Anti-corruption Initiatives in Africa’s Public Sector

Abstract

The fight against corruption in the public sector does not take place in a vacuum. It is executed with strenuous efforts from governments and organisations both locally and internationally. Recent times have witnessed commendable efforts by many African countries to embrace anti-corruption efforts in a valid attempt to get rid of this precarious canker. Treaties have been assented, and international conventions have been ratified to provide a blueprint for anti-corruption initiatives for the African continent. This chapter examines the fight against corruption in the public sector and the anti-corruption initiatives that have been adopted to curb them. There is a look at some of the continental initiatives such as the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC) and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), as well as the impact they have had in the anti-corruption struggle. Regional anti-corruption initiatives are also examined from the Northern, Southern, Western, Eastern and Central African sub-regions. This chapter affirms the presence of anti-corruption initiatives in all regions of the African continent and seeks to understand the extent to which these initiatives have been able to tackle corruption. There is also a mini case study of the anti-corruption initiatives in Ghana, a country that seems to be retrogressing in the fight against corruption in its public administration, despite its rich democratic history. We provide some recommendations that could help improve the current status quo.