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Corruption in African

Shaimika Jones

Waldorf University

PA 5302

Professor Joos

October 19, 2020

Research Topic

How are morals and ethics used to fight corruption in African countries?

The problem to be investigated

What is the degree of corruption in the African States?

Why the problem is of interest

Corruption in most African states has a rampant factor that has affected almost all the states in Africa. Corruption has led to the hindrance of economic development, and as a result, many citizens are suffering. Corruption also reduces the trust that the people have for their government and as a result, less economic development is achieved. In the case of Africa, most roads and transport means are poor because the money that was supposed to be originally funded for road system development has been taken by the wealthy politicians. Also, the healthcare system is in a total mess following the looting of money by the government officials. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has exposed this and it is evident that some African states are corrupt. However, most countries have been fighting corruption, and this has led to increased development but still more needs to be done so that the effects brought by corruption can be at least reduced.

Literature Review

In the previous research conducted, several research articles have shown pieces of evidence of corruption occurrence in Africa. According to an article report on Corruption in Africa on the threat to sustainable peace and justice by Elizabeth, it is established that corruption is an undesirable form of behavior in the organization that tends to lead to underdevelopment. From the research article, the people who seem to be responsible for this corruption are the topnotch officials at the government who embezzle all the funds used for public expenditure. These politicians embezzle these funds because they are the people who handle these finances on behalf of the citizens. Instead, of using the finances and resources wisely, the politicians end up using all the money given for public resources to their own advantage. The lack of proper judicial systems that can investigate the corruption scene is also a contributing factor. Most of the judges and magistrates who make rulings in court are too corrupt, and as a result, the battle on corruption becomes a hard one. During the court hearings, the politicians offer corruption to the judges and the magistrates and as a result, there is fair ruling in the courts.

In an African governance report by the United Nations on the economic commission of Africa, it has been investigated that governance is directly linked to corruption. The article also went ahead to mention that corruption has led to low social equity in society. Low social equity has led to the increased gap between the poor and the rich people in the society. In a study carried out by Khazanchi, he defined as the whole of moral values regarding management. The values that are mentioned as ethics and morals in western culture are expressed in the scope of the morals norms in the eastern culture. Following the rise of ethical problems in the past four decades, ethical codes have been formed to show at least direct the strategies that should be taken in the case of corruption. According to the article, citizens are supposed to have a social responsibility that will lead to a better way of handling issues of corruption in African countries.

Introduction

Corruption in most African countries has been hindering social, political and economic development. Corruption has become a significant barrier to fundamental freedoms, good governance and economic growth. In previous research conducted, it has been estimated that more than half of the citizens of a particular nation think that corruption is continually becoming a more complicated problem. Most nations around the world believe that corruption has become a political, bureaucratic structure which is a significant characteristic of the underdeveloped countries. In the sector of public administration, most western countries drew their considerations on public considerations and ethics. In response to the increasing pressure from the public opinion for the establishment of ethical and good administration, western governments have now begun to develop standards and code of ethics and regulatory, supervisory institutions.

Various strategies have been carried out to reduce the effect of corruption on the African countries. First ethics in the public administration sector has been emphasized more. The responses to corruption seem to be better guided if the citizens of a country tackle the aspect of ethics and the structural level of the society. The struggle of corruption will remain an illusion if people are still sympathetic to corruption as a lesser form of evil. If citizens continue still to gauge politicians with the amount they donate to their area, corruption will still be a rampant problem. Citizens are also supposed to make the fight against corruption a personal responsibility through demoting all the leaders who may seem to be corrupt.

Narrative

Corruption in Africa today has become a matter affecting the entire African states. In the latest research, Africa is recorded to have a high level of corruption. In the African continent, Zimbabwe and Somalia are termed to be the most corrupt countries in Africa. Although integrity centers have examined corruption levels in the governments, many prominent leaders are also accused of corruption (Knusten et al, 2018). This aspect leads to the principle of the rule of law in public and is not adopted that the ethical culture is not adopted. They include bureaucratic reasons such as supervisions problem in the local administration, low quality of the bureaucratic services, the inadequacy of the commitment of the public service of the public official, employment problem in the public sector and lack of transparency in the public administration. The government has made good progress since then in the battle towards corruption by implementing various mechanisms to help increase accountability by the leaders.

Ethical Context

The aspect of applying morals and ethics to lower the level of corruption in the public administration has been bringing more attention to Africa in the past years, When studies were conducted in Africa a few years ago, the term ethics was used in working ethics and morals but although, the term ethics was not commonly used in the public administration sector. The corruption incidences that occurred in Africa in the 1970s increased the public interest and academic circles on ethics. Therefore, this ensured a new launch of some studies in public service ethics in African states. At a report give in 2003, the importance of ethics is also emphasized.

The African continent is experiencing low typical confidence levels by the citizens. As a result, many citizens seem to be losing their trust in policymakers and as a result, this leads to corresponding negative implications for the legitimacy of institutions and government. This aspect is called a confidence deficit on the policymakers of the African states. Similarly, the confidence deficit has also been enriched by using well-publicized standards that are stemming from what could be termed as illegal activities.

Analysis, Evaluation, and Critique of how the corruption issue was handled by an administrator and the governing Individual Group

Nations are supposed to make use of processes, and a series of instruments that are aimed at preventing unwanted actions and thereby encouraging constructive activities and operations. In a report dated in 2015, an ethical structure has different vital elements. The elements mainly focus on the effectiveness of civil society in supervising public officials, existence of institutions that ensure coordination of ethical matters. Appropriate working conditions in the public administration, professional socialization professionals, applicable code of conduct, efficient accountability, legal infrastructure and the political will. The interaction of elements of the ethical infrastructure depends on the general approach to the public administration and its past support to the ethical actions, as well as the country`s support for the administrative and cultural function.

Recommendations

In the recommendations, I would like to recommend six major principles of the ethical codes that will be applied to the African countries to stop corruption. The principle must be applied in the public sector where the public principles must be taken to public considerations by the public officials where the ethical code was applied. The first ethical code selflessness of safeguarding public interests. The principle dictates that public officials should act in a way that safeguards the public interest and not obtain financial revenues or forms of financial advantages for themselves or their friends or families. The second ethical code is integration. This refers to the public officials who perform their official duties in non-institutional

The third ethical code is objectivity. Objectivity involves taking the merit as a basis in the public appointments and granting the awards in the performance of activities that seem beneficial to the individuals. The fifth ethical code is accountability, while the sixth is honesty. Accountability involves keeping a good record of all the activities done. In relation to the government, all the officials elected should be accountable of all the resources that have been entrusted to them. When there is proper accountability, it will be easier to detect if the public money has been stolen by the government officials. On the other hand, honesty is based on the aspect of truthfulness. Therefore, this implies that African leaders should be truthful and honest in all their dealings. Similarly, public officials are also required to raise and uphold the principles with leadership and modelling.

Closing and summary

From the above discussion, it is evident that corruption breeds into budget deficit problems, and wastage, among other major challenges (Sulemana & Kpienbraeeh, 2018). Corruption has also led to an unstable social environment that makes the learned population seek better-paying jobs in the western states. Corruption can continue to inhibit development, and therefore, it should be eradicated (Vrushi & Pring, 2018). In general, it is possible to make a conclusion on the perception of ethics is closely related to the perception and culture that is used to reduce the levels of corruption on the government institutions. Similarly, citizens should also be ready to ensure that they report any leader who engages in corrupt activities that are likely to lead to less development of the country.

References Knutsen, C. H., Kotsadam, A., Olsen, E. H., & Wig, T. (2017). Mining and local corruption in Africa. American Journal of Political Science, 61(2), 320-334. Pring, C., & Vrushi, J. (2019). Global Corruption Barometer: Africa 2019. Transparency International. Sulemana, I., & Kpienbaareh, D. (2018). An empirical examination of the relationship between income inequality and corruption in Africa. Economic Analysis and Policy, 60, 27-42.