Ottawa Citizen

Canada can help fight poverty in Africa

Corruption is the key: stolen billions must be returned to the people

- MOHAMMED ADAM Mohammed Adam is an Ottawa writer.

The World Bank long ago described corruption in Africa as “public enemy number one,” and sadly, it remains very much so.

A new report on the state of corruption in Africa by Transparen­cy Internatio­nal shows that bribery and graft are on the rise, and the poor are paying the price. Africa has become a beggar continent — beset with poverty and deprivatio­n — largely because its political leaders plunder the wealth, leaving little or nothing for social and economic developmen­t.

If you consider estimates quoted in World Bank reports that about $40 billion, most of it from Africa, is stolen by corrupt politician­s every year, it is easy to understand why so many are desperatel­y poor.

For its 2015 report, Transparen­cy Internatio­nal surveyed 43,000 people in 28 sub-Saharan African countries on their perception­s and experience­s of corruption. It offers little comfort.

“A majority of Africans perceive corruption to be on the rise and that their government is failing in its efforts to fight corruption,” says the anti-corruption group.

Nearly 75 million people paid a bribe the previous year for one thing or another. Overall, 58 per cent say bribery and corruption had increased over the past year, compared to 22 per cent who perceived a decline. Across the sub-Saharan region, 64 per cent say their government­s are not doing enough to fight corruption, and the biggest irony is that poor people are twice as likely as wealthy people to pay bribes.

What hurts the most is that the people who are charged with upholding law are the most corrupt.

Of the top six public services surveyed, the police and the courts show the highest levels of corruption. It is depressing but not utterly surprising, because people who’ve had the misfortune of coming into contact with these institutio­ns know this too well.

(A major scandal broke in Ghana a few months ago when an investigat­ive reporter videotaped a number of judges taking bribes to rule favourably on cases before them.) This behaviour is particular­ly egregious because of the enormous power judges have over the lives of people.

Politician­s are generally thought to be dishonest and no one is really surprised when a minister or high party official is caught taking a bribe or kickback, for example. But the thought of “judges for sale” threatens the very foundation of civilized society. It is not just the justice system that is compromise­d, however.

Politician­s ranging from municipal councillor­s to MPs and the office of the president are perceived by large numbers of people to be corrupt.

Individual­ly, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone are among the top countries where citizens believe corruption to be on the rise. Conversely, Botswana, Lesotho, Senegal and Burkina Faso are among countries where corruption is believed by citizens to be on the decline.

Everybody should be concerned because corruption in Africa can have wider consequenc­es.

As the report points out, this may have played a role in the initial public response to Ebola. So distrustfu­l of government were many Liberians that they believed reports of Ebola to have been fabricated to allow officials to pocket donor funds. Many Africans are risking all to head for Europe to flee poverty. There is a lot a country like Canada can do to help.

The Liberal government has signalled a renewed interest in Africa, announcing $15 million for youth job training in eight African countries as part of its focus on poverty reduction. This is a good place to start, but poverty reduction cannot succeed without strong anticorrup­tion measures at home and abroad.

It is common knowledge that the stolen billions are used to buy real estate in major western cities or stashed in foreign banks.

The key is tracking the loot and returning it to the people. Up until now, western government­s have lacked the courage or will to chase down the looters, and if the Canadian government really wants to help alleviate poverty in Africa, this is the cause to champion. Otherwise, nothing will ever change.

 ?? ENGELBRECH­T/AFP/ GETTY IMAGES ?? #Zumamustfa­ll supporters and campaigner­s demonstrat­e against South African President Jacob Zuma on Thursday in Cape Town a few hours ahead of his state of the nation address. South Africa is among the top African countries where citizens believe...
ENGELBRECH­T/AFP/ GETTY IMAGES #Zumamustfa­ll supporters and campaigner­s demonstrat­e against South African President Jacob Zuma on Thursday in Cape Town a few hours ahead of his state of the nation address. South Africa is among the top African countries where citizens believe...
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