Transparency International (TI) has called on African Union (AU) leaders to stay true to their anti-corruption commitments and take concerted actions to end corruption in Africa.
Development Diaries reports that TI made the call in a letter signed by 28 of its chapters across the continent.
It highlighted the need to accelerate strategies to effectively tackle illicit financial flows, guarantee corruption-free delivery of basic services to African citizens, and progress toward the complete ratification and implementation of the Convention.
TI further urged state parties to establish central, verified, public beneficial ownership registers and called for stronger regional mechanisms to facilitate tracking cross-border corruption for investigation and prosecution, in line with global standards.
In its 2022 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for sub-Saharan Africa, the organisation revealed that 44 of the 49 countries assessed still scored below 50.
The report noted that gains made by a few countries were outweighed by significant declines in others.
Also, data from Statista shows that sub-Saharan Africa had the lowest global average score in the CPI as of 2022.
‘The adoption by African leaders of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combatting Corruption two decades ago showed a resolute commitment to curb corruption in the region’, Executive Director of TI, Togo, Fabrice Ebeh, said.
‘Today, in a time and region where the interplay between democracy, security and development holds significant importance, it now becomes urgent for them to transform these commitments into resolute actions to eliminate corruption.
‘By doing so, they can safeguard the fundamental rights of the African people’.
Source: Transparency International
Photo source: AU
