Corruption fight: More than 60% of Africans believe gov’ts have failed – Afrobarometer

The recent Afrobarometer report has disclosed that a staggering 67% of Africans believe their governments are failing in the fight against corruption.

The survey which covers 39 countries across African further states that a significant 71% of Africans who report corruption to the authorities risk facing retaliation.

“Two-thirds (67%) of Africans say their governments are failing in the fight against corruption, and 71% say people who report corruption to the authorities risk retaliation (Dulani, Asiamah, & Zindikirani, 2023).”

“Given the corrosive effects of official corruption on popular support for and satisfaction with democracy, the news from recent findings about corruption trends is not good: In the eyes of ordinary Africans, the problem is getting worse.

“On average across 39 countries, nearly six in 10 citizens (58%) say corruption levels in their countries increased over the past year, including 82% in South Africa and 87% in Eswatini. Only three countries record majorities who say corruption decreased: Benin (70%), Mali (64%), and Zambia (53%).”

“Levels of perceived corruption among political leaders paint a similar picture: Across up to 30 countries for which we have complete data, 38% of respondents say “most” or “all” officials in their president’s office are corrupt, up by 13 percentage points since 2011/2013.

“Perceptions of widespread corruption show similar increases for members of Parliament (+11 points) and the judiciary (+8 points), with marginal increases of 3 points for local government councillors and civil servants.”