TY - JOUR
T1 - Vertical accountability among ministries of state in an emerging economy
T2 - A case study of Ghana
AU - Acheampong, Joseph Ofori
AU - Dzordzormenyoh, Michael K.
AU - Bawole, Justice Nyigmah
AU - Ahenkan, Albert
AU - Sakyi, Emmanuel Kojo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Since 1992, Ghana has implemented several initiatives and reforms such as the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACAP), Right to Information (RTI) Act, Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) with the goal of improving accountability while reducing corruption. These policies provide researchers with a lot of opportunities to examine how effective these programs have been as well as their impact on accountability. Hence, the present study seeks to accomplish three main objectives: 1) to explore the factors that facilitate vertical accountability; 2) to explore the limitations to vertical accountability; and 3) to investigate the benefits of vertical accountability in Ghana. To accomplish these objectives, we interviewed twenty directors in seven ministries of state and ten experts across civil society and academia in Ghana. We found that the disclosure of financial income, assets, and interest, the Right to Information (RTI) Act; merit-based recruitment, proper record keeping, performance-based evaluation, training and development, the absence of corruption, and conflicts of interest are major drivers of vertical accountability in Ghana. Additionally, we found that the presence of corruption, nepotism/patron-clientelism, conflict of interest, a lack of political commitment and participation, inadequate resources, and weak complaint and accountability mechanisms limit vertical accountability. Finally, the benefits of vertical accountability include improvements in openness and fairness, effective and efficient utilization of scarce resources, integrity, and trust. These results were extensively discussed, while recommendations for future studies were proffered.
AB - Since 1992, Ghana has implemented several initiatives and reforms such as the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACAP), Right to Information (RTI) Act, Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) with the goal of improving accountability while reducing corruption. These policies provide researchers with a lot of opportunities to examine how effective these programs have been as well as their impact on accountability. Hence, the present study seeks to accomplish three main objectives: 1) to explore the factors that facilitate vertical accountability; 2) to explore the limitations to vertical accountability; and 3) to investigate the benefits of vertical accountability in Ghana. To accomplish these objectives, we interviewed twenty directors in seven ministries of state and ten experts across civil society and academia in Ghana. We found that the disclosure of financial income, assets, and interest, the Right to Information (RTI) Act; merit-based recruitment, proper record keeping, performance-based evaluation, training and development, the absence of corruption, and conflicts of interest are major drivers of vertical accountability in Ghana. Additionally, we found that the presence of corruption, nepotism/patron-clientelism, conflict of interest, a lack of political commitment and participation, inadequate resources, and weak complaint and accountability mechanisms limit vertical accountability. Finally, the benefits of vertical accountability include improvements in openness and fairness, effective and efficient utilization of scarce resources, integrity, and trust. These results were extensively discussed, while recommendations for future studies were proffered.
KW - Ministries of State
KW - agency theory
KW - corporate governance
KW - top-down
KW - vertical accountability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85153196678&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/23311975.2023.2199488
DO - 10.1080/23311975.2023.2199488
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85153196678
SN - 2331-1975
VL - 10
JO - Cogent Business and Management
JF - Cogent Business and Management
IS - 2
M1 - 2199488
ER -