Slightly less corruption in Africa - but how about those who pay the bribes?

subscriber | 13 November, 2005

JOHANNESBURG. Botswana, followed by South Africa, Ghana and Burkina Faso are perceived as the least corrupt countries in Africa, according to Transparency International’s annual survey on how businessmen and country analysts perceive corruption around the world.
The most corrupt country in the world, according to perceptions, is Chad, in Africa followed by Equatorial Guniea, Cote dÌvoire, Angola, Sudan, Somalia, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The least corrupt country in the world this year is Iceland, followed by Finland. All the Nordic countries are among the top eight.
In a report earlier this year Transparency International, a Berlin-based international watchdog of corrupt practices, pointed out that some countries in Africa – notably Nigeria, Cameroon and Bourkina Faso – had made some progress in the fight against corruption.
This has also improved their perceptions slightly – Nigeria is no longer the most corrupt country.
Most worrisome, it said, was the situation in Zimbabwe and Kenya.
Zimbabwe’s shrinking economy makes it just about impossible for a company to function without breaking the law in one way or the other.
In Uganda a British subsidiary of the Norwegian construction company Weidekke, has admitted to paying bribes to a Government official in relation to the Bujagali Dam.
The case is being investigated by the World Bank, which has stated that no company that has admitted to a bribe can tender for World Bank financed projects.
A number of companies involved in the Katse Dam project in Lesotho have been either sentenced – such as Canadian Acres International - or are investigation by the country’s prosecutor. Swiss-Swedish ABB is among the companies that have been singled out, but ABB have not yet been prosecuted for paying $ 171 000 to a Swiss bank account that belonged to Masupha Sole, the CEO of the Katse Dam project.

Africascan Comment:

Corruption in many African countries is rife and it is just about impossible to do business without paying various "commissions".
Donor countries have tightened their attitude towards corruption though and there is a trend towards increased transparency in business. This is what Nepad, the deal to swap the introduction of good governance in Africa, through a peer review mechanism, for increased aid and debt reduction, is about.
The criminalisation of paying bribes, e g it was until recently perfectly legal for a German company to bribes, adds to the pressure. A growing number of monitoring agencies, such as Transparency International, Human Rights Watch and Probe International, are pushing up the costs of paying bribes.