Corruption still pervasive in Africa

Lazarus Sauti

The prevalence of corruption, which ranges from high political graft on the scale of millions of dollars to low-level bribes to police officers or custom officials, in Africa is unacceptable.

In a 2009 report for the Council on Foreign Relations on Corruption in Africa, it was noted that the continent is widely considered among the world’s most corrupt places, a factor seen as contributing to the stunted development and impoverishment of many states.

More so, a 2002 African Union (AU) study estimated that corruption cost the continent roughly USD $150 billion a year. Corruption is, therefore, bleeding African states.

Recently, the government of Malawi estimated that corruption had cost it about 13billion kwacha. The country’s “Cashgate corruption scandal” may have cost the public 24bn kwacha (£35m) – almost double the official estimate – with some of the money siphoned off for politicians’ election campaigns, according to a British-funded audit.

An investigation by the auditor, Baker Tilly, indicates that payments were made to 202 individuals by government departments, in particular the police and army, according to one South African newspaper. The scam was based on over-invoicing, double payments and payments for items that were not supplied or for which there was no supporting documentation.

Still on how money gets mismanaged, Sierra Leone has failed to properly account for a third of Ebola funds between May and October 2014. According to the Sierra Leone National Auditors Report on Ebola Funds Management (May to October 2014), there were inadequate controls over the disbursement of funds.

“For instance, payments which exceeded Le14 billion were made from the Emergency Health Response and Miscellaneous Accounts without any supporting documents to substantiate the utilisation of such funds. Further payments which exceeded Le11billion were made from the same accounts without adequate supporting documents such as receipts, invoices, as well as delivery notes,” noted the report.

The report added that payments were also made to politicians and “ghost” healthcare workers. “A spot review of incentive payments at the Connaught Hospital revealed that the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces and the Sierra Leone Police security personnel were included on the list of workers to receive hazard payment even though funds had been transferred to both forces to meet the deployment of their officers.”

Corruption is also eating into Zimbabwe’s public service delivery system. Because of this, Australian ambassador to Zimbabwe, Matthew Neuhaus, has blamed corruption in the country for throttling economic progress.

Neuhaus is right as 22 ministries were recently found wanting on poor corporate governance, abuse of fund accounts along with flouting procurement procedures.

In her executive summary for Government ministries 2013 audit report, Auditor-General, Ms Mildred Chiri, said the 22 ministries, constitutes 67 per cent of ministries.

Chiri also noted irregularities on overtime allowance. “They were payments of overtime allowances to employees and bonuses to casual workers without approval from Treasury and the Civil Service Commission (CSC),” she said, adding that on procurement of goods and services, rules were flouted in most ministries.

The cancer of corruption is not rife in Malawi, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe only but in most, if not all, African countries. This is evident as states like Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa have made little progress on fighting corruption.

All three countries established anti-corruption agencies that sought to prevent, investigate and prosecute corruption, but a 2008 paper from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa asserted that such agencies have been largely inefficient and ineffective due to their uncertain political footing.

Political leaders in Africa must, therefore, put measures such as increasing spending on training African human resources or enhancing corporate social responsibility programmes for communities in place to combat corruption. They should also come up with stringent measures to punish corrupt individuals, regardless of their position and status in society.

Adhering to the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, adopted by the 2^nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union in Maputo on the 11^th of July 2003, African leaders must reform politically by formulating comprehensive public sector reform plans and strategies so as to transform processes and practices around financial management.

Transparency in financial and resource management should be prioritised in all countries. Paulus Noa, director general of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of Namibia, recently said, “Policies with regard to the awarding of concessions in public sectors need to be reviewed to ensure transparency.”  

The AU should make sure that member states institutionalise anti-corruption procedures by strengthening the legal mechanisms required to investigate and prosecute officials, and in their quest to fight corruption, political and business leaders should not care about soiling their status. Was it not Xi Jinping, China President, who said in 2014, “In my struggle against corruption, I do not care about life or death, or ruining my reputation?”