Corruption in Afrika

 Corruption in Africa

Our beautiful continent has over fifty countries. Some of these countries are ruled by corrupt leaders. They influence the judicial system, award jobs to their relatives, and limit the freedom of the press. This results in many African countries having a small wealthy elite while the majority of the population live in poverty and desolation.

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

According to Afrikanza:

1 - Somalia

10 - Central African Republic

According to AnswersAfrica:

1 - DRC

10 - Cote d'Ivory

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, important is that nobody is declaring that his country is not corrupted.

Let's have a look at Kenya.

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

Kenya’s competitiveness is held back by high corruption levels that penetrate every sector of the economy. A weak judicial system and frequent demands for bribes by public officials lead to increased business costs for foreign investors. Widespread tax evasion hinders Kenya’s long-term economic growth, and fraud in public procurement is rampant. Corruption, active and passive bribery, abuse of office and bribing a foreign public official are criminalized under the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act 2003, in addition to the Bribery Act of 2016 which strengthens the fight against the supply-side of corruption. Facilitation payments are criminalized and there are rules for what types of gifts public officials are allowed to accept. Adequate enforcement of Kenya’s anti-corruption framework is an issue as a result of weak and corrupt public institutions.

Corruption is rampant within Kenya’s police. The Kenya National Police Service is ranked as the most corrupt institution in the country, and bribery is reported to be the only way to access the police and expedite services (HRR 2016).

The competitiveness of Kenya’s business environment is impeded by rampant public-service corruption. Complying with administrative requirements takes a lot of time and is plagued by red tape (GCR 2016-2017).

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

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

Kenyan public procurement is subject to rampant corruption and bribery. Companies report that bribes and irregular payments are highly common in the process of awarding public contracts (GCR 2015-2016).

Businesses should note the enforcement of anti-corruption legislation in Kenya is inadequate as a result of the weak judicial system and a lack of strong institutions (BTI 2016).

Kenya’s Constitution guarantees freedoms of press and expression (HRR 2016). In practice, the government does not completely respect these rights; journalists are facing increasing pressure from authorities and new laws that challenge their ability to report freely (FotP 2016).

And that's not all.

Companies face a moderate risk of corruption when dealing with Kenya’s judicial sector. Companies report bribes and irregular payments in return for favorable decisions are common (GCR 2015-2016).