Corruption In Africa

Corruption in Africa

This beautiful continent has 54 countries.  Some of these countries are ruled by corrupt leaders.  They influence the judiciary, award jobs to their relatives and restrict the freedom of the press.  As a result, many African countries have a small wealthy elite, while the majority of the population lives in poverty and devastation.

We can only take a look at the number 1 and the last.

According to Afrikanza:

1 - Somalia

10 - Central African Republic

According to AnswersAfrika:

1 - Democratic Republic of Congo

10 - Ivory Coast

According to Jatoday:

1 - Angola

10 - Somalia

What we can see here is simple.  All African countries are driven by corruption.  The lists are not important, the important thing is that no one claims that his country is not corrupted.

Let's look at Kenya.

This is the 2020 corruption report from the Risk and Complying Portal.

Kenya's competitiveness is held back by a high level of corruption permeating every sector of the economy.  A weak judicial system and frequent bribery demands from public officials lead to increased business costs for foreign investors.  Widespread tax evasion hampers Kenya's long-term economic growth, and public procurement fraud is widespread.  Corruption, active and passive bribery, abuse of office and bribery of foreign officials are criminalized under the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Act 2003 and the Bribery Act of 2016, which strengthens the fight against corruption on the supply side.  Bribery payments are criminalized and there are rules for what types of gifts officers are allowed to accept.

Proper enforcement of Kenya's anti-corruption framework is a problem due to weak and corrupt public institutions.

Corruption is widespread among Kenya's police.  Kenya's National Police Service is considered the country's most corrupt institution, and bribery is reportedly the only way to speed up access to police and services (HRR 2016).

The competitiveness of Kenya's business environment is hampered by rampant corruption in the civil service.  Meeting administrative requirements takes a lot of time and is bureaucratic (GCR 2016-2017).

There is a very high risk of corruption in Kenya's land administration.  Kenyans report a high likelihood of bribery claims in meetings with land service officials, and nearly 20% of all interactions reportedly involve corrupt practices (TI Kenya, 2014).

The tax administration in Kenya carries a high risk of corruption.  Companies report that irregular payments and bribes are very common in tax payments (GCR 2015-2016).

Public procurement in Kenya is subject to widespread corruption and bribery.  Companies report that bribes and irregular payments are widespread in public procurement (GCR 2015-2016).

Companies should note that enforcement of anti-corruption laws in Kenya is inadequate due to the weak judicial system and lack of strong institutions (BTI 2016).

The Kenyan Constitution guarantees freedom of the press and freedom of expression (HRR 2016).  In practice, the government does not fully respect these rights;  Journalists face increasing pressure from authorities and new laws that challenge their ability to report freely (FotP 2016).

And that's not all.

Companies are exposed to a moderate risk of corruption in dealing with Kenya's judicial sector.  Companies often report bribes and irregular payments in return for positive decisions (GCR 2015-2016).