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Foreign Aid and corruption in Africa

African countries have been receiving FOREIGN AID since independence for the past 60years, and Africa is yet to be developed or self-reliant. Since 1970, the world has spent over five trillion dollars in aid. Much of that money has come to Africa. Helping Africa is a noble cause, but the campaign has become a theater of rampage corruption, and abuse of power.

The Marshall Plan was an American initiative passed in 1948 for foreign aid to Western Europe. The goals of the United States were to rebuild war-torn regions, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, improve European prosperity. However, it hasn’t been the case in Africa. Foreign Aid has contributed to corruption in Africa through the large amounts of money that are sent over, and exploitation of resources.

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Ghana climbs to 75th on latest global Corruption Perception Index

Ghana has improved her score on the latest Corruption Perception Index.

The 2020 report released by Transparency International saw the country score 43 points out of a possible 100, a two-point increase from 2019’s 41 points.

In the 2019 edition, Ghana was ranked 80th on the globe in terms of corruption perception and 10th in Sub-Saharan Africa.

However, the new figures show the country has climbed up to the 75th position in the world ranking while maintaining its 10th spot in Africa.

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The Difficulty In The Fight Against Corruption

Two major things, in my considered opinion, have been proven to be the major setbacks of development in Ghana and Africa at large: corruption and leadership nemesis. Both are complex subject matters one cannot exhaustively delve into with a single write up. I will leave the subject of leadership nemesis for another day.

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Corrupt practices and elections

Elections constitute one of the key pillars of a vibrant democracy, where leaders assume power following transparent, free, fair and competitive polls.

Regrettably, these processes are plagued by irregularities and corruption, resulting in armed conflicts in many African countries.

Usually, citizens’ rights to participate in the electoral process are corruptly influenced, limiting their free choice of a candidate.

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Nigeria’s Protests and the Need for Bottom-Up Reform Across Africa

One of the rare times I made it through the international airport in Lagos with nary a request for a bribe, I was left feeling spooked. After all, during previous visits to Nigeria, I had had valuables seized right before my eyes under false pretenses; I had been detained in a cell awaiting ransom; and I had even once watched in alarmed disbelief as uniformed men with guns boarded my flight and extorted money from passengers, along with bottles of champagne from the crew, right there on the tarmac.

This time, as I exited the terminal, just as I was being greeted by a prearranged driver, a man in plainclothes approached to demand my passport. The driver whispered for me to ignore him and keep walking fast, after which the man in plainclothes flashed a gun under his shirt and said, “OK, you’ll see.”

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South African president refers information bill to parliament

President Cyril Ramaphosa has requested the parliament to reconsider the Protection of State Information Bill (PSIB) based on reservations about its constitutional validity, his office said on Friday.

The president has, in writing, drawn the attention of National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise to constitutional reservations emanating from the bill which has been referred to the president for assent and signing into law, Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Khusela Diko said.

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Corruption Doesn’t Have A Colour

Africa has always been perceived by western nations as a corrupt continent, with almost all the international organisations and rating agencies rating the continent as high risk. But the truth is that corruption has always existed in different forms and is not determined by politics or geography. It exists in rich and poor countries, the developed and developing nations alike. However, countries in Africa seem to be penalised for corruption a lot more and are often perceived as more corrupt than other places.

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Ghana has tried to be responsible with its oil wealth. This is how.

After Ghana discovered oil and gas in 2007, the government and civil society aspired to avoid the “resource curse”. This is when countries have an abundance of non-renewable natural resources but no economic growth.

Nigeria, Sudan, Angola, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Chad are among the oil producers that have failed to channel their resources into the material improvement of their countries and people.

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Intensify seizure of assets of corrupt officials – Experts say as Corruption Watch launches Webcast series

Two anti-corruption experts have said the recent order by an Accra High Court for the seizure of assets of persons convicted in the NCA case is a significant deterring anti-corruption measure.

Overall, they view Justice Eric Kyei Baffour’s judgement as the clearest indication yet of the application of laws to combat corruption.

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