Introduction:
The concepts and the experiences of development and governance in Africa are continuously interrogated in an effort to understand the challenges to the continent’s lack of progress towards social and economic development. The 70s and the 80s, represented almost two decades of SAP, accompanied by authoritarian military regimes that impacted negatively on the development of Africa and its governance. These did not only create agitations but placed most of the continent at great disadvantage politically and economically in comparison to the expectations of the pre-independence movements. Africa, at that point in time, needed a review and a re-assessment that will garner the support of all the factions in the society to reposition the states for sustained growth and development. The World Bank, being one of the major institutions behind the implementation of SAP in Africa, had an assessment of the continent and published a report in 1989 on “Sub-Saharan Africa: From Crisis to Growth”. This report marked a critical point in the discourse on development and governance, because the Bank did not only introduce the concept of “good governance” but re-directed its resources, supported by development partners, and later African States, to facilitating Africa’s democratic transition as the strategy towards the attainment of the successful management of Africa’s development. The governance project emphasized the need to extend Africa’s economic development to integrate issues of political leadership, hence the adoption of the term “good governance”.



Africa embraced the move towards Democratic Transition and the prospects for greater citizen participation in the governance process. The perspective presented provided an opportunity to demand for greater accountability in the governance process. Two decades later, Africa is yet to meet the basic of the majority of its population living under absolute poverty and oppressive state instruments. African states, in their own assessment of their past experiences have alluded to the failure of the past effort to achieve the needed growth and development, as well as, the social and economic transformation needed to ensure an improvement in the lives of the majority of its population.



Except for North Africa which has been affected by political crises, most of Africa is said to be experiencing some level of economic growth coming out of the global economic crisis, and yet the vast majority of Africans are living in absolute poverty, and the continent is still far from achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (ECA, 2012). The growth analysis shows that a one percent growth in most part of Africa lead to only 1.6%reduction in the rate of poverty, further demonstrating the inability to translate the meagre growth output into an improved livelihood for Africans. The major of workers are poor (3 out 5), the inequality in income is very wide, and the disparity is great between the urban and rural areas in access to services; and overall poverty levels still remain high. The case of North Africa, has demonstrated the causal relationship between political instability and economic degradation; a continued decline in the people’s welfare increases the potential risk for a decline in economic and social conditions which lead to degeneration in the political and social state of the people.



The experience in Africa is further complicated by other challenges such as corruption. Corruption is that state of decay that causes a society to gradually and steadily go into a state of decomposition and undergo spontaneous disintegration (impoverished national economies, threatened democracies and undermining rule of law). The Africa Governance Report (2009) has described it as a major challenge to governance and development in Africa that is complex and multi-dimensional in nature. The African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (2003) has enumerated its manifestations to cover acts such and related to:

(a) The solicitation or acceptance, directly or indirectly, by a public official or any other person, of any goods of monetary value, or other benefit, such as a gift, favour, promise or advantage for himself or herself or for another person or entity, in exchange for any act or omission in the performance of his or her public functions;

(b) The offering or granting, directly or indirectly, to a public official or any other person, of any goods of monetary value, or other benefit, such as a gift, favour, promise or advantage for himself or herself or for another person or entity, in exchange for any act or omission in the performance of his or her public functions;

(c) Any act or omission in the discharge of his or her duties by a public official or any other person for the purpose of illicitly obtaining benefits for himself or herself or for a third party;

(d) The diversion by a public official or any other person, for purposes unrelated to those for which they were intended, for his or her own benefit or that of a third party, of any property belonging to the State or its agencies, to an independent agency, or to an individual, that such official has received by virtue of his or her position;

(e) The offering or giving, promising, solicitation or acceptance, directly or indirectly, of any undue advantage to or by any person who directs or works for, in any capacity, a private sector entity, for himself or herself or for anyone else, for him or her to act, or refrain from acting, in breach of his or her duties;

(f) The offering, giving, solicitation or acceptance directly or indirectly, or promising of any undue advantage to or by any person who asserts or confirms that he or she is able to exert any improper influence over the decision making of any person performing functions in the public or private sector in consideration thereof, whether the undue advantage is for himself or herself or for anyone else, as well as the request, receipt or the acceptance of the offer or the promise of such an advantage, in consideration of that influence, whether or not the influence is exerted or whether or not the supposed influence leads to the intended result;

(g) Illicit enrichment;

(h) The use or concealment of proceeds derived from any of the acts referred to in this Article; and

(i) Participation as a principal, co-principal, agent, instigator, accomplice or accessory after the fact or on any other manner in the commission or attempted commission of, in any collaboration or conspiracy to commit, any of the acts referred to in this article”.

Article 4, AU Convention



“In the governance arena, corruption is seen as undermining the capacity of the state and its institutions to function efficiently and deliver public goods and services. It is also thought to compromise the electoral process whilst eroding trust and legitimacy in a polity. In the economy, corruption is blamed for encouraging wastage, promoting the wrongful allocation of scarce resources, distorting markets and competition, producing revenue losses, decelerating investment opportunities, privileging non-productive rent seeking activities, and fuelling economic policy distortions. In the social sphere, it is thought to generate intergroup tensions and, sometimes, political conflicts. In other words, the view is widespread that corruption has an overall corrosive effect on national development” (UNECA, 2008)[1]. This is further compounded by the lack of improvement in the corruption rates of up to 36 countries in the African continent. [2]

Even though the various manifestations of corruption vary in each country, the overall framework that guide national strategies are the AU Convention are United Nations Convention against Corruption; the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (2003); the Regional frameworks developed by the RECs; and the National laws and policies developed by the states. This paper, examines the role of civil society in the fight to prevent and curb corruption. The paper in the next section discusses the operational concepts of governance, civil society and corruption in Africa and briefly discusses their evolution and current manifestations. The paper then takes on a reflective approach in examining the Convention on the Prevention and Corruption in Africa in the light of the experiences of Civil Society engagement in the Anti-Corruption campaign, as represented by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). The paper concludes with recommendations to both the civil society and the Board on how to facilitate effective engagement in the implementation of the Convention and therefore in preventing and curbing corruption.



Governance and the Civil Society in Africa



Governance:

Governance has been defined by the World Bank as, “the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources for development”. The three major ingredients in this definition are “the form of political regime; the process by which authority is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources for development; and the capacity of government to design, formulate and implement policies and discharge functions”. Other components of this definition are the issues of the legitimacy of government, i.e. the degree of democratization; accountability of political and official elements of governments (media freedom, transparent decision making, accountability mechanisms), competence of governments to formulate policies and deliver services; the respect for human rights and the rule of law (individual and group rights and security framework for economic and social activity, and participation[3]).



There are various criticisms of this conception from both scholars and practitioners, the framing of the concepts in the definition are therefore increasingly modified to bring in their varied manifestations in the different parts of the globe; and there a growing utilization and acceptance of these as the core standards that define governance at both the global and the national levels.

Africa has also, over the years, as part of a continental effort come up with its own conceptualization of both Development and Governance. Some examples of these formulations are contained in the African Charter for Human and Peoples Rights; Constitutive Act of the African Union (which had created the Pan-African Parliament and the Economic, Social and Cultural Council as key organs that will facilitate the participation of the people in the development and economic integration of the continent and ensure the participation of professional and social groups); and later on the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance etc.



In recognition of the pertinent need to still take on the specific issues of governance and development in Africa, the African States have put together the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) in 2001, which is seeking for new “priorities and approaches to the political and socio-economic transformation of Africa” with the aim of eradicating poverty and to “extricate” the continent of the “malaise of underdevelopment and exclusion in a globalising world”. The major causes identified for the poor state of development on the continent are Africa’s colonial legacy, the Cold War, and issues related to the operations of the international economic system and the policy choices of governments; leadership and ownership challenges. African leaders, whilst noting the growing state of democracy on the continent, identified the need for democracy and state legitimacy in governance with an emphasis on accountable government, a culture of human rights and popular participation; and pledged to promote the principles of “peace, security, democracy, good governance, human rights and sound economic management” as conditions for sustainable development on the continent.



The African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption is therefore built on some of these continental and other relevant global instruments. The objectives of the Convention therefore included the need to “promote socio-economic development by removing obstacles to the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, as well as, civil and political rights”.[4] The states are guided by the principles of:

Respect for democratic principles and institutions, popular participation, the rule of law and good governance.
Respect for human and people’s rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and other relevant human rights instruments.
Transparency and accountability in the management of public affairs.
Promotion of social justice to ensure balanced socio-economic development.
Condemnation and rejection of acts of corruption, related offences and impunity.
Some of the key elements in the definition of governance as adopted in Africa, such as issues of accountability and popular participation in the governance process which have formed the core of the anti-corruption strategy and defined the expected roles civil society is expected to play. The four core roles for civil society in the AU Convention are participation in the:


Written by: Nana Tanko (PhD)

African Policy Research Institute (APRI)

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What an epistle
Whenever I hear fight against corruption in Africa,I automatically become irritated as a Nigerian because I know that the fight is a mirage and have been politicized esp.when someone we trust to do the fighting is the grand master of corruption and still claiming saint

Nonsense

kai