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).

Noam

 Noam Chomsky, one of the most important intellectuals alive today, has compiled a list of the 10 strategies of manipulation by the mass media. Spend five minutes on it and you won't regret it. If only to expand your own knowledge. 1-The strategy of distraction The primary element of social control is the strategy of distraction, which consists in distracting the public's attention from the important problems and changes decided by the political and economic elites, by the technique of flooding or Flood of constant distractions and insignificant information. The strategy of distraction is also essential to prevent the public from becoming interested in essential insights from the fields of science, business, psychology, neurobiology, and cybernetics. The public's attention is diverted from real social problems, held captive by issues that are not really important. Keep the public busy, busy, busy with no time to think, back on the farm like the other animals (quoted in the text "Silent weapons for quiet wars"). 2- Create problems and then offer solutions. This method is also known as "problem-reaction-solution". A problem is created, a "situation" that is expected to elicit a certain public reaction, with the purpose that this is the impetus for the measures one would like to have accepted. For example: to let the violence in the cities escalate or to escalate, or to organize bloody attacks with the aim that the public is the one who demands security laws and policies at the expense of freedom. Or also: creating an economic crisis to get people to accept the dismantling of social rights and the dismantling of public services as a necessary evil. 3- The strategy of graduality. To get people to accept an unacceptable measure, it is enough to apply it gradually, with drops, over several years. In the decades of the 80s and 90s, radically new socio-economic conditions (neoliberalism) were enforced: minimum state, privatization, precariousness, flexibility, mass unemployment, wages that no longer guaranteed a decent income, so many changes that would have triggered a revolution if they had would have been applied all at once. 4- The strategy of procrastination. Another way to enforce an unpopular decision is to portray it as "painful and necessary" and thus gain public acceptance for future use. It is easier to accept a future sacrifice than an immediate one. First, because the effort is not that great. Second, because the public, the masses, always tends to naively hope that "tomorrow everything will be better" and that the necessary sacrifices could be avoided. This gives the audience more time to get used to the idea of ​​change and to accept it with resignation when the time comes. 5- Address the audience like children. Most advertising aimed at the general public uses speech, arguments, characters, and a particularly childish tone that often borders on weakness, as if the viewer were a creature of a few years old or a mental weakling. The more you try to deceive the viewer, the more you tend to use a childish tone of voice. Why? "If someone addresses a person as if they were 12 years old or younger, then because of the suggestibility they are likely to turn into egg.