Ghana lost about GHS12 billion to corruption at the Registrar-Generals Department and other relevant regulatory agencies in the country in 2018.

According to a survey conducted by the Private Enterprise Federation (PEF), majority of Ghanaians pay bribes to avoid delays while registering their business.

The project, funded by Starr-Ghana, is expected to fight administrative corruption which turns to increase the cost of doing business in the country.

Lead Consultant of the Survey, Clara Kasar-Tee, expressed worry that if the situation is not reversed, the country would lose significant revenue to corruption.

“The bribes that the private sector admits to paying – of course, I’m sure we all know that they go unrecorded, and once they go unrecorded tax doesn’t get paid on it but it’s income; the people have received monies, there is no tax on that money. Now, the second leg of it; when there are delays, what happens? Businesses lose income and we saw the figures; they are huge”.

She outlined further: “The state benefits when businesses make profits and the state loses when businesses lose. So, because of the delays, businesses are losing and when businesses are losing, the state is losing; if we are able to address those delays, that means more taxable income and that definitely means more taxes for the state,”

She commended the state institutions for their cooperation, saying the institutions have been candid with information.

PEF also called on all regulatory agencies to keep funds received from the public as internally generated funds (IGF) for their operations.

This, the Federation believes, would enhance the capacity of agencies in delivering their mandate and reducing corruption.

The study began a year ago and was concluded recently.