ECA report urges fact-based, objective means to measure corruption in Africa

The UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) on Saturday launched its 4th edition of the Africa Governance Report, which calls on African countries to adopt approaches that are fact-based and built on more objective and quantitative criteria in measuring corruption in the continent.

The report questions the credibility and reliability of corruption indices which focus on country ranking but offer minimal policy insights and practical recommendations for policy reforms, says ECA in its press statement on the report.

During the launch of the report, Calle Schlettwein, Namibia's Minister of Finance, said that current indices on corruption do not present a reliable picture of the situation in Africa.

The Report states that existing measures of corruption are predominantly perception-based, and that they ignore the international dimension of corruption.

In his remarks during the launch ceremony, Adam Elhiraika, Director for Macroeconomics Policy at ECA, noted that the problem of corruption in Africa cannot be solved solely by Africans.

"To combat corruption, Africa needs good governance institutions and policies that are not exclusively domestic-oriented, since corruption in the continent is not exclusively the making of Africans," said Elhiraika.

The report contains policy recommendations, categorized into four themes: enhancing ownership and participation in development planning; improving transparency and accountability; building credible governance institutions; and improving the regional and global governance architecture.

The launch of the report has come as one of the activities in line with the Africa Development Week, which marks the 9th joint annual ECA-AU Commission conference of ministers, taking place from March 31 to April 5 in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. Endit