Finance
Africa’s top 10 most corrupt countries
It is safe to say that corruption has its roots in almost every system in Africa. Extending from the political sphere to the economic, financial, security and social spheres, corruption seems to overshadow integrity, accountability, fairness and morality.
While there is no doubt that corruption is unique to Africa, recent statistics on corruption across the continent show that Africans, despite their disadvantages, are highly involved.
The list of Africa’s 10 most corrupt countries was published by Transparency International (TI) using a global corruption barometer. The list ranks countries according to the level of corruption that citizens perceive in their country .
In a bid to determine the level of corrupt practices each African country found most corrupt this year, TI surveyed 54 African countries. And the result accurately reflects what the members of the countries can relate to.
The truth is that corruption reigns supreme in almost every country on the face of the earth. However, the findings of numerous researchers indicate that corruption thrives in most countries struggling with political, economic and social instability.
To the extent that corruption is endemic in Africa (as it is in other continents), it has been with man from time immemorial. The crux of this article, however, is not to mock any country mentioned here, but rather to uncover how deep corruption runs in Africa, while also identifying ways to combat it.
Where are the most corrupt countries in Africa?
10. Uganda
According to the report roping corruption sagas, new power players are emerging in Uganda’s government departments and ministries, despite repeated endorsements of the anti-corruption war by their current leader, President Museveni, and his government.
The report also found that Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi has been linked to corruption cases, particularly the sale of land to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
However, President Museveni granted him immunity from justice. The healthcare system is weakened, and more and more doctors choose foreign countries where they can get fat wages. Schools, particularly in rural areas of Uganda, remain in a poor state and teachers have been on strike over low wages.
According to the African Peer Review Mechanism’s 2007 report, corruption keeps the country from making $258.6 million (£160.3 million) every year.
9. Equatorial Guinea
Despite this, the country takes a position on the list of one of the richest nations in the world, beating Saudi Arabia, Korea and Italy combined. From bribery to looting, so the poverty rate of the entire nation is really high. This is because Equatorial Guinean citizens survive on less than $1 a day.
8. Angola
In the last decade Angola has lost about 5 billion dollars to corruption. The country is among the most corrupt countries in Africa and is also among the ten most corrupt countries in the world. Almost the entire Angolan government raises hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud funds for personal use.
7. Cameroon
Based on the report, around 62% of Cameroonians bribed them in the past year, while 81% said their judiciary was pro-transplant. 71% of respondents indicated that corruption runs deep in schools. About 46% of respondents said transplant practices had skyrocketed over the past two years, and only 30% thought corruption had decreased.
6. Mozambique
62% of Mozambican respondents said either they or someone in their household had paid a bribe at some point in the last year. 79% of those questioned felt that the education sector was very corrupt (only the police were considered more corrupt). The Ministry of Education is embroiled in several scandals, such as the diversion of funds and corrupt admissions to schools. However, the report is encouraging, with 64% of respondents believing that citizens can help fight corruption.
5. Zimbabwe
Mugabe’s country was hit famously corrupt. According to the study, 62% of respondents in Zimbabwe said they had bribed someone in the past year. 77% of Zimbabweans believe corruption has spread across the country Zimbabwe has been independently suspected as a result of the rise in poverty and deprivation. 65% of respondents indicated that the country’s healthcare sector is heavily affected by corruption.
4. Libya
The report shows that 62% of respondents in Libya paid bribes as a basic way to get proper service. Sadly, 71% of respondents said journalists would not report an incident of corruption because the case was not good. A press release from Amnesty International shows that a newspaper editor has been convicted and sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for publishing a list of 84 reportedly corrupt judges.
3. Kenya
Well, our own Kenya didn’t miss this list. The country has also been hit by transplant scandals – almost countless. The report shows that 74% of Kenyan respondents have paid bribes to get government services faster. A proportion of respondents also indicated that they would not have been able to access the services if they had not paid the bribes. 95% said the police are very corrupt. In addition, those responsible have allocated public funds to projects that would have served the public and created thousands of jobs.
2.Liberia
Liberians said that nothing from the government is tantamount to bribery, as 75% of Liberians received bribes within a year to be served by government officials. The country’s judiciary is corrupt with 96% describing Parliament as very corrupt.
The police have been called transplant with 94% their corruption is extreme. Deputy Police Director for Administration Rose Stryker has cited low income as a cause of the country’s security agency’s situation. President Johnson Sirleaf joined some powerful people in their government to clean up corruption.
1. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone ranked firstThe largest percentage of respondents – 84% – of any country whose citizens were surveyed. Citizens said they used bribes to gain the favor of government officials, who were paid by the administration to perform these duties. 79% consider the police to be very corrupt, 74% the judiciary.
Richard Konteh, President Ernest Bai Koromas, the chief of staff, who frowned at the survey and said that it was not his country’s local custom to present kola nuts to the chief after a job well done. This has led to Sierra Leone being considered the worst of Africa’s corrupt countries.
Recognizable causes of corruption in Africa
Corruption is as widespread in Africa as in other developed, developing and underdeveloped countries in the world. This simply means that the countries concerned have common factors that lead to corruption.
Some recognizable causes of corruption in AfricaThese include but are not limited to selfishness, greed, political conflict, lack of political will, weak judicial system, lack of fairness, transparency and accountability, lack of ethical values.
Are there ways to fight corruption in Africa?
Although it seems almost impossible to curb corruption in African countries, it is quite possible to keep corruption under control. Some ways to keep the “monster” under control are:
- Stand up for your rights even in the face of threats, intimidation or harassment.
- Ensuring our communities have access to basic social services and amenities.
- Conducting constructive evaluations and evaluations of leaders and demanding their accountability, regardless of how powerful they might be or appear to be.
- Taking urgent and necessary disciplinary action against abusive leaders and their cohorts in government.
- Creating spaces for citizens, especially poor families, to engage in meaningful dialogue with leaders. Remember that corruption leads to poverty and other unpleasant diseases to a large extent.
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