Some Biblical perspectives on corruption:

1. Corruption emanates from the self-centredness of human nature, and is therefore not just a structural evil, but also a spiritual one. At its heart are the selfish desires of the lust of the eyes and pride of life – the pursuit of selfish gain of wealth and power which is gained at the expense of others. The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Such selfish human motivations that are only dealt with by the application of the cross of Christ to our daily lives. The preaching of the gospel, and application of the cross in Christian discipleship are therefore part of dealing with corruption.

2. Political corruption from a Biblical perspective is not limited to bribery and extortion. Nor is it just about illegality. It concerns all unjust and unethical practices that are contrary to the holiness and rule of God by exploiting people for one's own ends. Certain practices that exploit others may be legal, but are no less corrupt. It is essentially an abuse of power by the powerful over the weak.

3. We need to examine our own hearts and lives before criticising others (Matt 7:3-5). Are we free of corruption? Are we exploiting others? Are we ensnared by the love of money and prestige that lead to injustice? Or are we carrying the cross of self-denial and service?

4. Corruption is to be exposed and condemned. Extortion and corruption were part of the injustice and oppression of the poor in Israel that God condemned through the prophets such as Amos and Ezekiel.

5. Some Bible verses about bribery and extortion: they corrupt the conscience (Ex 23:8; Dt 16:18-19; Ecc 7:7), pervert justice (1Sa 8:1-3; Pr 17:23; Isa 1:23; 5:22-23; Eze 22:12; Am 5:12; Mic 7:3), destroy national welfare (Pr 29:4), and are judged by God (Dt 27:25; Lev 6:4 Job 15:34; Eze 18:18, 22:12-13,29 Am 2:6, Hab 2:6).

Political corruption:

Corruption occurs everywhere and at many different levels. At every level it is to be exposed and condemned, but here we are primarily concerned with political corruption at high levels. The demanding of bribes by policemen and custom officials of local villagers is an equal crime, if smaller in scale, and must be rooted out. In some ways it has a greater negative impact upon normal African daily life than the high profile cases. It is also, perhaps, more understandable - such officials are often looking to top up inadequate salaries, while being expected – by reason of them having a government job – to support innumerable members of the extended family. It is not rare for such a person to be responsible for the feeding, clothing, and schooling of several dozen people. Poverty is an underlying force behind such extortion, and must also be addressed as a related issue.

But here I am focusing on high-level political corruption. Political corruption has been defined as “the abuse of entrusted power by political leaders for private gain, with the objective of increasing power or wealth.” (GCR) Corruption in political finance takes many forms, including vote buying, the use of illicit funds, the sale of contracts, and the abuse of state resources. Not all are illegal. Legal donations to political parties, for example, often result in policy changes. (GCR)

Corruption is notoriously hard to measure objectively. The most widely respected approach - which is still acknowledged to be too subjective - is the Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International. Worldwide, TI estimates that the amount lost due to bribery in government procurement is at least US$ 400 billion per year. In 2004, of the 7 countries with the worst ratings, two were African: Nigeria and Chad.

Aspects of Corruption in Africa

There is no doubt that corruption is a big problem in Africa. It has even been identified by the World Bank as the "single greatest obstacle to economic and social development". Of the 60 countries scoring less than 3 out of 10 on the 2004 CPI, indicating rampant corruption, 20 are African. The African Commission report is blunt about the extent of corruption, and the need to address it: "Corruption is systemic in much of Africa today...It is estimated that the amount stolen, and now held in foreign bank accounts, is equivalent to more than half of the continent’s external debt. In the worst cases, the amounts held by individuals in foreign bank accounts run into billions of US dollars." The report makes strong requirements for African countries to deal with corruption in developing good governance, and concludes: "Unless there are improvements in all these areas this Commission has concluded, after a detailed review of all the evidence, that all the other reforms we will recommend – in international trade, debt and aid – will have only limited impact."

But at the same time, "African corruption" can easily become a scapegoat. We can focus on that to the exclusion of everything else, distorting the true picture, and giving us an excuse to avoid addressing our own responsibility in this and other issues. Several comments are worth making:

1. Corruption is not unique to Africa. Corruption is found everywhere, including in our own countries. It emanates from the self-centredness of human nature, and is not unique to any cultural heritage (though it may find more fertile ground in some). Figures produced by Transparency International show that a total of 106 out of 146 countries score less than 5 against a clean score of 10 for corruption. They observe that "countries with a score of higher than 9, with very low levels of perceived corruption, are predominantly rich countries, namely Finland, New Zealand, Denmark, Iceland, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland. But the poorest countries, most of which are in the bottom half of the index, are in greatest need of support in fighting corruption." "Corruption in large-scale public projects is a daunting obstacle to sustainable development, and results in a major loss of public funds needed for education, healthcare and poverty alleviation, both in developed and developing countries." We need to acknowledge this, and not just paint corruption as simply an African problem.

2. There is a wider context. The roots and existence of extreme poverty in Africa are far wider than the corruption of African leaders. Geographical isolation, disease, climate, historical factors, culture, conflict, international policies, trade injustice, debt, and political powerlessness are other significant contributions to why Africa has continued to get poorer over the last 25 years. Christian Aid estimates that Africa has lost $1,440 billion to the rich world over the last three decades through unfair trade, debt servicing and bad investment policies. The wider context of immoral poverty and structural injustice can not be ignored because of the problem of corruption. We must address the corruption, but also face the wider issues. As Jeremy Sachs said: "What happens is that everyone's wringing their hands about corruption without trying to solve practical problems. And right now, we're not even helping the well-governed places, the places where we are capable of finding absolutely practical and effective approaches to turning help into real success on the ground... The basic issue is, is there a way for us to help to fight AIDS, TB, malaria, and other killers which are taking an incredible number of lives?"

2. Progress has been made. Progress has been made in recent years in Africa. In 1973, there were only three democratically-elected leaders in Africa; today, there are 32. Five African presidents met recently with President Bush to talk on issues relating to democracy and economic development, each of who had held democratic elections in the last year.

3. New political will. There is new political will among African leaders to deal with corruption: "Africa is beyond bemoaning the past for its problems. The task of undoing that past is ours, with the support of those willing to join us in that continental renewal. We have a new generation of leaders who know that we must take responsibility for our own destiny, that we will uplift ourselves only by our own efforts in partnership with those who wish us well". (Nelson Mandela) Political transparency and action against corruption are increasing across the continent. Recent actions (eg against Zuma in South Africa) are hopeful signs of increasing political will. Structures such as NEPAD, and the African Union Convention against Corruption have been put in place by African leaders to root out corruption. African politicians have agreed through the African Peer Review Mechanism to assess their performance against a number of internationally-agreed codes and standards, including those on fiscal and monetary transparency. World Bank head, Paul Wolfowitz commented recently how pleased he was to find “something that I am quite sure would not have been heard around the table 10 years ago and that was a common concern about corruption and fighting corruption… to see African leaders saying it's a problem and not just saying it's problem, but doing something about it, is one of the major reasons for feeling that we are in a new era and at a turning point.”

4. Not all countries or leaders are the same. While high-visibility cases of corruption do still occur, not all countries should be tarred with the same brush. Uganda, Botswana, Tanzania, Gambia, and Kenya have for example made noted improvements. Olusegun Obasanjo, the current Nigerian president launched a crackdown on corruption to try to end the country's reputation as Africa's most venal. The new Malawian president, Bingu wa Mutharika, has been trying to conform to international strictures on corruption, but had been disowned by his own party for doing so.

5. Western complicity in African corruption The West is a part of the problem. Wolfowitz said recently: “"Let's hold a mirror up to ourselves and remember every corrupt transaction has two parties - a corruptee and a corruptor. And if the African people and their leaders are stepping up to the challenge of dealing with the corruptee- those of us in the developed world have responsibility to address corruptors as well, to help African countries, as the Nigerians are seeking to do now, to recover the some of the stolen wealth that is sitting in bank accounts where it doesn't belong." Nigeria has US $ 1.3 billion frozen in Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein, and the current administration of Olusegun Obasanjo is still trying to repatriate the money. The Commission for Africa report addresses this and has radical proposals on corruption. It recognises that, while Africa needs to play its part in ensuring better and more transparent governance, there is also a need for the developed world to play a much greater role in policing corrupt payments and giving back funds deposited by African dictators in European banks.

Transparency International identified the oil, construction, and arms industries as major corrupters. TI urges western governments to oblige their companies to publish what they pay in fees, royalties and other payments to host governments and state oil companies, impose sanctions on bribe-payers, limit direct contracting, and provide independant monitering. They observe: "companies from OECD countries must fulfil their obligations under the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and stop paying bribes at home and abroad.” A recent BBC report observes: "African countries which have been in turmoil like Sierra Leone and Liberia have had their arms supplied by some European agents. If Europe is serious in helping Africa get out of this mess, it should therefore promulgate tougher rules to prevent arms sales to countries in such internal conflicts. There is doubt about willingness to apply such rules. the Export Credits Guarantee Department, having introduced a set of stronger anti-bribery guidelines for its clients in May 2004, was obliged by the DTI to withdraw them in November on the grounds that they were too tough for three large-scale clients in the defence and aerospace industries. Yet there is no way that a strategy to control overseas bribery can work without it being clearly effective in the arms sector.

That not only means that many western companies are helping to line peoples' pockets illegally but that often the wrong equipment is bought, and dams and roads are built in the wrong place for no better reason other than the politicians can get their kick backs. While the natural resources that could help a country drag itself out of poverty are being siphoned off into untraceable offshore bank accounts. New laws are supposed to make it easy to prosecute companies here for paying bribes abroad, but most lawyers admit that they are so weak and vague that they won't work. Businesses, if they admit corruption at all, justify it on the grounds that it wins contracts abroad and therefore secures jobs here."

6. Development progress in spite of corruption. Development progress has been achieved, even in countries where corrupt regimes have been in place. "Despite three decades of overall continental stagnation, growth exceeded 5 per cent in 24 separate countries in sub-Saharan Africa in 2003. Smallpox has been eradicated. Effective poverty-eradicating programmes are happening all over Africa. A rich variety of pressure groups and community organisations are beginning to change the world around them and learning how to hold their governments to account." (CfA) We need to examine ways that help can be given without passing through the hands of corrupt leaders.

None of this is to deny the size of the problem of corruption in Africa, but rather to encourage us to not dismiss the “African problem” of being simply one of uniform and unchanging corruption that is the root of all its woes.

What are some practical implications for development?

We cannot continue to neglect the poverty and injustice simply because of corruption in Africa. Yet corruption cannot be ignored either, as it is an injustice against the poor, and a hinderance to development. How can we make progress in development, while at the same time addressing the issue of corruption? Four main possibilities seem to be being suggested as approaches:

1. Strengthen and support African moves to deal with corruption.
The Commission for Africa Report calls for African governments to better governance to address corruption, including increased participation, transparency, and the passing and application of effective legislation. Where this has already begun, it needs support.

2. Deal with the complicity in African corruption that exists in developed countries.
Repatriation of stolen assets, legislation and action against bribery, and transparency of company deals. "As the source of much of the money that funds political corruption, the corporate sector has a vital role to play in ending the abuse of power." (GCR) Get rid of unjust US and EU trade subsidies and international policies that undermine poor countries' economies and freedom.

3. Focus on approaches to aid and development that avoid avenues vulnerable to corruption.

4. Favour countries dealing with corruption.
This approach seems to be favoured by President Bush, with the Millennium Challenge Account. Critics say it is too slow and cumbersome, and that corruption data is not accurate enough.

I have focused here mainly on trying to get a true perception of the situation of corruption in Africa. It is, I am sure, an inadequate overview. My concern is that we neither unfairly place all of Africa's woes at the feet of African corruption, nor that we dismiss what we can and should be doing because of the corruption that does exist. I would appreciate comments on this.

Other articles in this series on:
1. Biblical attitude to the poor
2. Corruption
3. Aid and Development
4. Debt
5. Trade.

Tags: g8 corruption make poverty history africa