A bi-annual report by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) on governance responsiveness, inclusiveness, and corruption experiences in Ghana has revealed mixed trends in citizen engagement and bribery patterns in the Oti Region. Â
The report utilised Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI) to gather data across two waves.
According to GSS findings, citizens in the Oti Region were engaged more with public officials and proportion of citizens, who contacted public officials jumped from 38.9 per cent in Wave 1, from January to December 2024, to 64.3 per cent in Wave 2, from January to June 2025.
On bribery, the report noted a 5.6 percentage point drop in bribe payments in the Oti Region from 15.5 per cent in Wave 1 to 9.9 per cent in Wave 2.
However, when bribes were paid, the frequency of paying bribes five times or more had increased sharply from 8.6 per cent to 18.7 per cent.
There had been a decline in using food, drink, or animals as bribe payments down from 30.1 per cent to 13.2 per cent, but other non-cash bribe forms such as valuables or goods saw an increase.
Only three regions: Northern, Volta, and Oti saw increases in bribery cases reported to anti-corruption institutions between Wave 1 and Wave 2.
The report revealed that in Oti, Savannah and North East Regions, reported bribe payments did not exceed GH¢1,000 in both waves of data collection.
However, payments of GH¢100 or less as bribe in the Oti Region increased from 59.5 per cent in wave 1 to 72.1 per cent in wave 2.
Direct requests for bribes by public officials dropped drastically from 55.1 per cent in Wave 1 to 24.8 per cent in Wave 2.
These findings provided a snapshot of the changing dynamics in citizen engagement and bribery in Ghana’s Oti Region.
GNA
