African is endowed with vast mineral resources estimated a quarter of
the total world mineral deposit. However, the mineral resources
deposits has not transformed into development for its people. The
continent remains the poorest in terms of income poverty and is on the
lowest indices in social indicators ranging from life expectancy,
illiteracy rates, water and sanitation, nutrition, diseases etc.
According to the World Bank Report 2010, 48.5 percent of People in Sub-Saharan African
live below the $1.25 a day poverty headcount ratio in contrast with
2.4% in the Middle East and North Africa. It is obvious that the massive
wealth accruing from the continents mineral resources only benefits few
with the remaining vast population wallowing in abject poverty.
Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Nigeria, Angola, Equatorial
Guineas, and Gabon are amongst the resource rich countries but each is
plagued by poverty and now facing insurrections which is a clear
manifestation of misrule and mismanagement of the continent resources.
Africa experience is that the higher the resource rent the higher the
corruption. Why is the vast wealth of Africa failing to translate into
development for its people? The often cited reasons are; weak government
institutions, absence of anti-corruption mechanisms, lack of political
will, rent seeking, governance failure greed and absence of a national
identity etc.
The ills of corruption is however one of the greatest challenges of
development in Africa. A form of corruption is exemplified in the abuse
of public office for private gains. Elected political office holders in
Africa use governance as an opportunity to amass private wealth at the
expense of the populace thereby affecting the delivery of public goods
and service. Electoral fraud is another disruptive form of corruption
affecting the enthronement of democracy, as it encourages a zero sum
politics also occasioning electoral violence. It has an enormous effect
on nation building which could be tied to social and economic
development.
It is within this context that Africa continues to rank low on all
corruption index. Taking the Transparency Corruption Perception Index
2012 as an example, the highest ranked countries in Africa on the CPI
are Ghana 64, South Africa 69, Sao Tome and Principle 72, Liberia 75 and
Burkina Faso 83 with Somalia, Sudan, Burundi, Equatorial Guinea,
Zimbabwe Chad, Guinea, and Uganda, all below the table.
It is against this framework and the consequences attached that the
African Union AU introduced the African Charter on Democracy, Election
and Governance (ACDEG) calling on state parties to fight against
corruption in conformity with the provision of the AU convention on
prevention and combating corruption adopted in Maputo, Mozambique in
July 2003. The ACDEG further states;
Article 27 states that in other to advance political, economic and
social governance, state parties shall commit themselves to improve
efficiency and effectiveness of public services and combating
corruption.
Article 32 states that state parties shall strive to institutionalize
good political governance through accountable, efficient and effective
public administration and organize regular, free and fair election.
Article 33 states that states parties shall institutionalize good
economic and corporate governance through inter alia of effective and
efficient public sector management.
•Promoting transparency in public finance management.
•Preventing and combating corruption and related offences.
African states should support the African Charter on Democracy,
Election and Governance (ACDEG) to jointly combat and eliminate
corruption, so that Africa can attain her full potential for sustainable
development and the well being of African people.
These goals can be achieved through:
•The ratification and implementation of the ACDEG.
•Enforce anti corruption laws.
•Improve sociopolitical and economic life.
•Social transformation in educating the public of the necessary factor in social transformation.
•Strengthening existing institutions among strong executive branch and week legislature and judiciary.
•Governments need to integrate anti-corruption actions into all
aspects of decision-making. They must prioritise better rules on
lobbying and political financing, make public spending and contracting
more transparent
Creation of anti-corruption agencies where they do not exist, the independence of these institutions should be guaranteed;
Engaging in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative;
Governments need to integrate anti-corruption actions into all aspects of decision-making.
They must prioritize better rules on lobbying and political financing; make public spending and contracting more transparent
Media and civil society must play a key role in fighting corruption in Africa
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