The Ghana Police Service, especially the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), is still the public institution where most people say they are asked to pay bribes. However, new data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) shows that the number of reported bribery cases dropped in 2025.
Government Statistician, Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, said the MTTD remains the public institution most linked to bribery, even though the situation has improved compared to the previous year.
Speaking at the Governance Series event organised by Three Reports and the GSS on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, he said more than half of people who dealt with the MTTD said they made unofficial payments or gave gifts.
“I must say that the police remain top of the list. Over half of those dealing with the Motor Traffic and Transport Department still reported giving a gift. But even there, the numbers moved the right way as the share reduced from 61% in 2024 to 53.7% in 2025,” he said.
Even though the police continue to lead the list of institutions where people reported paying bribes, Dr. Iddrisu said there has been improvement across all the major public institutions that were highlighted in earlier surveys.
“Every one of the biggest offending public institutions improved,” he said.
“When we did Wave Two, we listed the 20 institutions where individuals reported paying bribes the most. What we observed in Wave Three is that most of these institutions actually saw progress because the incidence of bribery reduced in each of them.”
Dr. Iddrisu said the findings show that bribery in Ghana is mainly concentrated in a few public institutions. Because of this, he believes efforts to fight corruption can be more effective if they focus on those key institutions.
“What is this telling us? It tells us that bribery in Ghana is actually concentrated. Once you’re able to pick key institutions where these are occurring, then your problem reduces too. Looking at interventions to reduce the incidence in these key institutions can change the national picture,” he said.
According to the Government Statistician, the latest findings show that Ghana has made some progress in reducing bribery. However, he stressed that continuous reforms in public institutions that are most affected by corruption are still needed to achieve lasting results across the country.
