Political corruption |
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Concepts |
Corruption by country |
Corruption in Uganda is characterized by grand-scale theft of public funds and petty corruption involving public officials at all levels of society as well as widespread political patronage systems. [1] Elite corruption in Uganda is through a patronage system which has been exacerbated by foreign aid. Aid has been providing the government with large amounts of resources that contribute to the corrupt practices going on within the country. [2] The style of corruption that is used is to gain loyalty and support so that officials can remain in power. [2] One of the more recent forms of corruption is through public procurement because of the lack of transparency with transactions that happen within the government. [3]
The process of giving gifts for something in exchange has always been a feature in Ugandan tradition. In the past, this practice was the norm and not seen as illegal. This practice of patronage which has been central to politics in Uganda cannot simply be stripped away overnight. [3]
Corruption in Uganda is not a new thing. There is a long history of corruption in Ugandan governments. Some of the governments' level of corruption were more extreme than others.[ clarification needed ]
Uganda under Idi Amin was a very repressive state. His military was very aggressive and would kill people if they felt like they opposed the regime in some way, which led to about 100,000 people being killed during his seven years in power. [4] During Amin's rule he took over most businesses that were run by a different race and were given to his cronies. Many businesses began to shut down because of the lack of experience and knowledge the cronies had at running those businesses. All areas of society were being mismanaged and indisciplined. Soon, Uganda under the Amin regime became known for its culture of survival, which made corruption a central aspect to society. [5] Many people left the formal economy and switched to informal institutions where there was no government regulation.
When the National Resistance Movement gained power in Uganda, its leader Yoweri Museveni was faced with the task of reforming the government. [5] He also had to persuade people to rejoin in the formal economy because the black market and other forms of informal institutions were widespread during the Amin regime. [5] Museveni said that he felt like he adopted the evils of corruption. He had implemented laws and a ten-point program to help put an end to corruption in Uganda. [6] Even though Museveni tried to reform the government, it had little impact on actually stopping corruption. [6]
Foreign aid has contributed to corruption in Uganda through the large amounts of money and resources that are sent over. Foreign donors attempted to liberalize the Ugandan economy to try and put a stop to corruption. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund provide assistance to Uganda through Structural Adjustment Programs. These programs encouraged Uganda to decentralize and privatize. When Uganda began privatization, they were able to do so in a non-transparent way which allowed government officials to obtain these state-owned assets. [2]
There are several high corruption risk areas, such as police, judiciary and procurement. Businesses are particularly vulnerable when bidding public contracts in Uganda because processes are often non-transparent, and under-the-table cash payments are demanded from procurement officers. [1]
On Transparency International's 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, Uganda scored 26 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"). When ranked by score, Uganda ranked 142nd among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked last is perceived to have the most corrupt public sector. [7] For comparison, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), the worst score was 12 (ranked 180), and the average score was 43. [8]
Officials continue to engage in corrupt practices despite laws and institutional instruments that are in place to prevent and punish corruption. [1] In an attempt to combat against corruption, Yoweri Museveni created new institutions at both the local and national level. [5] Donors were attracted to Uganda because of their willingness to reform and stop corruption. [5] Foreign donors began sending conditional aid to help Uganda with its reform process. [5] The aid that Uganda received came in the form of structural adjustment programs, that were formed by the IMF and World Bank. [9] Structural adjustment programs were in the form of conditional loans with reform policies that were meant to help Uganda transition to a more liberalized state. [9]
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa is a Ugandan politician and retired senior military officer who has been the 9th and current President of Uganda since 26 January 1986. Museveni spearheaded rebellions with aid of then current military general Tito Okello and general Bale Travor that toppled Ugandan presidents Milton Obote and Idi Amin before he captured power in 1986.
The National Resistance Movement has been the ruling party in Uganda since 1986.
Salim Saleh is a retired Ugandan military officer who served in the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), the armed forces of Uganda. He is a brother to the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, and an adviser to the President on military matters. He served as Minister of State for microfinance from 2006 to 2008. Saleh has featured in controversies regarding corruption, including being implicated by the UN Security Council for plundering natural resources in Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Andrew Mwenda is a Ugandan print, radio and television journalist, and the founder and owner of The Independent, a current affairs newsmagazine. He was previously the political editor of The Daily Monitor, a Ugandan daily newspaper, and was the presenter of Andrew Mwenda Live on KFM Radio in Kampala, Uganda's capital city.
Corruption in Armenia has decreased significantly in modern times, but remains an ongoing problem in the country. Despite this, fighting corruption following the 2018 Armenian revolution has recorded significant progress. Armenia is a member of the Council of Europe's Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) and the OECD's Anti-Corruption Network and Armenia's anti-corruption measures are regularly evaluated within their monitoring mechanisms.
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 Turkey is an issue affecting the accession of Turkey to the European Union. Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index scores 180 countries according to their perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 to 100. Since the current scale was introduced in 2012, Turkey's score has fallen from its highest score of 50 (2013) to its lowest, current score of 36 (2022). When the 180 countries in the Index were ranked by their score, Turkey ranked 101 in 2022.
Corruption in Romania has decreased in recent years. In particular since 2014, Romania undertook a significant anti-corruption effort that included the investigation and prosecution of medium- and high-level political, judicial and administrative officials by the National Anticorruption Directorate. The National Anticorruption Directorate was established in 2002 by the Romanian government to investigate and prosecute medium and high-level corruption related offenses, using a model of organization inspired by similar structures in Norway, Belgium and Spain. Adrian Zuckerman, the US Ambassador in Romania, has stated in 2021 that "the rule of law has been strengthened in Romania". Since 2022, the effectiveness of the investigation and sanctioning of high-level corruption further improved, including by advancing on cases that had been pending for years for procedural reasons.
Corruption in Sweden has been defined as "the abuse of power" by Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå). By receiving bribes, bribe takers abuse their position of power, which is consistent with how the National Anti-Corruption Unit of the Swedish Prosecution Authority specifies the term. Although bribes and improper rewards are central in the definition of corruption in Sweden, corruption in the sense of "abuse of power" can also manifest itself in other crimes such as misuse of office, embezzlement, fraud and breach of trust against a principal.
Levels of corruption in Luxembourg are generally said to be very low, and there a strong legal framework for combating corruption in the country. Surveys however indicate that a majority of the population believe political parties are either "corrupt" or "extremely corrupt."
Corruption is rare in the Netherlands in all major areas—judiciary, police, business, politics—as the country is considered one of the least corrupt within the European Union.
Corruption in Slovakia is a serious and ongoing problem.
This article is about corruption in Tanzania.
Corruption in Georgia had been an issue in the post-Soviet decades. Before the 2003 Rose Revolution, according to Foreign Policy, Georgia was among the most corrupt nations in Eurasia. The level of corruption abated dramatically, however, after the revolution. In 2010, Transparency International (TI) said that Georgia was "the best corruption-buster in the world." Low-level corruption has been virtually eliminated in recent years.
There are several sectors in Ethiopia where businesses are particularly vulnerable to corruption. Land distribution and administration is a sector where corruption is institutionalized, and facilitation payments as well as bribes are often demanded from businesses when they deal with land-related issues.
Corruption in Sudan is substantial, as it is considered one of the most corrupt nations in the world. On the 2010 World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, on one hundred point scale, it scored in the single digits in every category, including 0.9 for political stability, 6.2 for rule of law, 7.2 for regulatory quality, 6.7 for government effectiveness, and 4.3 for control of corruption. In 2011 Freedom House named Sudan as one of the worst nations for human rights.
Corruption in Yemen is a highly serious problem. Yemen is the most corrupt country in the Gulf region. It is also the poorest country in the Middle East, "with an exceptionally high birth rate, acute rates of child malnutrition and rapidly dwindling reserves of oil and water." In Yemen, according to Chatham House, "corruption, poverty and inequality are systemic"; in the words of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, corrupt activity is "so entrenched and pervasive" that many citizens feel powerless.
Corruption in Guinea-Bissau occurs at among the highest levels in the world. In Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2022, Guinea-Bissau scored 21 on a scale from 0 to 100. When ranked by score, Guinea-Bissau ranked 164th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked 180th is perceived to have the most corrupt public sector. For comparison, the best score in 2022 was 90, and the worst score was 12. Guinea-Bissau's score has either improved or remained steady every year since its low point in 2018, when it scored 16. In 2013, Guinea-Bissau scored below the averages for both Africa and West Africa on the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s Index of African Governance.
Corruption in Bulgaria has decreased in recent years, after a series of reforms implemented through EU guidance. Among recent improvements, amendments to the constitution in 2015 brought about a reform of the Supreme Judicial Council and a stronger judicial inspectorate. Furthermore, the broader legislative framework has seen a number of reforms over the years, in particular through the amendments of the Judicial System Act in 2016 and of the Criminal Procedure Code in 2017.
Corruption in Eritrea is a 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.
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