Corruption in Postcolonial Ghana: Political, Economic, Cultural and Religious Perspectives

Corruption in post-colonial Ghana has been hampering the development of the country. This happens in various forms, the most noticeable been taking advantage of political office to enrich oneself. Ghanaians see politics as the way to become rich and for that matter, many join politics to be rich in a short possible time with their investments be it money or time. Due to the lack of job availability, people are also forced to also indulge in illegal or corrupt activities to survive. Culture is also seen to play its role in the country whereby one conforms according to their beliefs which makes them find it difficult to obey pubic rules. In Ghana, cultural practices are noted to be that of collectivism where one acts or behaves within the circle of their traditions or culture. And with that one intends to favor people within their circle or among them. These practices have been seen also to contribute to the level of corruption in the country. Moreover, religion is also perceived to influence corruption in Ghana. This study sought to examine how corruption is been influenced by these selected variables of politics, culture, economy, and religion. The quantitative method was used to examine their level of influence on corruption in Ghana. As well as governmental documents, purposeful literature review, case study on politics, religion, culture, and economy were also reviewed and analyzed to substantiate the study. The results showed that variables of economy, culture, politics, and economy have a significant influence on corruption while religious influences on corruption were not significant. These suggest that measures to tackle corruption should take into account culture, politics, and economic circumstances in other for them to be effective.