The Gambia’s challenge to African leaders on corruptio
Governance in Africa is no job for the faint of heart.
Many politicians have failed to carry on effectively in government in Africa simply because they have found it tough moving forward in the face of the HIV/AIDS crisis, unpredictability of international aid flows, which is topped only by the extraordinary price volatility in world markets of their primary exports and trade barriers.
These crippling problems are often used to hide away the fact that indeed, Africans themselves are contributing to making the continent poor through corruption.
And I dare say that it is corruption that has set Africa back and it is endemic in Africa today. It is a major contributing factor to civil wars on the continent, it has reduced life expectancy, contributed to the growth of Africa’s debts, and above all reduced Africa to the status of the world’s begging bowl.
This simple truth is somehow sadly denied by the political elites who only see corruption when they are not in power. The day-to day stories about corruption are a testament to the fact that Africa needs to master how to judiciously use the available resources and not to go begging for more.
I was shocked when on my working visit to The Gambia in April I heard that one official is facing trial for stealing millions of dollars from the national coffers of a small country like The Gambia.
This was disheartening, and the sadness kept reeling back whenever I drove past poor Gambians in Banjul jostling as normal daily to make ends meet.
Given the population of The Gambia, (the country has a population of not more than two million), the millions that individuals, and I mean politicians and other high ranking public officials have stolen from the national coffers would have made each Gambian a millionaire if it had been distributed freely.
Of course, financial experts reading this will tell you that for economic management and fiscal stability, it would be better for the money to be with one person. What does this mean? It’s simple: where you have too much money chasing too few goods, you create inflationary pressures, which could bring a country to a halt.
So distributing wealth in that manner is not the best way to address crippling poverty.
That said however, it is not justification for the wanton stealing in some African countries. The Gambian government is really up against it, addressing the problem of corruption in high places.
“It has not been an easy task”, some government officials repeatedly said, as if they have been rehearsing their lines everyday. It has not been easy for The Gambia because most of the politicians, especially the ones in opposition are in denial of the problems of corruption in the country.
The story about corruption in The Gambia goes like this: Last July, Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh set up a commission to probe the assets, properties, activities and other related matters of those who have served as public officers from July 22, 1994 up to the present. This included all former and present Cabinet ministers and secretaries of state, the Vice President, and all public office holders and heads of government agencies.
The Commission, after holding 139 public hearings under the chairmanship of Justice M.A. Paul made its recommendations known to the government and barely 24 hours after the release of the report, 32 past and present public officials and other persons were arrested and detained for corruption of some sort.
The President, acting on the recommendations of the Commission also announced the establishment of the Public Accountability and Anti-Corruption Unit (PAACU) as a permanent unit to fight corruption in the public service.
But it seems that not everyone is impressed with this new and bold initiative by a President who is facing general elections next year. The opposition has joined some members of government to call the whole thing a witch- hunt by the government.
Most shocking coming from the opposition political elites who have always accused the ruling party of corruption! You can’t really win with opposition leaders in Africa these days! The good news is that the President thinks very little of what the opposition are saying about his new and bold anti-corruption initiative.
Asked, during an exclusive interview with Africa Week about this, President Jammeh was firm in his belief that indeed it is corruption that is making Africa poorer.
“I don’t care to lose elections just because I fought corruption in this country. I’d rather be worried if I won elections knowing so well that I condoned corruption to win”, President Jammeh said.
How does this compare with other African leaders? Gradually African leaders are waking up to the challenges of national development posed by the endemic problem of corruption.
But sadly, some leaders still continue to console themselves that corruption has been with mankind since the days of Adam and thus only so much can be done.
Nevertheless, there are some leaders who are committed to the fight against corruption. President Obasanjo of Nigeria is one such leader. “Baba”, as he is affectionately called by some of his public officers has become really tough on the crooks in his government and beyond.
“It is not common to hear a Nigerian say that things are tough because they seem to have answers to everything that is thrown at them. But these days, really, things are tough because the screws have been tightened by President Obasanjo, which has made it really difficult for the sophisticated corrupt official to operate without getting caught”, Bisi Williams a Nigerian care assistant in London is pleased with Obasanjo’s efforts to eradicate corruption; he told me, “President Obasanjo has gone the extra mile to reveal his annual income derived from his position as the President of Nigeria and his own private businesses.”
The truth here is that not many African leaders can do this boldly. Some will have to be seriously challenged before they will even reveal how much they earn a month from the public purse.
That is how sad the problem of corruption has become. No African leader should be allowed to go free if found to have embezzled even $50,000 while in office. This is no different from robbing people with brute force like an armed robber would.
The anti-corruption axe must fall not only on the military rulers but also the so-called democratic leaders who write about corruption with one hand and steal from the public purse with the other. I believe that the time has come for the media to critically undertake a peer review of African economies to expose the rot.
African elites thrive on dysfunctional economies, often fuelled by corruption and ill-gotten gains. The time is up for them, and there should be no hiding place for any corrupt leader anywhere on the continent or abroad.
