Africa loses over $50 billion every year due to graft, says AU body

Arusha. The lack of whistleblower protection systems has been a major challenge in the fight against corruption and bribery, resulting in a loss of more than $50 billion every year, the chairperson of the African Union Advisory Board Against Corruption (AUABC), Ms Seynabou Ndiaye Diakhate, has said.

She made the remarks in Arusha while opening the 8th African Anti-Corruption Dialogue under the theme: Effective Whistleblower Protection Mechanisms: A Critical Tool in the Fight Against Corruption.

She said that the challenge has been an obstacle to the implementation of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC), and there is a need for collective efforts to assist member states in establishing whistleblower and witness protection systems to mitigate the impact of corruption.

"As we know, the cost of corruption is evident in our societies and cannot be measured, although reports have shown that for Africa alone, losses due to corruption exceed $50 billion every year. This can highlight the economic damage caused, which calls for Member States to implement measures to protect whistleblowers and witnesses, including safeguarding their identities," said Ms Diakhate.

Ms Esther Wanjiru Mnaro from the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), who represented the Interim President of Non-State Actors, Donald Deya, said that African countries could achieve their own development with internal revenue but due to corruption, they have become major borrowers of foreign funds.

"Without corruption, Africa would not need to borrow development funds from developed countries, but due to the continent losing so much money to corruption, it has been unable to progress, as the amount lost is equivalent to the amount of money that countries borrow from abroad," she said.

She pointed out that corruption has caused Africa to lag economically and fail to take its rightful place in the global arena, calling on both government and private sector stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of the fight against corruption for the development of the entire continent.

"Whistleblowers, who are a key element in combating corruption, remain vulnerable, with many of them being killed for daring to speak out about corruption or bribery. Therefore, protection mechanisms would greatly support the fight," she emphasised.

The deputy director-general of Tanzania’s Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB), Ms Neema Mpembe Mwakalyelye, said that the major challenge in the fight against corruption is the evidence required in court to prosecute those responsible for corrupt practices.

"The evidence comes from witnesses, but they have been hesitant due to fear for their lives or the safety of their families. So today, we are here to discuss ways to improve the reporting of confidential information and how to protect our witnesses," said Ms Mwakalyelye.