Jan. 30, 2024

This year’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) shows mixed results in Africa, with significant improvements in a few countries. However, most African countries experienced stagnation, maintaining the region’s consistently poor performance, with an unaltered regional average score of 33 out of 100. Ninety per cent of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa scored under 50.

Transparency International in its released 2023 report said, despite a regional survey ranking corruption among the most important problems that Africans want their governments to address, the 2023 CPI shows that countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have a long way to go in their fight against corruption.

According to TI in a statement, Seychelles (CPI score: 71) remains the top scorer in the region, followed by Cabo Verde (64) and Botswana (59). Equatorial Guinea (17), South Sudan (13) and Somalia (11) perform the lowest with no sign of improvement.

Corruption impacts the most vulnerable

Despite an economic growth rate of 3.3 per cent in 2023, Sub-Saharan Africa continues to grapple with extreme poverty, affecting about 462 million people.

The region’s persistent challenges stem from decades of severe underfunding in public sectors, exacerbated by corruption and illicit financial flows siphoning resources away from basic public services.

Addressing social and economic issues remains ineffective, often at the expense of the most vulnerable population. Corruption in justice delivery mechanisms disproportionately affects the poorest citizens and those who depend primarily on public services, such as people living with disabilities or women and children, hindering the realisation of global and regional development goals.

Weak checks and balances threaten democracy

Cases of corruption and related challenges in justice systems in the region range from reports of bribery to extortion and political interference in justice systems of countries like Nigeria (25), to the dismissal and imprisonment of magistrates accused of corruption in Burundi (20), and all the way to the denial of justice for victims of human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (20).

These examples underscore the justice system’s crucial role in safeguarding basic human rights and social equity.

Democracy across Africa is also under pressure with a rise in the number of unconstitutional changes in some of the lowest-scoring countries, including Mali (28), Guinea (26), Niger (32) and Gabon (28), with insecurity and corruption cited as the main underlying reasons. Since 2020, there have been nine coups in the Sahel region and Central Africa.

Despite adopting the African Union Convention on Prevention and Combatting Corruption (AUCPCC) two decades ago, impunity of public actors, a weakened civic space and the lack of public access to justice and information continue to be critical issues that threaten the rule of law in the region. Anti-corruption efforts are therefore necessary and pertinent at all levels and with multiple stakeholders within the justice network, from court-class lawyers and family systems to prosecutors and magistrates.

Cautious optimism amid anti-corruption efforts

Côte d’Ivoire (40) has improved steadily over the past decade, with a thirteen-point increase since 2013. After years of armed conflicts in the early 2000s and a political standoff following the 2010 presidential elections, President Alassane Ouattara’s administration implemented several successful reforms.

These include passing a law on prevention and repression, establishing a national anti-corruption authority, requiring senior officials to declare assets upon assuming duty, creating economic and financial crimes sections in the court system, implementing toll-free corruption reporting lines and issuing a decree on combatting money laundering.

While these legal and institutional measures are steps in the right direction, they should be enforced across all relevant sectors in Côte d’Ivoire. Additional measures, such as making asset declarations public, passing a law on whistleblower protection with robust enforcement mechanisms and introducing a beneficial ownership register accessible to the public, would complement these efforts.

Seychelles (71) and Angola (33) continue to register marked progress in their fight against corruption. Over the past decade, Seychelles’ CPI score increased by 19 points, while Angola has improved by 14 points since 2019. Both countries share common anti-corruption measures, such as the consistent effort to recover stolen assets and openly hold alleged perpetrators to account through the national justice systems.

Angola finalised an anti-corruption strategy spanning 2018-2022. These efforts, together with other judicial reforms, have led to the recovery of US$ 3.3 billion in assets by the sovereign wealth fund. The investigation and prosecution of high-ranking officials has also culminated in the recovery of approximately US$7 billion in total financial and tangible assets.

Cabo Verde (64) recently passed a law to create an online platform for judicial operators to reduce delays and pending proceedings.

Liberia (25) has declined sixteen points since 2012. The country’s CPI score contrasts with positive reforms introduced by the administration of former President George Weah in the latter part of his tenure in 2022-2023.

These efforts included the amendment of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) Act, which gives the commission direct and immediate power to prosecute and seize public officials’ assets, the passing of a whistleblower protection law and the amendment of the National Code of Conduct, among others.

However, the impact of these reforms is yet to be fully realised, as impunity for corruption remains high. This is evidenced in cases where multiple officials sanctioned by the US government for significant public sector corruption have neither been investigated nor prosecuted after being suspended.

Courtesy: Transparency International