Ghana Drama
Corruption has many, many aspects, some more known and some more creative. Throughout my career I have encountered many creative ways of getting around digital programs, as well as other government processes, made to simplify government actions and support citizen access. Corrupt actors will take advantage of these systems and recently the employees of the Ghana Embassy in the United States joined the group of creative corrupt individuals. This was noted in the article by the City Newsroom , where the government of Ghana decided to temporarily shut down its embassy, “The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has announced the temporary closure of Ghana’s embassy in Washington, D.C., following allegations of widespread corruption and abuse of office at the diplomatic mission.” In this case an IT employee of the embassy inserted a personal link on the government website, which redirected all individuals applying for services to his own website, where they were charged unauthorized fees. This was uncovered by the government through an audit and due to the rampant corruption, the Ghanaian government closed its embassy temporarily. Several employees were recalled to Accra, as well as there will be further investigations.
The information that this article did not provide was what mechanisms existed in the system to monitor potential corruption. In this instance, a review of the website and the links would have been a better means to monitor it’s website. Secondarily, clear costs for services is essential, transparency is the best way to address possible questions regarding costs, which can lead to potential corruption. And finally, whistleblowing and complaints mechanisms could have also helped. Obviously, an audit, which was used, is a good means of checking but certainly more robust ongoing monitoring would have been better. Of course, as anyone working in this area knows, it’s easier to see what needs to be done after the fact. And this is one more creative corruption action to be on the lookout for.
Link:
https://citinewsroom.com/2025/05/ghana-shuts-down-embassy-in-washington-d-c-over-corruption-scandal/