Political corruption |
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Forms and concepts |
Anti-corruption |
Corruption by country |
Corruption in Chad is characterized by nepotism and cronyism. [1] Chad received a score of 20 in the 2023 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"). When ranked by score, Chad ranked 162nd among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. [2] For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), the average score was 43, and the worst score was 11 (ranked 180). [3] For comparison with regional scores, the average score among sub-Saharan African countries [Note 1] was 33. The highest score in sub-Saharan Africa was 71 and the lowest score was 11. [4]
François Tombalbaye was the first President of Chad. His regime has been described as marked by authoritarianism, extreme corruption, and favoritism. [5] [6] Corruption in the form of tax collection abuse was one of the main causes of the Mubi Uprising, a series of riots which started the Chadian Civil War. [7]
Idriss Déby, President from 1990 until his death in 2021, [8] was accused of cronyism and tribalism. [9] Chadian opposition leaders and Human Rights Watch accused Déby of electoral fraud in multiple elections where he and his party won by landslides. [10] In 2005, Chad was ranked the most corrupt country in the world (tied with Bangladesh). [11]
According to the Human Rights Report by the US Department of State, Chad's judicial system is heavily influenced by the government, causing government officials to enjoy impunity. Judges who try to uphold judicial independence face harassment and in some cases dismissal. [12] Businesses reported that they have often paid bribes to influence judicial decisions. [13] Ordinary civilians have low trust in their country's judicial system and they try avoid it. [14]
According to the Human Rights Report by the US Department of State corruption is largely present in both the military and the police of Chad. The security forces often engage in petty corruption, violence, and extortion, which usually goes unpunished. Multiple cases of the Judiciary Police not enforcing court orders against military personnel and members of their own ethnic group have been reported. [12] There are also reports of policemen committing street crimes and unlawfully arresting people, usually foreign tourists. [15]
In 2013, an anti-corruption crackdown was conducted in the police force. The crackdown uncovered illegal promotion and recruitment practices, lack of adequate training, favoritism and other corrupt activities. Two ministers were dismissed after the crackdown. [15]
Corruption in the public services of Chad is characterized by nepotism and bribery. Bribery is common in the public services due to the low salaries of civil servants. [15] Public works conducted by the government have been criticized by international organizations for lacking transparency and involving high levels of corruption. [16]
Chad became an oil producer in 2003. In order to avoid resource curse and corruption, elaborate plans sponsored by the World Bank were made. This plan ensured transparency in payments, as well as that 80% of money from oil exports would be spent on five priority development sectors, the two most important of these being: education and healthcare. However money started getting diverted towards the military even before the civil war broke out. In 2006 when the civil war escalated, Chad abandoned previous economic plans sponsored by the World Bank and added "national security" as a priority development sector. Money from this sector was used to improve the military. During the civil war, more than 600 million dollars were used to buy fighter jets, attack helicopters, and armored personnel carriers. [17] In 2005, an investigation uncovered money wastes, such as computers and printers being bought at inflated prices and various construction projects being paid for but never getting completed. [18] According to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, the lack of transparency in infrastructure projects funded by money from the oil sector and the fact that there is no record keeping system to monitor the flow of money from the oil sector represents a significant risk of corruption. [19]
Chad has a ministry for combating corruption, called the Ministry of Morality and Good Governance. In 2009, the ministry made a strategic plan to combat corruption, in the same year as an investigation against 10 government officials including the then-mayor of N'Djamena and several cabinet ministers. The charges against them were dropped in 2010 because of the lack of evidence. [15]
In 2012, the Chadian government launched Operation Cobra which aimed to increase transparency and dismiss corrupt officials. It resulted in 400 officials being dismissed and according to the Ministry of Morality and Good Governance, XAF 25 billion (about €38 million) to be recovered. [20]
The Bertelsmann Transformation Index and the US Department of State have described government's anti-corruption efforts as politically motivated and used as a way to eliminate political opposition. [15]
Starting in 2014, protests against the corruption and authoritarianism of President Déby were held in N'Djamena. As of 2020, the protests had no success. [21]
Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Due to its distance from the sea and its largely desert climate, the country is sometimes referred to as the "Dead Heart of Africa".
Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is an independent state at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. The landlocked country is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the southwest, Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Chad has a population of 16 million, of which 1.6 million live in the capital and largest city of N'Djamena. With a total area of around 1,284,000 km2, Chad is the fifth-largest country in Africa and the twentieth largest nation by area in the world.
Idriss Déby Itno was a Chadian politician and military officer who was the president of Chad from 1990 until his death in 2021 during the Northern Chad offensive. His term of office of more than 30 years makes him Chad's longest-serving president.
Political corruption in Ghana has been common since independence. Since 2017, Ghana's score on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index has improved slightly from its low point that year, a score of 40 on a scale from 0 to 100. In the succeeding years, Ghana's score has either risen or remained steady: in the year 2022, Ghana scored 43. When ranked by score among the 180 countries in the 2022 Index, Ghana ranked 72nd, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison, the best score in 2022 was 90 and the worst score was 12.
Human rights in Chad have been described as "poor"; for example, Freedom House has designated the country as "Not Free." Chad received a score of 7 for political rights and 6 for civil liberties.
The institutional corruption in Angola refers to the pervasive and long-standing issue of corruption within the country's government and public institutions. The aftermath of the 30-year civil war and the influence of the Soviet command economy have resulted in significant institutional damage and the emergence of a centralized government with authoritarian tendencies. This has allowed the president and his associates to exert control over the nation's resources, enabling them to exploit the economy for personal gain through legal and extra-legal means.
The Philippines suffers from widespread corruption, which developed during the Spanish colonial period. According to GAN Integrity's Philippines Corruption Report updated May 2020, the Philippines suffers from many incidents of corruption and crime in many aspects of civic life and in various sectors. Such corruption risks are rampant throughout the state's judicial system, police service, public services, land administration, and natural resources.
Crime in Bulgaria is combated by the Bulgarian police and other agencies. The UK Government ranks Bulgaria as a low crime area and crime there has significantly decreased in recent years.
The nation of Botswana has been ranked as one of the least corrupt countries in Africa by many large, well-known international organizations. However, corruption is not eradicated, and can still be seen in a wide majority of different governmental sectors and in differing forms. To combat this corruption, Botswana has passed many legal acts and policies with the aim of stopping its growth.
Corruption in Bangladesh has been a continuing problem. According to all major ranking institutions, Bangladesh routinely finds itself among the most corrupt countries in the world.
Corruption in Switzerland describes the prevention and occurrence of corruption in Switzerland.
Corruption in Latvia is examined on this page.
According to several public surveys in Kosovo and reports from institutions such as the European Commission, levels of corruption and impunity among politicians are high.
Since independence, corruption has been more than prevalent in Cameroon. In fact, corruption has become pervasive and has affected all sectors of the government and civil society including the executive, judiciary, police, and even the private sector. The main causes being a deep lack of political will to fight corruption and neopatrimonialism. Other causes include; personal interests and absence of duty conscience, weak judiciary and almost nonexistent opposition in the legislative, nepotism and favouritism, ineffective system of accountability, among others.
Corruption in Uzbekistan is a serious problem. There are laws in place to prevent corruption, but enforcement in terms of laws regarding corruption is very weak. Low prosecution rates of corrupt officials is another contributing factor to the rampant corruption in Uzbekistan. It is not a criminal offense for a non-public official to influence the discretion of a public official. The judicial system faces severe functional deficits due to limited resources and corruption.
On Transparency International's 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, Senegal scored 43 on a scale from 0 to 100. When ranked by score, Senegal ranked 72nd among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison, Senegal's score was also the average score in 2022; the best score was 90, the worst score was 12.
Corruption in Bolivia is a major problem that has been called an accepted part of life in the country. It can be found at all levels of Bolivian society. Citizens of the country perceive the judiciary, police and public administration generally as the country's most corrupt. Corruption is also widespread among officials who are supposed to control the illegal drug trade and among those working in and with extractive industries.
Corruption in Ecuador is a serious problem. In 2014, the U.S. Department of State cited Ecuador's corruption as a key human-rights problem. According to Freedom House, "Ecuador has long been racked by corruption", and the weak judicial oversight and investigative resources perpetuate a culture of impunity.
Corruption in Eritrea is considered a deeply serious and growing problem. The level of corruption used to be considerably lower in Eritrea than in many other African countries. Indeed, it was traditionally viewed as having a “strong ‘anti-corruption’ culture” and considered relatively “egalitarian and corruption-free.” In 2006, a report by Bertelsmann Stiftung stated that corruption, as of that date, was not a serious problem within Eritrea. While noting that there had been “cases of corruption since independence,” they existed on a negligible level, although politically-motivated corruption allegations have been made. But, in fact, corruption is said to have been growing steadily worse ever since 1998, when, not long after the end of its decades-long war of independence, a border conflict with Ethiopia led to another war.
Costa Rica generally has low corruption and is regarded as the least corrupt nation in Central America. Its anti-corruption laws are generally well enforced. However, there are persistent problems with high level corruption and most notably, every president who has taken office since 1990s has faced allegations of corrupt behavior.