Accra, March 19, 2018//-Latest survey conducted by Afrobarometer, a non-partisan research network has revealed that 75% of Ghanaians want Parliament to ensure that the President explains government spending.
Key findings
▪ Large majorities of Ghanaians endorse the rule of law and the legitimacy of key state enforcement bodies, affirming that:
o Parliament should ensure that the president explains government spending (75%); The president must obey the laws and courts, even if he thinks they are wrong (75%);
o Citizens should obey the government, regardless of whether they voted for it (90%); and o The police have the right to demand obedience to laws (88%), the tax authorities have the right to make people pay taxes (87%), and the courts have the right to make decisions that people always have to abide by (78%).
▪ Three-fourths of Ghanaians also believe that in practice, the president “rarely” or “never” ignores Parliament (76%) or the courts and laws of the country (75%) to act the way he wants.
▪ Notwithstanding these endorsements, there is a widespread – and growing – belief that inequities exist in how laws are applied:
o A majority say that people are “often” or “always” treated unequally under the law (62%) and that officials who commit crimes are “somewhat” or “very” likely to go unpunished (67%).
o More than eight in 10 citizens believe the rich are likely to be able to pay bribes or use personal connections to avoid going to court (83%), avoid paying taxes (84%), or register land that does not belong to them (88%).
The survey which was conducted by Afrobarometer team in Ghana, led by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), through face-toface interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with nationally representative samples, interviewed 2,400 adult Ghanaians between September 9 and 25, 2017.
A sample of this size yields results with a margin of error of +/-2% at a 95% confidence level. Previous surveys have been conducted in Ghana in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2012, and 2014.
African Eye Report
