Preventing Procurement Corruption in the Health Sector of Ghana: A Factor and Principal Component Analysis

Abstract

A report by the World Bank called "Quiet Corruption" has revealed that 95 per cent of resources allocated to the health sector in Ghana was diverted into the pockets of individuals. Ghana is second to Chad in terms of the most corrupt when it comes to managing resources in the health sector in Africa.“Quiet Corruption” is an annual Africa Development Indicators report that revealed that the problem of corruption goes beyond bribes and graft and affects health, education, and agriculture sectors on the continent. As the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and other government agencies have not been able to map up the right programmes to prevent the further aggravation of the sordid situation, it was therefore important for a researchers to ascertain how to tackle corruption in Ghana. The sample size covered 72 experts in the two biggest hospitals in the country ( Korle-Bu Teaching hospital and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital). This included all the 18 top officials of the two hospitals, 36 procurement officials, 12 IT officials, and 6 accountants. The quota sampling technique ensured that the non top managers (officials) selected occurred in the ratio 3:2:1 respectively. The ratio indicated the level of involvement of these officials in the procurement process of the hospitals. Those who were more involved in procurement practices and adequately knowledgeable had greater representation in the sample. Their views were analysed with Factor Analysis and Principal Component Analysis. These tools were used to establish the relative importance of measures used to prevent corruption in procurement. The relative importance of the elements of appeared in the following order: The use of good rules, Putting in place efficient management systems, Enhancing access to information and Promoting integrity among officials. This is the order of priority that must be given to the elements used in preventing corruption in the health sector of Ghana.

Keywords: Corruption, Procurement, Fraud, Good rules, transparency and monitoring