Fred Oluoch
2 October 2007
Nairobi — East African countries have recorded mixed results in their war against corruption as studies continue to show a strong correlation between corruption and poverty.
Kenya for instance, has scored poorly below Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda, according to the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) compiled by Transparency International, which saw the biggest economy in the region placed at number 150 among the 180 countries surveyed.
However, no East African country is grouped among those with worsening levels of corruption, notably Austria, Bahrain, Belize, Bhutan, Jordan, Laos, Macao, Malta, Mauritius, Oman, Papua New Guinea and Thailand.
The document comes at a bad time for Kenya, given that the Kenya-Anti Corruption Commission (KACC) led by Justice Aaron Ringera, is currently under fire for having done little to bring the perpetrators of corruption to book, three years after it was established.
In a scale of 0-10 - where zero means highly corrupt - Kenya shares a measly 2.1 score with other African countries with serious stability problem such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zimbabwe, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Tanzania leads in the region as the least corrupt at position 94, followed by Uganda and Rwanda (111), while Burundi is placed at 131.
Among the least corrupt countries in Africa, Botswana leads at position 38, followed by South Africa (43), Mauritius (53), Namibia and Seychelles (57), Tunisia (64) Ghana (69) while Lesotho, Swaziland and Gabon tie at 84.
The document says that low scores in the CPI indicate that public institutions are heavily compromised, so need to improve transparency in financial management, from revenue collection to expenditure, as well as strengthening oversight and putting an end to the impunity of corrupt officials.
An independent and professional judicial system is critical to ending impunity and enforcing the impartial rule of law, to promoting public, donor and investor confidence.
If courts cannot be relied upon to pursue corrupt officials or to assist in tracing and returning illicit wealth, progress against corruption is unlikely.
In Kenya, there have been doubts over whether the government has taken up the offer by the British government to help it trace the monies stashed abroad, especially after the recent leakage of the Kroll report. Kenya is still trying to trace the whereabouts of monies looted in the Goldenberg and Anglo-Leasing scandals.
According to the document, global financial centres play a pivotal role in allowing corrupt officials to move, hide and invest their illicitly gained wealth. Offshore financing, for example, played a crucial role in the looting of millions from developing countries such as Nigeria and the Philippines, facilitating the misdeeds of corrupt leaders and impoverishing those they governed.
Akere Muna, the vice-chairman of Transparency International, pointed to the recovery of stolen assets as another area ripe for enhanced action by developed nations.
"Criticism by rich countries of corruption in poor ones has little credibility while their financial institutions sit on wealth stolen from the world's poorest people," he said.
The document notes that many countries are unable to shoulder the burden of reform alone. In countries where public sector institutions were historically based on patronage and nepotism rather than merit, where reform takes time and can require a substantial investment of resources, as well as technical assistance.
As significant development assistance donors, top scoring countries play a special role in supporting greater accountability and institutional integrity in countries plagued by the highest levels of public sector corruption. Technical assistance is a key requirement of the landmark United Nations Convention against Corruption.
In many cases, asset tracing and recovery are hindered by the laundering of funds through offshore banks in jurisdictions where banking secrecy remains the norm. Through the UN convention, priority should be given to improving international cooperation and mutual legal assistance, expediting action to recover assets, and developing legal and technical expertise in nations requesting the return of looted assets.
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