Ghana is recording a decline in bribery, but a different and equally worrying culture is quietly emerging to replace it: the steady rise of appreciation payments.
These are voluntary payments made by citizens even when public officials do not directly request them. And according to the latest Governance Series Wave 2 Report by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), they may be hiding a deeper problem.
The GSS report shows that the share of Ghanaians who gave money or gifts to public officials dropped from 18.4% in Wave 1 to 14.3% in Wave 2, a decline that ordinarily would be cause for celebration.
Fewer demands, fewer exchanges, and fewer incidents of explicit bribery suggest that anti-corruption reforms, institutional oversight, and public education campaigns are beginning to take effect.
But while direct bribery is falling, informal payment behaviour is shifting in another direction. The proportion of Ghanaians who made voluntary appreciation payments, money or gifts offered without being asked, almost doubled, rising from 17.6% to 32.9%. In practical terms, this means almost one in three citizens now believe offering something extra helps “move the process along,” even without coercion.
This behaviour is becoming normalized, especially within public services where long queues, unclear procedures, and bureaucratic delays make citizens feel compelled to pay to speed up transactions. While officials may not openly demand a bribe, citizens increasingly assume that such gestures ensure smoother service.
It’s a troubling sign. What appears voluntary can quickly become expected. When institutions rely on personal generosity rather than rules, the space for corruption widens.
The report adds another concerning layer: citizens are becoming less willing to reject improper requests. In Wave 2, only 3% of respondents who were asked for a gift or payment refused, a dramatic drop from 8.5% in Wave 1. Even more alarming is the decline in reporting. Only 6 out of every 100 bribery victims reported the incident to an official or non-official anti-corruption agency, compared to 15 out of 100 previously.
This reluctance stems from fear of backlash, fear of losing access to services, and a general belief that reporting won’t lead to meaningful action. It also reflects a widening trust gap between institutions and citizens, one that informal payments can deepen even further.
Yet, paradoxically, Ghanaians are interacting with public institutions more than before. Public contact rose from 55.7% to 74.2%, meaning millions more citizens were exposed to both good and bad governance experiences.
More access is positive, although it also exposes the weaknesses of service systems that rely on personal networks and individual discretion.
What stands out clearly in the data is where these payments are most frequent. The Police Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) remains the public institution with the highest incidence of such payments.
Although its share of reported bribery dropped from 61% to 51.9%, it still tops the list, indicating persistent challenges within traffic and road-related services. These are high-contact points where citizens often feel pressured to offer something to avoid delays, fines, or unnecessary complications.
The amount of money involved also tells its own story. Over half of the payments recorded were ₵100 or less. These may seem small, but their frequency, especially in services like the MTTD, where contact is regular, means the burden adds up quickly.
For many Ghanaians, these “little tokens” become part of a routine cost of interacting with the state, reinforcing a cycle where informal payments feel unavoidable even when not directly demanded.
By: Sheba Araba Bennin/Channel One Research Desk