Dear African brothers and sisters,
This July 11, 2023, Africa is commemorating the seventh Anti-Corruption Day, an important action to encourage integrity, transparency and sustainable development on the continent. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that the AROA supports all initiatives aimed at reducing corruption in Africa. Indeed, the AROA deals with major issues of interest to Africa, from a purely sovereign perspective.
The institutions that preside over free trade and neo-liberalism express the idea that Africa’s situation is engendered by a scarcity of capital on which all developing countries depend, and which in turn engenders a vicious circle of poverty ([1]Nurkse, 1953), the breaking of which inevitably requires recourse to foreign capital. On the contrary, the facts tell us that savings in these countries suffer not from scarcity, but rather from the inability of governments to mobilize private savings, and from the lack of transparency that characterizes the management of public savings (rent, embezzlement, corruption, squandering, impunity, etc.).
The benefits of a possible trickle-down of tax-sheltered high incomes to the bottom, has proved to be « a cruel hoax » in the words of the US Secretary of Labor (Reich, 2015). Joseph Stiglitz speaks of a process of « briberization », which we translate as a « system of widespread corruption » in place of privatization. All the more so as the privatization of Africa’s strategic sectors (energy, water, telecommunications, education, etc.) had not involved replacing the budget-hungry state with local private investment, but rather selling off national treasuries to foreign firms at rock-bottom prices. Given the structural tendencies of capitalism towards high levels of inequality ([2]Piketty, 2013 ), it is a globalized economy of predation that the ultraliberal decades have logically organized[3], to the detriment of Africa in particular. Official Development Assistance is often an incentive to corruption, since most political actors do not have a sufficiently informed electorate capable of demanding accountability (public accountability). Responsibility lies solely with the donor/financier, who in most cases is condescending about the lack of transparency in the management of funds, which he attributes to the technical incapacity of those financed, on the one hand, and to political and governmental instability, on the other.
Dear African brothers and sisters,
In Africa, corruption is a major obstacle to sustainable development. It diverts the financial resources needed for economic growth, undermines citizens’ confidence in institutions and exacerbates social inequalities. Through its report, the contributions and « palavers » of its expert members, supporters and associates, the AROA identifies different aspects of corruption in Africa, including political corruption, corruption in business transactions and impunity for corrupt acts.
African countries are trying to find answers, albeit insufficient or even derisory. Most of them have taken fairly significant steps to combat corruption. Several countries have set up specialized institutions, such as anti-corruption commissions. Stricter laws have been introduced to combat corruption. Regional and international alliances have also been created to strengthen cooperation in the fight against corruption.
The AROA encourages the awareness and mobilization of African citizens, as their active involvement is essential to maintain constant pressure on corruptors and corrupted. It emphasizes the importance of transparency, accountability and citizen participation in ensuring fair and just societies.
Finally, allow me to remind you, dear African sisters and brothers, that the Alternative Report on Africa (AROA) is a reference document that examines Africa’s sovereignty in different dimensions. It is written by independent experts, researchers and civil society organizations. The AROA examines the systemic problems that contribute to the perpetuation of the continent’s and Africans’ dependence, and puts forward suggestions for strengthening institutions with forward-looking data and analyses, encouraging the paradigmatic reversals and ruptures necessary for the progress of African societies according to their own principles.
Stop corruption! Down with the bribery and bribe-takers! Long live a sovereign Africa!
Dr Cheikh GUEYE
Permanent Secretary of the AROA
[1] Ragnar Nurkse, Problems of Capital-Formation in Underdeveloped Countries, Oxford university press, 1953
[2] Thomas Piketty, 2013, Le capital au XXIe siècle, Seuil
[3] Michel Volle, 2007, Prédation et prédateurs, Economica, voir aussi Ze Belinga, Martial (2007), « Afrique et mondialisation prédatrice », Présence Africaine, n° 175-176-177, PP 364-382.
