The curse of corruption in Africa

Solly Rakgomo | Monday March 13, 2023 06:00

Alongside the problem of petty bribery, which is extensive in some parts of the region, the interrelated phenomena of fragility, crony capitalism, and poor governance have resulted in shocking forms of corruption, notably state capture.

Global governance indices suggest that the public sector in sub-Saharan Africa is the most corrupt of any region in the world. Many citizens believe that levels of corruption have increased in recent years and are not satisfied with their governments’ anti-corruption efforts. In the Global Corruption Perception Index majority of countries that perform poorly are from Africa.

Corrupt practices are deeply intertwined with ongoing conflict and state fragility in some African countries, notably in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel region and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Political corruption is common, and it takes many forms, such as state capture, patronage networks, opaque political party financing, vote buying and unresolved conflicts of interests.

There are countless examples of corrupt behavior especially from the politically connected elites. According to the Al Jazeera on June,2022, Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera fired the country’s chief of police, suspended several senior government officials and also took the extraordinary step of stripping his deputy, Saulos Chilima, of all powers after they were accused of receiving kickbacks from UK-based businessman Zuneth Sattar in exchange for government contracts worth more than $150m.While Chilima is the highest-ranking official in Malawi to be removed from power over alleged corruption to date, few were shocked by the accusations. After all it was only in January that Chakwera had to dissolve the country’s cabinet after three prominent ministers, Lands Minister Kezzie Msukwa, Labour Minister Ken Kandodo and Energy Minister Newton Kambala faced corruption charges. Indeed, from Malawi to South Africa and Zimbabwe, from Angola to Mozambique and Namibia in countries across Africa high-ranking civil servants and their relatives, in cahoots with industry and business leaders, seem to have long been shamelessly stealing from the long-suffering masses.

South Africa, for instance, has recently been rocked by allegations that former President Jacob Zuma and a plethora of former ministers and CEOs of state-owned companies systematically planned and executed state capture to aid the wealthy Gupta family and line their pockets. Beyond the Gupta scandal, South Africa is battling to recover millions of dollars it lost through dodgy contracts linked to the nationwide campaign to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In Zimbabwe, Kudakwashe Tagwirei, a businessman allied to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, stands accused of amassing $90m through a shady central bank deal.

In Mozambique, ex-President Armando Guebuza’s son, Ndambi Guebuza, former Finance Minister Manuel Chang, and several other senior governing party members stand accused of participating in the disappearance of loans, taken out to finance maritime surveillance, fishing, and shipyard projects worth $2.2bn.In Namibia, former Fisheries Minister Bernhardt Esau and former Justice Minister Sacky Shanghala stand accused of taking bribes worth millions of dollars from an Icelandic fishing company. In Angola, Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angola’s former President José Eduardo dos Santos, is being accused of making billions of dollars through illicit activities. The list is endless across the continent This is a clear indication that in Africa corruption is a disease, a cancer that eats into the cultural, political and economic fabric of society, and destroys the functioning of vital organs. In the words of Transparency International, “Corruption is one of the greatest challenges of contemporary Africa. It is a serious curse that undermines good governance, fundamentally distorts public policy, leads to the misallocation of resources, harms the private sector and private sector development and particularly hurts the poor.

Corruption is serious disease that is stubbornly entrenched in the poor countries of Sub-Saharan Africa and it is deeprooted in the continent. The danger about corruption is that it has its most perverse effects on the people who are forced to live under it. Corruption undermines democracy, hollows out the rule of law, and prevents the efficient and fair delivery of government services, as evidenced in the scandals affecting certain pandemic response efforts. Corruption also fuels the rise of authoritarian opportunists who seek to exploit social divisions, restrict freedom, and use public office for personal gain.

The impact of corruption goes beyond the corrupt individuals, the innocent colleagues who are implicated, or the reputation of the organizations they work for. Corruption erodes the trust that people have in the public sector to act in their best interests. It also wastes people’s taxes or rates that have been earmarked for important community projects – meaning people have to put up with poor quality services or infrastructure. Corruption creates and increases poverty and exclusion. While corrupt individuals with political power enjoy a lavish life, millions of Africans are deprived of their basic needs like food, health, education, housing, access to clean water and sanitation.

The scourge of corruption has an adverse impact on the security sector as well as it is a major impediment to the development of African security sectors. Corruption in the military, intelligence, and police services is part and parcel of the highly entreAcross sub-Saharan Africa, many countries are making considerable progress towards the vision of a democratic, prosperous and peaceful continent outlined in the African Union’s Agenda 2063. However, gains are threatened by high levels of corruption.

Alongside the problem of petty bribery, which is extensive in some parts of the region, the interrelated phenomena of fragility, crony capitalism, and poor governance, have resulted in shocking forms of corruption, notably state capture. Global governance indices suggest that the public sector in sub-Saharan Africa is the most corrupt of any region in the world.

Many citizens believe that levels of corruption have increased in recent years and are not satisfied with their governments’ anti-corruption efforts. In the Global Corruption Perception Index, the majority of countries that perform poorly are from Africa. Corrupt practices are deeply intertwined with ongoing conflict and state fragility in some African countries, notably in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel region and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Political corruption is common and it takes many forms, such as state capture, patronage networks, opaque political party financing, vote buying and unresolved conflicts of interests.

There are countless examples of corrupt behaviour especially from the politically connected elites. According to the Al Jazeera, on June,2022 Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera fired the country’s chief of police, suspended several senior government officials and also took the extraordinary step of stripping his deputy, Saulos Chilima, of all powers after they were accused of receiving kickbacks from UK-based businessman Zuneth Sattar in exchange for government contracts worth more than $150m.

While Chilima is the highest-ranking official in Malawi to be removed from power over alleged corruption to date, few were shocked by the accusations. After all it was only in January that Chakwera had to dissolve the country’s Cabinet after three prominent ministers, Lands Minister Kezzie Msukwa, Labour Minister Ken Kandodo and Energy Minister Newton Kambala faced corruption charges. Indeed, from Malawi to South Africa and Zimbabwe, from Angola to Mozambique and Namibia and countries across Africa, high-ranking civil servants and their relatives, in cahoots with industry and business leaders, seem to have long been shamelessly stealing from the long-suffering masses.