OPINION: Struggle against corruption in Africa
- Posted on Tuesday 10 April 2012 - 12:00Article by James N. KariukiProfessor William Gumede of Wits University in Johannesburg has recently released an anthology, The Poverty of Ideas. Its core message is that Africa inherited a culture of corruption from its history. The book is not bent on blaming "the other" for corrupting Africa; it focuses on the unintended consequences of the historical interaction.
The ultimate objective of the book is to contribute to the discussion on combating the widespread and stubborn problem of corruption in post-colonial Africa. According to Gumede, Africa’s anti-corruption efforts have repeatedly failed largely because its root causes are not correctly understood.
Thus, Poverty of Ideas seeks to enhance our understanding of the causes of the cancer of corruption so that we are better prepared to handle the problem effectively. What are the salient ideas in the book?
The colonial elite centralized virtually all power around themselves. Inevitably, key jobs were taken by kith-and-kin fellow colonials. The institutions that ordinarily serve as watchdogs against wrongdoing were manned from this colonial buddy-buddy system of the ‘ruling elite.’ Those colonial institutions owed their existence to the colonial elite; indeed they were an integral part to it. The ability of those institutions to demand accountability from the government was entirely compromised.
Post-colonial Africa inherited those inherently corrupt institutions and values of the colonial order. In that way, the traditional anti-corruption instruments continued to be crippled by that inheritance. The more things changed, the more they remained the same.
Colonial production in the private sector was mostly geared to exporting to the metropolis as prescribed by the European mercantile system. For this purpose, actors in the private sectors required the cooperation of the colonial governments of the day to facilitate the exporting process.
The economic survival of the private sector actors was too heavily dependent on the authorities for those actors to constitute credible governmental critics. It would have been absurd to expect those private sector elite to hold the government accountable. The colonial news media was similarly hamstrung.
At independence, few career professionals existed among the indigenous people. Indeed, the local communities were horrendously poor given their near-complete absence in the formal sectors. Jobs and opportunities had to be found for the cadres of the anti-colonial struggle, a task undertaken by the state. This was a situation grossly susceptible to corruption.
Uhuru brought the “spoils” of the anti-colonial struggle. And the cadres of that struggle saw themselves as fist-in-line for the spoils. To them, the national cake was an entitlement to be distributed according to understood political patronage.
In this scenario, it was an inherent right for the cadres to expect preferential treatment in getting the bulk of the spoils. All that was required was a bona fide inclusion in the indigenized buddy-buddy system derived from political, ethnic or regional correctness relative to the center of power.
In post-colonial Africa success was not based on merit or hard work; it was dependent on political connectedness. Unsurprisingly, new developmental projects launched to supersede the colonial economy were doomed from the word go. This was the case because their management was entrusted to unqualified cronies, a heritage of the colonial patronage system. In this sense, corruption has indeed continued the under-development of Africa
Private sectors in post-colonial Africa continue to be too frail and docile to press for accountability from the government of the day. Occasionally, the liberation governments embarked on policies of creating an indigenous capitalist class. Unfortunately, in most instances, political capital was the basis of these new economic formations.
Political leaders usually acquired economic interests in the newly formulated arrangements. Again merit was not the relevant criterion for entry. Beneficiaries from such set-ups will not hold the government accountable. After all, one does not bite the hand that feeds him.
Prior to independence, the colonials lived in nauseating opulence considering the poverty that surrounded them. They indulged in huge expensive mansions, comfortable automobiles, overseas shopping trips to the metropolis and lavish parties. Culture of tightening belts and hard work was virtually non-existent.
When their time came, post-colonial indigenous elite emulated the same colonial elite’s culture of conspicuous consumption as the standard of ‘success.’ They had inherited an appetite for consumption without corresponding imperative for developmental initiatives.
Liberation movements were by their nature secretive. They needed it to survive the preponderance of power of the white ruling establishments. Unfortunately, post-colonial governments maintained the culture of obsession with secrecy, a feature that further enhances the spread of corruption.
Africa needs a resolve to evolve a new culture that awards merit, hard work and high morals. Struggle credentials are not enough; transgressions must be named and shamed. This is the task of the news media which must become more vigilant in keeping the spotlight in the wrongdoers. Corruption must be publicly exposed and punished.
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