Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has warned that cybercrime and digital manipulation are fast becoming new frontiers of corruption in Africa, undermining governance systems and draining national resources.
Delivering the keynote address at the opening of the 9th Biennial General Meeting of the African Parliamentarians’ Network Against Corruption (APNAC) in Accra, Speaker Alban Bagbin said corruption is no longer limited to cash exchanges and shady contracts – it has now gone digital.
“Corruption is a chameleon – nebulous, multifaceted and ever-changing its colours,” he said.
“Today, corruption has the proclivity to mimic scientific innovations and information technology. It is linked to other forms of crime.”
He noted that cybercrime has joined the list of corruption’s allies, alongside organized crime, money laundering, human trafficking and the drug trade.
“Digital systems meant to improve governance can be hijacked by cybercriminals,” the Speaker said, pointing to Ghana’s growing losses in the digital space.
“According to Ghana’s Cyber Security Authority, Ghana lost GHC 23.3 million in 2024 and GHC 14.9 million in the first half of 2025 to this sophisticated form of crime.”
Mr. Bagbin warned that as African countries embrace digital governance and financial technology, they must also prepare for the sophisticated corruption risks that come with it.
“The corrupt adapt and mutate. The corrupt innovate and create,” he said.
He described the trend as “a mirage of sophisticated networks that stretch across borders,” adding that without coordinated continental action, cyber-enabled corruption could cripple Africa’s development.
Alban Bagbin urged African parliaments to take the lead in protecting public systems from digital exploitation by strengthening laws, oversight, and institutional coordination.
“When the drumbeat changes, the dance must also change,” he said, stressing that old approaches to anti-corruption would no longer suffice in the digital age.
Mr. Bagbin also called for the African Parliamentarians’ Network Against Corruption to be repositioned to address these emerging threats.
“We need a stronger, louder, bolder APNAC that leverages technology to uncover and address corruption more efficiently and transparently,” he said.
The APNAC meeting, hosted in Accra, has brought together legislators and anti-corruption experts from across the continent to explore how African parliaments can strengthen their role in fighting corruption amid new technological challenges.
