November 2009

Many of the objections to my blog post, “Another reason why aid to Africa must increase”  centered around corruption.  “I disagree.  Africa needs to get rid of corruption…” said one commentator, while another said, “Aid to African countries must follow country steps in good governance, democracy, fighting corruption, etc.”

I think we can agree on the following two facts:

• There is considerable corruption in Africa.  The recently-released Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index for 2009 finds 10 African countries in the bottom decile (with Somalia at the very bottom of the list).  Of the 47 African countries reviewed, 31 scored less than 3 out of 10, “indicating that corruption is perceived as rampant.”  Another data source, World Governance Indicators, reaches a similar conclusion.
• Corruption undermines economic growth and poverty reduction.

But even with these two facts, it doesn’t necessarily follow that aid should be cut off from countries with high corruption.