Corruption And Development In Africa

Bringing together a distinguished cast of contributors, the book provides an authoritative and definitive analysis of the theory, practice and development impact of corruption in Africa. Combating corruption is demonstrated to require greater priority in the quest for African development.

This study is, to the authors knowledge, the fi rst empirical cross-country analysis of the relationship between corruption and human development (HD) in Africa. In most African countries the current state of HD is critically poor. In spite of two decades of democratization and substantial economic growth or stability corruption has become endemic and tends to adversely affect HD conditions and needs. Using a pooledcross- section-across time-design and a sample of 40 African countries over many years (2003 2007) and based on an OLS Analysis, this study attempts an empirical examination of the association between corruption and HD in Africa, while holding constant economic growth, government socioeconomic or welfare expenditures and political system and, controlling for some major internal and external economic variables. As found, corruption adversely affects human development in Africa. Overall, based on the main study model (Model 1) a unit increase in the corruption level (CPI) on a scale of 1 to 10 will cause a .48 percent decrease in the state of HD (HDI).The relationship between corruption and HD is however non-linear: using Model 3 which incorporate a square term of corruption, it was found that at and below 4.577 RCPI (i.e. 5.42 normal CPI) corruptions is likely to positively affect HD whereas at and above 4.577 RCPI corruption rather tends to adversely affect HD with an increasing return. Besides, it was also found, using Model 2 which incorporates an interaction term of corruption and political system, that democratization has deceived scientists theoretical projections and peoples political expectations of the 1990s. Democracy has not improved HD in Africa. Both non-and partly democratic (i.e., authoritarian) and democratic political systems adversely affect HD. The adverse impact of corruption on HD is even worse in the latter systems. After checking for the main effect (Model 2) it appears that, as corruption increases by one unit, HD decreases by 9.48 percent in African countries with authoritarian systems. In contrast , the same one unit increase in corruption will have an additional 5.23 percent decrease in the HD of African countries with a democratic system. This study brings new insights about public policies ineffectiveness and failures to satisfy increasing HD needs in Africa. It throws new lights on the relationship existing between economic growth, democracy and corruption and HD. It suggests some policy reforms which could improve the state of HD in Africa. Overall, it is an important contribution to the theoretical and empirical body of administrative theory and knowledge.

Analysing political corruption as a distinct but separate entity from bureaucratic corruption, this timely book separates these two very different social phenomena in a way that is often overlooked in contemporary studies. Chapters argue that political corruption includes two basic, critical and related processes: extractive and power-preserving corruption.

Corruption in Africa makes a significant contribution to the study of the impacts and eradication of corruption in African societies. John Mukum Mbaku offers a comprehensive analysis of the causes of public malfeasance in African countries and provides a number of practical and effective policy options for change. This book demonstrates the destructive relationship between corruption and the abrogation of economic freedoms and entrepreneurship, a system that has clearly left Africa as one of the most deprived regions in the world. Utilizing the tools of public choice theory, Mbaku emphasizes the important role that institutions have in corruption control and he recommends reconstructive democratic constitutions as the most effective means of development. Until African states provide their people with institutional arrangements that adequately constrain the state and enhance wealth production, the living standards in the continent will continue to deteriorate. Corruption in Africa is a fascinating and informative text that will appeal to those interested in African studies and developmental policies.

Africa is today missing in the technology radar of the world, but very visible in the corruption index. This represents a clear road map to perpetual underdevelopment, subjugation, and perdition. While no country or continent has ever developed without recreating industrial revolution in its own way, African countries, by omission or commission are attempting to develop by embracing corruption and ignoring the revolutionary powers of science and technology. Africa cannot develop without their own well developed science and technology, and cannot develop with the level of corruption in the continent as we know it today. While western nations continue to advise African leaders to stop stealing the AID they send to them, they have never and will never advise them to embrace technology in order to create their own wealth. The author has done a great deal of work exposing the ills of African leaders and their western collaborators which brought Africa to her pitiable state of underdevelopment. Until corruption is greatly minimised in the continent and science and technology embraced; Africa will never achieve sustainable development. No one can do it for Africa except Africans themselves.

Corruption, as a social science, has been mystified and even ignored for many generations. Not many people would like to talk about this subject, openly and transparently. Now, it is becoming a subject of great concern, not only in the developing nations but also in the developed world. The subject has impacted so negatively in our social, economic and political life, that we can no longer keep quiet about it. Corruption is eroding the moral values of many nations and consigning many people to perpetual poverty and deprivation. To me this is a subject that is becoming more important and critical than even civics and geography in schools. It is a subject that touches and affects the morality of nations. I have a passionate concern, that, if we in Africa want to make Africa a better place to live in, then we must address this subject with the seriousness it deserves. Like any other social science, this subject should be introduced in our schools, and colleges, so that our young people, could be made acutely aware of the evils of this vice, and how it could be eradicated from our society. If this is done, our future generations will live in a much better society than we are today. There should also be programmes in place, organized by the civil society, and other agencies to educate the masses about the consequences of corruption in society. I do, however, appreciate that without available materials, my propositions could not be feasible. This book therefore, is intended to form a good source of Civic Education Material into Corruption in Africa and more specifically, in Kenya. The book has been written with those educational objectives, specifically in mind. It is the intention of this book to show that corruption poses a serious challenge in terms of the economic, political and social development in the AfricanContinent. Corruption undermines democratic institutions and good governance in the political landscape. It reduces accountability and negates representation and policymaking in the electoral process. It abrogates the rule of law in the judiciary. Corruption also encourages nepotism resulting into unequal provision of resources to the population in the public sector. The book further endeavours to show, that corruption undermines the legitimacy of government, and such democratic values as human rights, respect for therule of law, trust and tolerance. Corruption also does undermine economic development by advancing narrow and selfish economic policies and incompetence, in the delivery of services to the people. This book seeks to analyze, how corruption in public institutions, has squandered the national wealth, and impoverished the people. There is also a critical analysis on bureaucratic corruption, and how the public officers achieve their objectives, by diverting public investment away from social and people friendly projects, such as poverty reduction, education, health and housing, into capital projects, simply to attract bribes for individual benefits. The book examines institutional corruption in various departments of government, including the Police, Judiciary, Public Works, Immigration, Revenue Authority, Lands, Local Government and many other public institutions. The book also examines corruption in the public and private sectors, including public corporations, political banks, educational institutions and how the general public, have also contributed to the vice. The book further, examines corruption in other African countries, and makes, useful comparisons. It goes on to deal with measures that are being put in place,both in Kenya, and other African countries to fight corruption nationally, and internationally. The Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, and the Public Servants Ethics Act that the Kenya Government, has put in place are discussed in some detail. The role of civil society and other organizations like Transparency International, and the media in the fight against corr

African states are often called corrupt, indicating that the political system in Africa differs from the one prevalent in economically advanced democracies. This, however, does not give us any insight into what makes corruption the dominant norm of African statehood. Thus we must turn to the overly neglected theoretical work on the political economy of Africa in order to determine how the poverty of governance in Africa is firmly anchored both in Africa’s domestic socioeconomic reality, as well as in the region’s role in the international economic order. Instead of focusing on increased monitoring, enforcement and formal democratic procedures, this book combines economic analysis with political theory in order to arrive at a better understanding of the political-economic roots of corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This book establishes a nexus between corruption in public procurement and the prevailing crisis of governance in Africa. The African continent is characterised by the growing concern for the deteriorating human security. In the midst of these woes, African political leaders are known for their stupendous wealth and riches through expropriation of national resources for personal benefits. This growing inequality in the continent has become a major driver for a series of violent and criminal activities, which have added to the worsening governance crisis. Thus, the abuse of public power for advancing private gain constitutes an impediment to effective public service delivery, thereby engendering a crisis of governance. The consequence of this is not limited to the socio-economic growth and welfare of citizens, but it often also jeopardizes the democratic credentials and objectives of the state.