Pa ge 1 Pa ge 32 American Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Innovation (AJMRI) Corruption and National Development: The Consequential Effects on the Sustainability in Ghana Francis Sarkodie-Addo1*, Justine Chinoperekweyi2 Volume 2 Issue 3, Year 2023 ISSN: 2158-8155 (Online), 2832-4854 (Print) DOI: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajmri.v2i3.1434 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajmri Article Information ABSTRACT Received: March 24, 2023 Accepted: April 29, 2023 Published: May 08, 2023 The article seeks to examine the key corruption practices and their effects on the development and sustainability in Ghana; and identify action plans through existing frameworks to minimize corruption and its impacts. The study is based on secondary data sources. The study establishes that corruption is the biggest obstacle for poverty reduction, it undermines good governance and economic development, and in a nation’s political and economic operation may lead to inadequate infrastructure. It is recommended that the solutions should create transparency in operation and administration system to enhance governance effectiveness through systematic monitoring and evaluation; improve existing auditing approach; introduce national policy for reclamation of public trust in relation to corruption; and awareness creation at all levels of educational system through the media. Keywords Corruption, National Development, Sustainability INTRODUCTION It is generally believed that one of the human pugnacious miscalculations of the 20th and the early part of 21st century is that corrupt practices have been allowed to eat deep into the fiber of our existence. This is affirmed by the position of LJUBAS,( 2019), who refers to the report of the Integrity Initiative, Ghana. The report indicates that about USD 3 billion is lose to the corruption act annually in Ghana. A study conducted by the IMANI in Ghana asserts that Ghana loses more than USD 3 billion a year to corruption. The loss of such a massive amount to corruption indicates the need for serious action that needs to attract using all necessary resources. Though Ghana has been considered the most stable country in West Africa, it has gone through series of coup d’état. The persistent coup d’état by the military led to overthrow the governments of the First, Second and Third Republics. Almost all the military take-overs in Ghana used perceived corruption to justify their actions. This is because studies including Rahman, (2018), argue that there is corruption in all the branches of Ghanaian Governance. In another development, the U.S. Department of State, (2018) indicates that Ghana is a transshipment route for illegal drugs, including cocaine from South America, heroin from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Sekalala et al., (2020) states that such a high level of corruption is as a result of lack of accountability, and enjoyment of impunity on the part of public officials. These findings and other perceived corrupt practices are believed to be the key factors of the unsuccessful number of republics. According to IRBC, (1994) Report, Ghana’s success in infrastructure was only realized in the fourth republic which took off with the 1992 constitution; corruption is still seen as a yoke on the necks of Ghanaian citizens which need nationwide attention to curb its negative effects. Corruption has engaged the attention of both international and local communities, because it has the potential to derail national development and corrosive consequently impacts on sustainability of a state. (Pozsgai-Alvarez, 2020) Corruption is improperly using a public or official position for personal gain. Specifically, corruption covers offenses which includes bribery embezzlement, abuse of power, and nepotism, based on the effort of Arnone & Borlini, (2014) to make a distinction between a grant corruption on the one hand and petty corruption on the other, Many researchers including (Ayee, 2016), argues that one of the world’s key challenges that needs a holistic attention is corruption because of its impacts at all levels of society, and the fact that major corruption scandals are currently front-page news almost everywhere around the globe. There have been so many public outcries by citizens of countries demanding leadership to take action against corrupt practices. Klitgaard, (2015) asserts that in June 2010, Benigno Aquino III was elected as the president of the Philippines. Prior to his election, he used a poplar slogan as “Kung walang korap mahirap” meaning “When no one is corrupt, no one will be poor”; a defining principle that was believed to serve as the foundation for his administration, with the primary objective to lift the country from poverty using honesty and effectiveness as the key tools. Nonetheless in Jun, 2018 the same person was recommended by the Anti-Graft Agency to be charged of corruption for disbursing more than one billion dollars belonging to the state. The International Monetary Fund (2016) reports that public dissatisfaction with widespread corruption are the key factors that motivated the Arab Spring and the fall of the Ukrainian regime in 2014. 1 Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, Ghana 2 Centre for Organization Leadership and Development, Zimbabwe * Corresponding author’s e-mail: francissar582@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.54536/ajmri.v2i3.1434 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajmri mailto:francissar582@gmail.com Pa ge 33 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajmri Am. J. Multidis. Res. Innov. 2(3) 32-40, 2023 Statement of Problem A report of EU Anti-Fraud Agent in 2019 indicates that €888.1m was the amount to retrieve from corrupt practices. Out of this, 70.3% went into structural and social-related fraud. Brand Europe indicates that corruption in public procurement cost the European Union (EU) 5.3m annually. Colonnelli et al (2019) argues that approximately $175 Trillion will be loss to corruption annually until the end of 2030. The situation is not different from what we are witnessing in Ghana as Business Ghana (2017) argues that widespread corruption among the public and private sectors officials is taking Ghana to the dark ages. Gurría. A (2018) argues that 66% of foreign bribery cases are related to infrastructure development such as extractive, construction, transportation & storage, information & communication. The researcher indicates that act of corruption can lead to deficient social programs. The study seeks to identify the key corruption practices and their consequential effects on the development and sustainability of Ghana and identify action plans through existing frameworks to minimize corruption and its impacts with the research questions such as: what are the key factors of corruption, and what impacts would the practice have on the sustainability of Ghana? And how the existing frameworks could be used to support action plan necessary to minimize corruption effects? In furtherance to the above, the researcher seeks to examine the key corruption related factors to help him made meaningful findings needed for further studies. These include: historical context of corruption; corruption Frameworks; forms of corruption; corruption practices: triggers and sources; and effects of corruption. The Study’s Objective The following are the stud’s objectives. 1. To identify the existing corruption-related frameworks that informs minimization of corruption and its impacts. 2. To identify the key corruption practices and their consequential effects on the development and sustainability of Ghana. 3. To examine the key corruption related factors to help made a meaningful findings needed for further studies. LITERATURE REVIEW Biswas et al., (2018)have the view that corruption will persist in almost every country in the world, citing Hammurabi, the ancient ruler who decreed that a judge shall be expelled from his/her post if he/she changes verdict that has already been sealed”. They argue that the statement is a measure intended to prevent or minimize cases of corruption among and also ensure that are genuinely applied and prevent the case of judges exchanging justice for gifts. Noonan (1987’s) intelligent work on History of ferry from Ancient Egypt to ABSCAM, examines the Changing Perception of Bribery, and Discusses the Legal, Ethical and Religious Injunction against Bribes. Noonan, shows how the people of ancient Mesopotamia respected the natural rule of quid pro quo. In this rule, any individual or group, wondering from the straight and narrow path was to the Mesopotamian, the offense lay not in the act of making an interested gift but rather in breaking with the logic of the exchange: in failing to offer value in value exchange received. A study by Zoanzi (1998): Causes, consequences, scope and curses of corruption is arguably considered as one of the oldest research work done on corruption in the world. The 1990s study considers corruption as a phenomenon that is hugely attracting an unconscionable deal of attentions. Corruption according to the study has negative impacts on many developing countries in the world, irrespective of its economic level; whether large or small, market orientated or otherwise. There are a lot of accusation of corruption in most of countries which is in agreeing of the position of Johnston (1997) many governments and prominent politicians have fallen, and in some cases a whole government system or political parties have lost their term of office as a result of corruption. Zoanzi argues that corruption is not a new phenomenon, and indicates that Kautilya the Prime Minister of India wrote on a book on corruption two thousand years ago. Kautilya’s book, titled Arthashastra had already discusses how Dente placed a bribe in the deepest part of hell reflecting the medieval distaste for corrupt behavior. Klitgaard R.. (1988) explains why the American constitution considered bribery as one of the two unequivocally mentioned crimes. According to the researcher, the including of corruption act in the constitution has the potential to ensure that even the most powerful individuals like Presidents can be managed by the law through impeachment. State laws should be made in a way that every individual would know that there is consequence for all the actions they take whiles in office. Corruption Frameworks The study reviews one international and two local corruption related frameworks that could help readers to understand corruption effects on the economy of Ghana. The key frameworks include: the UN Global Compact; the Commission On Human Rights and Administrative Justice Act, 1993 (Act 456); and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) (Act 466). Global Compact (2007) Is one of the key international frameworks to fight corruption and it is known to be the Global Compact: The World Business Against Corruption, Cases Stories and Samples also known as the 10th United Nations Global Compact Against Corruption. According to (Douglas et al., 2011), the Framework was introduced on the 24th June, 2004 as an initiative established by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; as a forged strategy partnership with member states, businesses, labor organizations and civil societies among others, to fight corruption. The document has two main chapters, with https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajmri Pa ge 34 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajmri Am. J. Multidis. Res. Innov. 2(3) 32-40, 2023 fear or favor of any person or groups of persons. Section 3(1) of the Act explains the duty and responsibilities of the office, which include: a. seeks to investigate any suspected crimes or offense provided by law which appears to the Director on reasonable grounds to involve serious financial resources or economic loss to the state and any state organization or other institution in which the state has financial interest. b. Seeks to monitor any economic activity as the Director considers necessary with view to detecting crimes likely to cause financial loss to the state; Seek to cooperate with such international agencies as the Director considers appropriate for any purposes under the said section. Section 3(2) indicates that in the performance of its functions based on subsection (1) of this section, the office shall collect, collate and disseminate information from state agencies and any other public agency. Subsection two states that the office shall consist of thirty-Three persons including an executive Director, Deputy Executive Director and other officers and staff as the president may appoint under the SFO Act. Forms of Corruption For the purpose of the study, Corruption and National Development: The Consequential Effects on the Sustainability in Ghana, the researcher concentrates his desktop research on the following corruption forms: Grand and petty corruption; Systemic corruption; Bribery; Kickbacks; Extortion and Bid rigging Grand and Petty Corruption In order to encourage scholars, lawmakers, advocates and other key stakeholders to ensure the accountability of public officers, Transparency International provides a legal definition for “grand corruption”. Corruption is generally defined as the abuse of high level power that end up to benefits the few at the expense of many and also cause serious and widespread negative effect and society. It is defined as the abuse of high-level power that benefits the few at the expense of the many and causes serous and widespread harm to individuals and society with impunity. (Miralis, 2020), argues that grand corruption has a large-scale misappropriation of public funds and could ominously shrink the available budget earmarked for the improvement of education, infrastructure and living standard of citizens of a state. Systemic Corruption Systemic corruption refers to “corruption brought about, encouraged or promoted by the system itself ” (Laver, 2014). Most international development agencies have focused to ensure that corruption is considered by general public as a systemic and not just an isolated and isolatable, phenomenon. This is because, since early 1990s many international anti-corruption bodies including the International Development Fund have a joint agenda to help countries move from systemic corruption to the Chapter 1 covers the legal framework and position of the 10th Principles. Whiles chapter 2 covers the following practices and case stories: the chapter expects corporate institution to implement the anti-corruption programs as part of businesses; translating anti-corruption values into both local and international values, believing that corporate ethics frameworks could be a tool to fighting corruption. Another important subject of the framework is the use of control and compliance methods which include: 1) The use of informal reporting system and whistle- blowing method as well as reporting on countering corruptions. 2) Collective action and national/regional complain against corruption and 3) Introduction of transparency programs. These are believed to serve as a force against corruption irrespective of where and when it happens. Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice Act, 1993 (Act 456) The UN Commission on Human Right and Administrative Justice is under the mandate of the Ghana’s 1992 Constitution. The section 7 of the Act is clear about the function of the Commission. The key functions are as follow: a. The commission shall investigate complains of violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms, justice, corruption, abuse of power and unfair treatment of person(s) by public officers in the exercise of their official duties. b. The commission shall investigate all alleged non- complains under the provision of chapter 74 of the constitution (Code of Conduct for Public Officers). c. The Commission shall investigate instances of alleged or suspected corruption and misappropriation of public funds by officials and to take appropriate steps, including reports to the Attorney-General and the Auditor-General, resulting from the investigation. According to the Act, the Commission also has been given the mandate to take appropriate action to request a person(s) to remedy, correct or reverse instances of corruption through means that are fair, proper, and effective. Serious Fraud Office (SFO), (Act 466) The SFO Act is another policy framework in Ghana concerned with corruption. The SFO (Act 466) established the Serious Fraud Office which indicates that, “the Act establishes the SFO as a specialized agency of government to monitor, investigate and on the authority of the Attorney General, prosecute any offence involving serious financial or economic loss to the state and or to make provision for associated and related purposes”. Section 1, Sub-Section 1, state that it is established in this Act that SFO refers to the Act as the office which shall form part of the Public Service of Ghana. The SFO by the law is empowered to fully discharge its duty without https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajmri Pa ge 35 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajmri Am. J. Multidis. Res. Innov. 2(3) 32-40, 2023 an environment of well performance governance and corruption minimization. The agenda’s aims at fighting the negative effects of corruption on development. Bribery A report by OECD (2013) defines bribery as an act that includes locally or internationally offering, promising, or an unwarranted monetary or other advantage taking by an official or decision maker, with the intention that the official acts or refrains from acting in relation to the performance of his or duties. Whenever there is a bribery act, there are two offers: An Offer to influence on the conduct of Government/Private Party and the Offer to Personal favor such as money and or other provisions. The assertion is supported by (Kramer, 2007)Kramer, illustrated in Figure 01 below: Figure 1: A model of Bribery: Offer and Demand Forms of Bribery. Source: OECD (2013) Figure 2: Simple example of bribery in the form of a kickback Source: OECD (2013) Kickbacks Kickback is a subset of bribery, is an illegitimate reimbursement made after the services has been rendered, ordinarily from a portion of the governmental awards itself. The EU Anti-Corruption Authority defines kickback as a bribe paid incrementally by the contractor to the awarding official(s). Kramer (2007). argues that 5%- 20% of contract values are paid as kickback in exchange for large contract awarded in international development projects. There are cases where some dishonest business officials realize that they can take advantage of the relationship they have with certain contracting and or consulting firm to demand kickbacks from them. Firms providing civil works, goods and or services provided are required to provide millions of dollars to the facilitators. Extortion Morris, (2011) argues that “extortion” is a situation where a public official threatens individual with a delegated power to pursue a venerable citizen or an international business person(s) to make payment(s) of bribe. The Doha Declaration of the United Nations, explains extortion as the act of taking a property from another person with force associated with threats, violence and or fear. One of the terms synonymously used in place of extortion is “blackmail”. Extortion happens in a transaction between https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajmri Pa ge 36 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajmri Am. J. Multidis. Res. Innov. 2(3) 32-40, 2023 citizens and government official. And the key triggering factor is when the official realizes that he has a strong advantage over the individual in the administration of his/her power. Albanese, (2002) asserts that extortion is associated with organized crime. The researcher further argues when extortion is committed in a regular basis, it turns into a racketeering practice; that when extortion is committed on a regular basis, it turns into a racketeering practices; and that as “extortion” becomes systematic, it protection-racket; an institutionalized corruption whereby tribute is collated on behalf of a criminal group that, ii exchange, claim to suffer physical protection from other such groups” (Volkov, 2016). Bid Rigging Bid rigging is a form of corrupt practice in which competitors are alleged to collude to determine the winner of the bidding process. In most cases, the result is aimed at undermining the bidding process, resulting in a rigged price that is usually higher than what might have been the project cost. The Public Disclosure Authority Corruption Awareness Handbook indicates that “A corruption scheme often involves more than one type of misconduct”. According to the Institution, a corrupt scheme in procurement often begins with a demand for, or offer of payment; refer to figure 01. The action is followed by bid rigging and finally fraud to cover up the scheme: • Demand for Payment: in most cases, a government official would have made the demand of the bribe, in exchange for a contract to be awarded in favor of the said company or individual. In this process, the corrupt official will permit the bribe in an agreed form to be added to the total project cost into each individual work- breakdown structure, using percentage inbuilt. • Bid Rigging: Bid rigging. Bid rigging provides platform on which a bribe provider will ensure that the contract be awarded to the bribe-paying firm. In most case, the official manipulates the biding processes to include other competitors. They may provide the needful information to the favorite competitor to enable them have illegal competitive advantage over the remaining firm. • Fraudulent: this covers the cost of the bribe and the firm usually with the knowledge and the complicity of government officials, inlates prices, bills for work not performed, fails to meet contract specifications or delivery of substandard work within the implementation phase. Corruption Practices: Triggers and Sources Braimah, (2016) argues strongly that bribery have the tendency to influence many judgments in favor of individuals or group of people who are ready to engage in paying bribe in detriment of the poor and vulnerable in society Figure 03 below provides detail information about the corruption practice, the triggers and sources. Figure 3: Iceberg Model for Corruption Practices, triggers and Sources Source: Developed by the Author; Using M. Goodman (2002) Iceberg Model as basis https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajmri Pa ge 37 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajmri Am. J. Multidis. Res. Innov. 2(3) 32-40, 2023 Adopting Figure 3 above; the study identifies the following at the topmost level (Elevation 2) as key corruption practices such as Bribery Act, Extortion Act, Discriminatory Act, Unclassified Act, fraudulence Act, Bid Rigging, Kickback etc. At the middle of the elevation (Elevation 1) of the water represents the “Corruption Triggers” which are: Centralized power; lack of public accountability; indiscipline; impunity; weak institution; lack of patriotism and low income earning. Kempe et al., (2003) identifies that the key trigger factors for corruption are the absence of strong institutions, centralized power, lack of public accountability and impunity. At the lowest level (Elevation 0) of the waters is the “corruption sources” which includes unemployment; ignorance of existing laws; overpopulation; civil wars; poor economic performance; social dependencies; outmoded cultural practices; bad economic advisors and power drunkenness. The model provides explanation to the fact that corruption act cannot be executed unless there is an underlined or root-causes which are normally hidden factors such as mentioned above. This means that institution responsible for fighting corruption must tackle the root-causes because from the model point of view, corruption acts are just the tip of the iceberg and the actual problem for corrupt practices are the hidden factors which are considered at the 3rd and 2nd elevation of the model. Effects of Corruption Corruption was not so much talked about in the 1950s; it was almost impermissible to mention corruption in dialogues between countries. Klitgaard, (1988), tried to explain the rationale behind it, by saying that even researchers shied away, and even nicknamed the action as “diplomacy in research”. The reason was recounted as the key reason most of the South Asians and Westerners incidentally avoided taking corruption seriously; and excuses that are common in business today, around the world. By the late 1980s, informed theories, case studies and quantitative research made corruption more and more interesting subject to talk about because of its devastation effects on countries and their citizens(Klitgaard, 2012). The negative view of corruption persists today with the World Bank calling corruption “the biggest obstacle for poverty reduction Dahlström, (2009) and the OECD saying that “corruption undermines good governance and economic development”.Mirzayev, (2020) indicates that corrupted economies are not able to function properly. His assertion has been buttressed by the position of Mohale, (2020) who also uses the same line of argument with a headline “corruption stops the natural laws of an economy functioning freely). The two individual researchers agree that their reason for such similar finding is that corruption makes a nation’s political and economic operation suffer. The suffering includes inadequate infrastructure i.e. roads, hospitals housing, markets, schools, medical supplies for healthcare purposes. Such lacks could have direct negative effects on the society. Technically precisely it is well known that poor people in society are beneficiaries of most public policies such as housing, health care, education, security and welfare. The poor and vulnerable are most affected as corruption leads to inadequate service delivery, inadequate infrastructure development, poor quality building and housing and as a result of unnecessary layers of over invoicing. UNODC (2019): The E4J University Module Series: Model 1; what is Corruption and Why Should We Care? Published by the UNODC, explains economic effect of corruption, quoting that Gary Becker in 1968 provided a better understanding of criminal activity that has the potential to give students a different worldview to contemplate. From the study, a “person commits an offense if the expected utility to him exceeds the utility he could get by using his time and other resources at other activities”. It is therefore clear that some individuals become criminals, “not because their motivation differs from that of other persons, but sometimes it is because their cost and benefits differ”(Della Porta & Vannucci, 2005).The study discusses cost and benefits. In which costs being a function of the odds of being caught and the severity of penalty or infliction associated to it. From the cost benefit standpoint, also known as libertarian perspective, bribery, facilitation of payment and trading and influence may be considered as an attempt to evade the inefficient and burdensome regulation. For example, (Arnone & Borlini, 2014) describe research going back to the 1960s suggesting that corruption could “grease the wheels of commerce, thus reducing transaction costs and lowering the cost of capital.” From this point of view, bribes could be seen as diminishing the social and economic costs of regulations “by directing scarce resources toward higher bidders” Leonardo and Arnone (2014, 15). It is therefore clear that economic justification for corruption could be derived from the above reasoning line. Naturally, the adverse effect of ground corruption comes in mind when everyone considers the economic consequences of corruption. There are a lot of worries in relation to the consistence occurrences of grand scale corruption associated to some dictators and their conies and such acts are mainly: embezzlement of public funds, mismanagement, wastages, inequity, and social decay that has the tendency to become disastrous to the economy of the State. In some cases, the familiar tales of fortunes in natural resources like gold, gems and other product such as jewelry and hundreds of dollars were stashed away in secret hiding places and foreign banks by corrupt public officials including the acquisition of real estate abroad. The impact of these misconducts is devastating with massive scale. Especially for the poor African countries facing perennial and severe foreign exchange shortages. However, corruption does not have to be on a grand scale to inflict serious damage. There are other adverse effects that can be just as damaging for a poor country. These are discussed below. https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajmri Pa ge 38 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajmri Am. J. Multidis. Res. Innov. 2(3) 32-40, 2023 METHODOLOGY The study is based on secondary data source (review of relevant studies). Data were analyzed from the key institutions both locally and internationally. The key institutions include: African Development Bank, Anti- Corruption Network, Transparency International, and other sources including Corruption Survey of Ghana and other international corruption related research Journals. These institutions and individuals deal with public perception and assessment of corruption situation both in Ghana and abroad. The researchers made reference to both the rules-based and principles-based literature on the study variables. From a rules-based perspective, the study reviewed corruption frameworks from different institutions and countries. In view of the principles-based governance framework, the researchers also reviewed biblical facts relating to corruption and national development. According to the UNODC, (2018). Corruption Survey focuses on five key issues which are: 1) Understanding of and awareness about corruption. 2) Opportunity for corruption. 3) Motives and causes of corruption 4) Evidence and perception of existence of corruption and 5) The compacting corruption. The study ensures that there is some level of quality control measures in place aimed at strengthening the methodology. They include: (i) strict data interpretation procedures. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Key corruption practices and their Consequential effects on the development and sustainability of Ghana Based on the Iceberg Model for Corruption Practices, Triggers and Sources (Figure 03), the study identifies the following as key corruption practices Bribery, Extortion, Discriminatory, Unclassified, Fraudulence, Bid Rigging, Kickback among others. with their consequential effects. The study establishes that: 1. Corruption is “the biggest obstacle for poverty reduction. 2. Corruption undermines good governance and economic development. 3. Corruption in a nation’s political and economic operation could lead to inadequate infrastructure. Corruption as “the Biggest Obstacle for Poverty Reduction Corruption as the biggest obstacle for poverty reduction is a problem for social and economic development. The finding agrees with the argument raised by Yusuf et al., (2014), who states that there is a relationship between corruption and poverty and also corruption affects economic growth resulting to poverty among individual citizens. This finding also strongly buttresses the position of Addah et al., (2012) indicating that corruption has the capability to perpetuate poverty and that it can skew decisions and divert scarce funds; denying the poor his/her rightful access to the basic social services which could help improve their livelihood. Corruption need to be fought with all effort. The researcher sees corruption effects as one using basket to fetch scarce water from a stream that has a distance from home. All effort is always coz 90. Corruption Undermines Good Governance and Economic Development Corruption affects the functioning of public services by creating political instability and the ability to make a consequential impact on sustainability of public funds because resources are often redirected to fuel parallel economies. This is in line with the Doha Declaration by the UNODC; which state categorically that systematic corruption mainly in in public sector erodes public trust within the Government institution, the situation also has the ability to damage public integrity, and distort sector outcomes. Examples of cases include the corruption scandal related to the Bangladesh earthquake recovery project in relation the Padma bridge scandal in 2018 involving earthquake in Mexico City in the US; and the South Korea ferry disaster which findings established that corruption played a significant role in the event as such an important national infrastructure projects were awarded to companies which used cheap and low quality materials, neglecting safety procedures and enjoyed impunity and lack of government’s control over their actions; leading to unsafe infrastructure that resulted in high death tolls and injuries in the quake. The data agree with Joe Biden (2021) who asserts that: “Corruption is a cancer: a cancer that eats away at a citizen’s faith in democracy, diminishes the instinct for innovation and creativity; already-tight national budgets, crowding out important national investments. It wastes the talent of entire generations. It scares away investments and jobs”. Corruption in a Nation’s Political and Economic Operation Could Lead to Inadequate Infrastructure The study establishes that corruption negatively correlates with economic growth based on a micro level study conducted by Yusuf et al., (2014). The researchers, used a country level data to explore cross-country variations in both governance and economic indicators, found out that corruption significantly decreases economic growth and development. Another study by Rothstein & Teorell, (2008), which was based on a cross-country data; indicates that corruption is consistently correlated with lower growth rates, GDP per capital, economic equality, as well as lower levels of human development Similarly, a systematic review by Ugur & Dasgupta, (2011) evidence that corruption have effect on economic growth as a confirmation of the position of the above researchers. The research indicates that corruption also has indirect effects through transmission channels such as investment, human capital and public finance/expenditure. This is believed to directly affect growth and hold true for all countries under scrutiny. Kenny, (2012) argues that governance is central to https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajmri Pa ge 39 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajmri Am. J. Multidis. Res. Innov. 2(3) 32-40, 2023 development outcomes in infrastructure, not least because of corruption; defining corruption as a system of failed governance, the researcher argues that corruption can significantly impact infrastructure-related investment negatively. CONCLUSION Ghana losses approximately US$3 billion to corruption annually as a result of lack of accountability, and enjoyment of impunity on the part of public officials. The study establishes that: corruption is “the biggest obstacle for poverty reduction, undermines good governance and economic development. Finally, corruption in a nation’s political and economic operations could lead to inadequate infrastructure. The researchers’ key recommendation indicates that institutions should create transparency in operation and administration system to enhance governance effectiveness, achieved through systematic monitoring and evaluation across board as part of existing auditing approach and introduction of a national policy to foster the reclamation of public trust in relation to corruption through awareness creation among all level of educational systems as well as national and private media. Future Research The researcher will seek to uncover what is beyond the inadequate infrastructure with a suggested research topic: infrastructure deficit and social challenges; the ripple effect on sustainability in Ghana. REFERENCES Addah, M. 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