Bon Bon 22: Combatting corruption in the Sub-Saharan region

NWU Business School

Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perception Index (“CPI”) “paints a grim picture of the state of corruption worldwide. While most countries have made little to no progress in tackling corruption in nearly a decade, more than two-thirds of countries score below 50” With an average score of 32 the Sub-Saharan Africa region is the lowest performing region on the CPI showing little improvement from previous years and underscoring a need for urgent action. South Africa (43) is in the 9th best position in the Sub-Saharan African region of 49 countries. Analysis of the 2020 CPI shows that “corruption not only undermines the global health response to COVID-19, but contributes to a continuing crisis of democracy”. Bribery impedes access to basic services. The 2019 Global Corruption Barometer Africa Report shows that more than one out of four people – or approximately 130 million citizens in the 35 African countries surveyed – paid a bribe to access essential public services, like health care. In this Bon Bon edition the focus will be on identifying what practical measures or structures can or should be implemented to combat fraud and corruption. What can we learn from other African countries, either through their successes or progress that have been made, or through the lessons they have learnt?