-people-us-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/04\/29\/ghanas-2020-polls-credible-reflected-will-of-the-people-us-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghana’s 2020 polls credible; reflected will of the people \u2013 US Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A report released by the U.S. Department of State in its 2021 Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices has revealed that the 2020 general election was transparent, free and fair.<\/p>\n

According to the report, despite violent scenes at some of the centres, the verdict, which saw President Akufo-Addo winning another term to govern Ghanaians, was very credible.<\/p>\n

The report released on April 12, 2022, said Ghana\u2019s Presidential and Parliamentary election results reflected the will of the people.<\/p>\n

\u201cDomestic and international observers assessed the December 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections to be transparent, inclusive, credible, and reflecting the will of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cSome observers noted concerns regarding the misuse of incumbency, the lack of enforcement of regulations on campaign financing, and unequal access to state-owned media during the campaign,\u201d the report added.<\/p>\n

Again, the report observed that corruption is still prevalent in Ghana.<\/p>\n

According to the document, \u201cofficials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also noted that although laws stipulate punishments for corrupt officials, the government hardly implements them effectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cCorruption was present in all branches of government, according to media and NGOs, recruitment into the security services,\u201d parts of the report read. <\/p>\n

Citing the Auditor General\u2019s June Report, the US States Department mentioned that graft is widespread in the country\u2019s public sector.<\/p>\n

This, has resulted in the loss of huge sums of public funds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe honorary consul general and the Ghanaian consulate in Washington D.C. could not account for visa fees totalling $355,000. The Free Senior High School Secretariat misspent more than $3.16 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cA former Minister of Tourism retained three official vehicles for personal use after leaving office. The report concluded that corrupt practices resulted in $340 million of financial mismanagement, misapplication and misappropriation of funds, theft, and procurement mismanagement.\u201d <\/p>\n

Corruption continues to be a major problem the country battles with although governments implement various measures to curb the menance.<\/p>\n

In 2018, President Akufo-Addo, established the Special Prosecutor office to clamp down on corruption.<\/p>\n

However the US State Department noted that \u201cSince the first special prosecutor took office in 2018, no corruption case undertaken by that office resulted in a conviction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the new special prosecutor took office in August, his staff included one investigator and one prosecutor, both seconded from other offices.\u201d<\/p>\n

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