NGO Transparency International revealed in its latest report that corruption increased in sub-Saharan Africa, in 2021. The causes, the NGO says, are covid-19 and security crises.         

“With the COVID-19 pandemic severely hitting the previously less-affected continent, alongside protracted armed conflicts and rising terrorist threats, 2021 was a turbulent year for Sub-Saharan Africa. These worrying trends exacerbate the serious corruption problems that exist from long before,” Transparency said, stressing that governments have imposed “disproportionate restrictions on civic freedoms – often under the guise of containing the COVID-19 pandemic – limiting people’s ability to hold power to account.”

According to the report, SSA’s average score last year was 33 out of 100, with 100 being the maximum score attributable to a country considered very low in corruption. While this score has improved significantly from 32 out of 100 in 2020, five out of 49 countries (Seychelles, Cape Verde, Botswana, Mauritius, and Rwanda) scored above average (50) in 2021 compared to six in 2020; 23 countries have also improved their scores compared to 2020.

Since 2012, Seychelles, the continent's highest-ranked country, has moved up 12 points in the ranking. Tanzania has improved by 8 points since 2014, while Senegal, Angola, and Côte d'Ivoire have gained 7 points. The latter two countries have made the fight against corruption a priority in their public programs for several years. Although insufficient, they have achieved visible results.

Last September, the Ivorian government launched a crackdown on its administration. In Angola, authorities conducted high-profile corruption investigations that led to the fall of members of the former ruling family, including José Filomeno and Isabel dos Santos, son, and daughter of former president Eduardo dos Santos.

However, despite these significant improvements, the anti-corruption picture in the region remains grim. Transparency reported that “the gains made by a handful of countries are overshadowed by backsliding or stagnation in others and the region’s poor performance overall, as 44 out of 49 countries assessed on the index still scored below 50.”

Liberia's score has dropped by 12 points since 2012, despite the election of former footballer George Weah as president, who made the fight against corruption one of his campaign promises. Botswana's score of 55 out of 100 in 2021 hides a 10-point drop since 2012, while Mali and South Sudan have dropped 6 and 3 points, respectively, since 2015 and 2013.

In total, 80% of countries in the region have stagnated over the past decade. To reverse the trend, Transparency International calls on governments to make greater efforts to guarantee public freedoms while improving anti-corruption controls. “Persistent corruption has gone hand-in-hand with unconstitutional changes of power in various parts of the continent,” the NGO said, adding that “sustainable progress on anti-corruption can only be achieved if societal and institutional checks on power are ensured. Governments must urgently roll back on the disproportionate restrictions on civil liberties and stop using the COVID-19 pandemic or ongoing conflicts as an excuse for stifling dissent. And when allegations of abuse emerge, anti-corruption agencies and justice institutions must provide accountability - no matter how high-level the culprit is.”

Let’s recall that Transparency noted no progress in North Africa in 2021.