Read Time: 4 minutes
The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) continues to draw attention from multilateral institutions which use its findings to make decisions about aid and investment. Yet its critics consider the index a distorted prism that exonerates western actors who benefit from illicit financial flows from Africa. Uche Igwe highlights deficiencies in the CPI’s largely conjectural methodology, while calling for a new conversation that openly reflects the culpability of both perpetrators and beneficiaries.
The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), a flagship research product from Transparency International, is arguably one of the advocacy tools most used to demand institutional change. It has drawn international attention to the issue of corruption, and many global organisations depend on the index’s findings to make powerful decisions about where to locate their capital. In these days marked by economic turmoil arising from the pandemic, resources are scarce and decisions about their allocation are too crucial to be wished away; year after year, developing countries often await the publication of the CPI with some anxiety, almost sure to find themselves embarrassingly at the bottom of the list.
The CPI’s contribution to the interrogation of development processes
The default position of many African states is to hail the CPI report when they make any marginal progress in the ranking and condemn it when they regress. Such efforts have done very little to undermine the prominence of the CPI as the lens through which the world perceives such countries. Certainly, the CPI has contributed significantly to the interrogation of the development process, and it has become so popular that checking CPI rankings is now part of due diligence for many multilateral institutions before decisions on aid or investment are made.
There are concerns, however, about the magisterial verdict the CPI conveys. Arguably, many scholars from the continent have been reluctant to engage the CPI rigorously and with a contextual lens concerned about the realities on the ground.
Culpability of both perpetrators and beneficiaries of illicit flows
Many scholars see the corruption conversation as a mythical blame game designed to make Africa look bad in the eyes of the world. Of course, it takes two to tango. Let us believe the prevailing narrative that African politicians loot resources from their home countries and transfer them through western banks elsewhere. So often the names of these banks and their home countries are conspicuously missing from dirty lists of corrupt nations. For something as simple as bribery, both the giver and the receiver are guilty, and a system that is reluctant to indict both, such as in the case of illicit financial flows, is at best hypocritical.
Corruption as promoted by the CPI is said to account for only 5% of illicit financial flows out of Africa. Another chunk of 900 billion US dollars leak out of developing countries through the collusion of multinational corporations through questionable tax practices. Why are these considered separate? To date, most tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions exist within the territories of countries who are on the top of the CPI ranking. It is surprising that the existence of these dark spots is conveniently omitted in the global corruption narrative, especially as about 40% of global foreign direct investment is said to pass through such locations. The efforts of those who try to associate the so-called persistent corruption in Africa with the historical residue of colonialism in Africa are ignored to absolve the colonisers. There appear to be two sets of rules – one for the perpetrators and another for the beneficiaries.
African scholarly voices are submerged in western orthodoxy
‘Corruption research’ in Africa is a particular victim to schools of thought seeking western validation. For a concept that is both powerful and political, it is surprising to see a lack of nuanced interrogation into the role of the international forces benefitting from corrupt practices. Indeed, some African scholars feature on the CPI to give it underserved legitimacy. In doing so, structural issues embedded in international processes are missed: the continent’s natural resource endowments, sold on global markets and produced largely by global actors, have not been the blessings that many have expected. Real efforts must be made to understand how these endowments can produce prosperity for a majority of citizens and avoid a detour into the pockets of parasitic elites.
Instead, many donor countries continue to spend billions of dollars on combatting corruption in Africa institutions, to which the continent is expected to be perpetually grateful. Yet the reality on the ground dispels the illusion that even these investments have yielded significant outcomes.
We need a new conversation
In the end, notions of corruption and anti-corruption will continue to serve political and public relations objectives; in so far as the West continues to be rule makers in the arena of corruption and anticorruption for the rest of the world, it will be easy to predict who the winners and losers in the game will be.
Many critical voices have made it clear that the CPI looks at corruption through a distorted prism. They insist that it will fare better with more methodological rigor, improved statistical validity and limited unsubstantiated conclusions. Activities like corruption are always shrouded in secrecy and therefore measuring them largely leaves the researcher to rely on speculations. That said, such efforts must try to reflect contextual and cultural pluralities, as what may be seen as corruption may differ from place to place.
African scholars must rise to position themselves as participants in this cross-examination. Researchers behind the index should be bold enough to engage with dissenting voices to bring their analysis closer to the reality, using it to promote discussions that balances how things really are alongside the effectiveness of proposed reforms needed to address them. There is no dignity in prescribing medications for diseases elsewhere while ignoring infections ravaging your backyard. A new index is needed that is transparent and inclusive to allow western nations who benefit from the proceeds of corruption in Africa to desist from playing the ostrich about moral virtue. Rather, they should learn to obey the simple table manners that it is wrong to talk while eating.
Insightful piece
Spectacular, keep it up
wow, amazing
wow, amazing
nice content!nice history!! boba 😀
nice content!nice history!! boba 😀
nice content!nice history!! boba 😀
wow, amazing
wow, amazing
wow, amazing
wow, amazing
nice content!nice history!! boba 😀
nice content!nice history!! boba 😀
wow, amazing
wow, amazing
nice content!nice history!! boba 😀
wow, amazing
hello
wow, amazing
wow, amazing
nice content!nice history!! boba 😀
Insightful piece
lost money
lost money
lost money
lost money
scam
phising
lost money
phising
scam
I urge you stay away from this platform. My personal experience with it has been purely disappointment along with doubts about fraudulent activities. Exercise extreme caution, or alternatively, seek out a trustworthy service for your needs.
I highly advise stay away from this platform. My own encounter with it was only dismay as well as concerns regarding deceptive behavior. Be extremely cautious, or even better, seek out a trustworthy service for your needs.
I highly advise steer clear of this platform. My own encounter with it has been purely dismay along with concerns regarding fraudulent activities. Proceed with extreme caution, or even better, find an honest platform to meet your needs.
I urge you stay away from this platform. My own encounter with it has been purely disappointment along with suspicion of fraudulent activities. Be extremely cautious, or better yet, find a trustworthy platform to meet your needs.
I highly advise steer clear of this site. The experience I had with it has been purely dismay along with doubts about fraudulent activities. Proceed with extreme caution, or alternatively, find a more reputable service to meet your needs.
I highly advise steer clear of this site. The experience I had with it has been purely dismay and concerns regarding deceptive behavior. Be extremely cautious, or better yet, find a more reputable site for your needs.
I strongly recommend to avoid this site. My own encounter with it was purely disappointment as well as doubts about deceptive behavior. Be extremely cautious, or even better, seek out an honest service to meet your needs.
I highly advise to avoid this site. The experience I had with it was purely dismay as well as concerns regarding deceptive behavior. Proceed with extreme caution, or even better, find an honest platform to meet your needs.
I urge you stay away from this platform. My personal experience with it was nothing but dismay along with doubts about fraudulent activities. Be extremely cautious, or alternatively, find a trustworthy platform to meet your needs.
I strongly recommend to avoid this site. My personal experience with it was purely frustration and suspicion of fraudulent activities. Be extremely cautious, or alternatively, seek out a trustworthy platform to meet your needs.
I strongly recommend to avoid this site. My own encounter with it was nothing but disappointment as well as concerns regarding fraudulent activities. Be extremely cautious, or better yet, find a trustworthy platform to fulfill your requirements.
I strongly recommend to avoid this site. My own encounter with it has been nothing but disappointment as well as concerns regarding scamming practices. Proceed with extreme caution, or even better, seek out a trustworthy platform to meet your needs.
I highly advise stay away from this site. My own encounter with it was nothing but disappointment along with concerns regarding deceptive behavior. Be extremely cautious, or even better, look for a trustworthy service to meet your needs.I urge you steer clear of this platform. The experience I had with it has been nothing but disappointment as well as doubts about fraudulent activities. Proceed with extreme caution, or better yet, look for an honest platform to fulfill your requirements.
I strongly recommend steer clear of this site. My own encounter with it was purely disappointment along with doubts about fraudulent activities. Proceed with extreme caution, or better yet, look for a more reputable platform to fulfill your requirements.I urge you to avoid this site. The experience I had with it has been only dismay and concerns regarding deceptive behavior. Exercise extreme caution, or better yet, seek out an honest service to meet your needs.
I strongly recommend to avoid this platform. My personal experience with it was purely frustration as well as suspicion of deceptive behavior. Be extremely cautious, or better yet, seek out a more reputable site to fulfill your requirements.
I highly advise stay away from this site. My personal experience with it has been nothing but disappointment and doubts about fraudulent activities. Be extremely cautious, or better yet, look for an honest site to meet your needs.
I urge you stay away from this platform. My personal experience with it was nothing but disappointment and concerns regarding scamming practices. Be extremely cautious, or alternatively, find a trustworthy platform to fulfill your requirements.
I strongly recommend to avoid this site. The experience I had with it was only dismay and suspicion of fraudulent activities. Be extremely cautious, or better yet, find a more reputable site to fulfill your requirements.
I urge you to avoid this site. The experience I had with it has been nothing but disappointment along with concerns regarding scamming practices. Exercise extreme caution, or better yet, look for a more reputable platform to fulfill your requirements.
I strongly recommend to avoid this platform. My own encounter with it was only disappointment as well as concerns regarding deceptive behavior. Be extremely cautious, or better yet, find a trustworthy site for your needs.
I urge you stay away from this site. My personal experience with it has been only disappointment as well as doubts about fraudulent activities. Exercise extreme caution, or alternatively, find an honest service to meet your needs.
I highly advise to avoid this site. My personal experience with it was only disappointment and concerns regarding scamming practices. Exercise extreme caution, or better yet, find an honest platform to meet your needs.
I urge you steer clear of this platform. The experience I had with it has been nothing but frustration and concerns regarding deceptive behavior. Exercise extreme caution, or better yet, look for a trustworthy site for your needs.
I urge you stay away from this platform. The experience I had with it was only frustration along with doubts about fraudulent activities. Be extremely cautious, or even better, find a trustworthy service to meet your needs.
I strongly recommend steer clear of this site. The experience I had with it was only dismay along with concerns regarding fraudulent activities. Exercise extreme caution, or even better, find a more reputable platform to fulfill your requirements.
I strongly recommend to avoid this platform. The experience I had with it was only frustration as well as doubts about fraudulent activities. Exercise extreme caution, or better yet, look for a more reputable service for your needs.
I urge you steer clear of this platform. My personal experience with it has been nothing but disappointment along with suspicion of scamming practices. Exercise extreme caution, or even better, seek out a more reputable site to fulfill your requirements.
I urge you steer clear of this site. My personal experience with it was only disappointment along with suspicion of fraudulent activities. Exercise extreme caution, or alternatively, find an honest service for your needs.