Over 70% adult population more confident in religious, traditional systems than the formal for Justice- GSS Survey

A greater proportion of adults in Ghana have more confidence in religious and traditional justice systems relative to the formal judicial and quasi-judicial systems.

The above forms part of the findings of the 2021 Ghana Integrity of Public Services Survey(GIPSS) by the Ghana Statistical Service.

An excerpt of the findings published by the GSS in its Monthly Press Release dated December 4, 2022, shows that “seven in every ten(69.9%) adults hold the view that the religious and traditional leaders’ system effectively protect the rights of every citizen.”

This figure is 10.8 percentage points higher than those who are of the view that the formal justice system effectively protects their rights and that of every citizen.

SECURITY AND SAFETY OF CITIZENS

Further to the above, the findings indicate that “one in every three adults(32.6%) report they do not feel safe walking around in their neighborhood at night. This is slightly higher than the proportion of people who report not feeling safely paid bribes in the last 12 months.

CORRUPTION

Also, three in every four representing about 75% of adults think corruption increased in Ghana in the two years preceding the survey with about half thinking corruption increased due to COVID-19.

On strategies for fighting corruption, 45.1% of the persons surveyed believe in improving living standards while 41.2% are in improving the access to basic services for all, and a further 35.9% think introducing an anonymous reporting system against the act will work best.

AWARENESS OF ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENCIES

It emerged from the survey also that less than half of adults in Ghana thus 46.5% are aware of the major anti-corruption agencies i.e. Office of the Special Prosecutor, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice(CHRAJ), and the Organised Crime Office(EOCO).