Here are top ten most corrupt African countries. Transparency International (TI) just released the Global Corruption Barometer, which ranks countries according to perception of corruption levels. In this year’s report TI surveyed people in 54 African countries.
Corruption is quickly becoming one of those global phenomenon’s which every country is struggling with. Spreading faster than an epidemic, corruption and crime rates have skyrocketed over the past three decades. While few countries have been able to curb their level of corruption, the rates of corruption have reached new levels in the countries of Africa. Driven by poverty and greed, many government officials are among practitioners of corruptions, which in turn force the local populace to turn to crime as their last resort. Recent studies have pointed out few of the most corrupt countries in Africa, which is why we should take a closer look at these countries to determine their corruption levels, as per the world corruption rates statistics. . CLICK NEXT FOR the 10 most corrupt African countries 2017 according to the report.
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10. SOUTH AFRICA
It is quite unfortunate that the late global icon Nelson Mandela’s demonstration of vital importance of the constitutional principles of accountability and the rule of law has not been the practice of his successors. It is therefore saddening to see how far some in the ruling elite have strayed from the example set by this great man. An important barometer of the extent of this problem is growing public sector corruption, whereby public funds are being diverted away from the public good towards private interests. Of course private sector corruption is also a problem, but until we get a handle on corruption in government, private sector corruption will continue to flourish.
9. MADAGASCAR
Madagascar is one of the world’s poorest countries and has had a negative growth of GDP in the last year; its external debt is now almost 3 billion US dollars. “In the last two years 77 % of the population have been living on less than 1.25 dollars a day”, Paddison says. According to a US Congress report Madagascar’s infant mortality rate is over 5% and three-quarters of the population is living in rural areas.
In 2016, United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon called for an end to corruption in Madagascar stating that the UN is particularly concerned with the level of hunger in the country.
Ban Ki-moon made the call during his two day visit to the East African country where he addressed Malagasy parliamentarians to end the corruption that has weakened the island while launching a report on the cost of hunger in the country.
8. CAMEROON
62% of Cameroonians paid a bribe in the last year. Of the respondents, 81% felt that the judiciary is very corrupt, and 71% felt that corruption was rife in academic institutions. More disappointing is that 46% of the respondents feel that corruption has increased over the last 2 years; only 30% felt that corruption had decreased.
7. KENYA
74% of the Kenyan respondents said they had paid bribes to access government services. Also, 95% said they felt that the police were very corrupt. Asked why they paid the bribes, 56% said they did so to get faster services, while 36% paid bribes because they would otherwise not obtain the service. A 2012 World Bank report indicates that 12% of the funds allocated for public procurement (enough to create 250,000 jobs annually) went to bribes.
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta threw in the towel and conceded that there was nothing he could do to fight corruption in his Jubilee government and Kenya writ large.
It is estimated the average urban Kenyan pays 16 bribes per month. Most of these bribes are fairly small but large ones are also taken – bribes worth over 50,000 Kenyan shillings (€600, US$700) account for 41% of the total value. There is also corruption on a larger scale with each of the last two regimes being criticised for their involvement.
U.S. suspends aid to Kenyan health ministry over corruption concerns.
The U.S. government suspended $21 million in direct aid to Kenya’s Ministry of Health amid concern over corruption, the embassy said on Tuesday, May 9, 2017, giving emphasis to an issue that is a growing liability for the government before August elections.
6. UGANDA
Ugandan opposition members, vowing to resist their criminalisation by the government, demonstrate in Kampala, Uganda Thursday, April 5, 2012. The Ugandan government on Wednesday outlawed the group “Activists for Change” that since last year has led popular protests against official corruption and the high cost of living, saying it had become a force for instability. (AP Photo/Stephen Wandera)
President Museveni and his government have repeatedly promised to stamp out corruption, but major corruption scandals resurface in government departments and ministries, said the report. The prime minister Amama Mbabazi has also been accused of having been involved in corruption cases, including allegations related to the sale of land to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), only to receive protection from the President Museveni, said the report.
Many rural schools in Uganda remain in a poor state and there are regular teachers’ strikes over low pay. The health system is ailing, with more doctors preferring to work in foreign countries where they can receive better salaries.
The country loses up to $258.6m (£160.3m) a year due to corruption, according to 2007 the African Peer Review Mechanism report.
5. ZIMBABWE
62% of Zimbabwe respondents said they paid bribes over the last year. 77% of Zimbabweans think corruption has increased over the last 2 years, which Zimbabwe Independent attributes to rising poverty and hardship. 65% of the respondents said they thought the health sector was highly corrupt. A 151-page government report released earlier this year shows that government hospitals are highly corrupt. The TI report notes, for example, that women giving birth in a local hospital have been charged US$5 every time they scream as a penalty for raising a false alarm.
4. ANGOLA
Having corrupt officials in the government has become a norm for many countries, but the entire government swindling few hundred million dollars for personal gain is unheard of. Angola is one African country which has managed to gain quite a reputation for itself as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Since not being able to account for more than 5 billion dollars in the past ten years, Angola has managed to become the 4th most corrupt country in Africa and is also on the world’s top ten most corrupt countries list.
3. LIBYA
Before the downfall of the Qadhafi regime in 2011, weak rule of law and systematic corruption had largely marginalized private sector activity in the nation. Corruption is the biggest problem facing Libya today.62% of Libya’s respondents said they had paid a bribe over the last year, mainly because it was the only way to obtain a service. A discouraging 71% of the respondents said they wouldn’t report an incident of corruption because they are afraid of the consequences; a press release from Amnesty International indicates that a newspaper editor was detained and faces up to 15 years in prison for publishing a list of 84 allegedly corrupt judges.
2. SUDAN
Top ranking government officials are frequently involved in corrupt practices in Sudan. This has impacted the economic growth negatively. It is a huge challenge to do business in Sudan. Sectors like construction and transportation are prone to corruption.
1. SOMALIA
The Federal Republic of Somalia is located in the horn of Africa. Around 10 million people live in this country. It is the most corrupt nation in the world. There is lack of accountability in receipt and expenditure of public funds. Currently a parliamentary finance committee has been established to oversee all withdrawal transactions from the Central Bank, which is Somalia’s official monetary authority.