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Séquence 1

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karambasoumano2002
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COMPRÉHENSION ÉCRITE

Séquence 1 : Corruption is Crippling Development in Africa

COMPRÉHENSION ÉCRITE
Dr ALADJI MAMADOU SANÉ
Séquence 1 : Corruption is Crippling Development in Africa

The CPI (Corruption Perception Index) report defines corruption as the abuse of
entrusted power for private gain, in public and private sectors. Countries are scored
based on assessments of the prevalence of bribery of public officials, embezzlement of
public funds, kickbacks in public procurement and questions about the effectiveness of
public anti-corruption efforts. Accordingly, the report conducted within most African
countries in these areas leaves much to be desired.

The scientific nature of scales and scores may have little meaning to the people
affected most by the corruption the figures indicate. An additional report published by
Transparency International in 2010, The Anti-Corruption Catalyst: Realizing the MDGs
by 2015, puts the effects of corruption in perspective. A bribe demanded by a teacher
to enroll a girl at a ‘fee’ elementary school could irreversibly block that girl’s education
and future opportunities. A hike in the local cost of drugs by newly elected
parliamentarians whose campaigns were supported by pharmaceutical firms might put
treatment out of reach of sick people, leaving them unable to work and earn a living.
Amounts paid as bribes are often quite small but the implicit costs are great.

The effects of bribery and kickbacks in Education, Water and Healthcare sectors
represent the implicit costs of corruption. These incidents transform corruption into a
‘‘regressive tax’’ on services that the poor cannot afford, making basic services
unattainable. Thus, it is the poor and vulnerable who suffer most due to corruption as

Dr ALADJI MAMADOU SANÉ 1


COMPRÉHENSION ÉCRITE
Séquence 1 : Corruption is Crippling Development in Africa

they are more reliant on Government services and public systems to satisfy their most
basic needs. It also undermines the rules of law, feeding inequality and injustice,
discouraging foreign investment, further impeding development.

In addition, to the implicit costs of corruption due to bribery, there are also hidden
costs associated with corruption. The costs of a form of corruption termed ‘‘quiet
corruption’’ by the World Bank, adversely affect the poor in particular. The World Bank’s
Africa Development Indicators 2010 shows that civil servants’ failure to deliver
government-run Health, Education or Agricultural services, further jeopardizes Africa’s
long-term development. In Burkina Faso, the survey identified a primary school
inspector who used to arrange for teachers posted to rural areas to be transferred back
to cities if they paid her small sums of money, thus depriving the rural poor of much
needed teachers.

Low-level corruption in the Education sector is of course not unique to Burkina


Faso. In many African countries, teachers at government schools stay away from class
or do not take up appointments in remote regions. The results of this behaviour has
devastating long-term effects, as children who are denied a proper Education because
of absentee teachers will suffer low cognitive skills and associated problems in
adulthood. It is clear then that corruption in all its forms is a crime against development
that blocks attempts at growth and poverty eradication. Corruption impacts most
heavily on the poor and vulnerable members in society but underdevelopment affects
the future growth and prosperity of all people. Thus, fighting on behalf of the
disempowered and ensuring Africa’s development means that the responsibility for
dealing with corruption fails squarely on all from governments and donors to civil
society and citizens.

Claire Furphy, November 16th, 2010 http://www.consultancyafrica.com

Dr ALADJI MAMADOU SANÉ 2

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