The World Bank has estimated that about US$1 trillion is lost through bribery and corruption worldwide.
These is contained in results of surveys of enterprises by the World Bank to ascertain the amount of bribes paid for the operation of
the firms as well as what is paid to get favourable decisions on public procurement.
Mr. Kofi Tsikata, Senior Communication Specialist at the World Bank Office in Ghana, disclosed this in an interview with Ghana News
Agency in Accra.
He noted that the Work Bank had been computing the scale and cost of widespread corruption in developing countries.
This is against the background of the Bank’s acknowledgement that the current levels of aid required to meet major development challenges as set out in the Millennium Development Goals are
inadequate and need to be scaled up significantly.
Some statistics say the cost of corruption in Africa is estimated at more than US$ 148 billion a year. This is thought to represent 25%
of Africa’s GDP and to increase the cost of goods by as much as 20 per cent.
Mr Tsikata stressed that the World Bank found corruption to be a major problem retarding development globally and permeating both the
private and public sectors.
The Senior Communication Director said the World Bank research found that the business sector grew significantly faster where corruption was lower and property rights and the rule of law were
safeguarded.
On average, he said, it could make a difference of about three per cent per year in annual growth for enterprises.
Mr Tsikata said many multinational and domestic corporations were making a contribution to good governance and integrity and were prepared to work with governments to have an investment climate with less corruption.
The World Bank was working on an ambitious programme to curb corruption in countries where the practice was said to be ingrained at all levels of the system, he added.