In July 2021, Africa marked her fifth Anti-Corruption Day. The idea is that on 11 July every year, concerned Africans pause to reflect on anti-corruption progress in their communities, what is working, what is not, and what remains to be tried. July 11 marks the day the African Union (AU) adopted the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combatting Corruption (AUCPCC) in Maputo, Mozambique on 11 July 2003. The Convention came into force in 2006. As of August 2021, the Convention has been ratified by 44 Member States of the African Union.

The common view is that Africa has a corruption problem. From research analyses to media reports, the headlines paint a grim picture across the continent. Senior African journalist Charles Onyango Obbo published an opinion piece in July 2021 under the title, “Corruption in Uganda is too big to fail. Discuss”. In May 2014, Michela Wrong published a report in Foreign Policy titled, “Everyone Is Corrupt in Kenya, Even Grandmothers”.

Africa loses more than US$50 billion annually through illicit financial outflows, according to the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa. Going back several centuries, Africa has been continuously losing valuable assets through illicit outflows of not only her natural resources, but also treasured artefacts of African societies, and various proceeds of crime. These outflows directly impact the quality of life in Africa. They curtail Africa’s efforts to lift all her people out of poverty, feed and educate her children, and provide other basic services to her citizens. They prevent Africa from keeping steady on a sustainable path to achieve the African Agenda 2063 and the global Sustainable Development Goals.

The African Anti-Corruption Day provides an opportunity to reflect on the role of corruption in all this. For African resources to illicitly wind up in foreign banks, many people will have played a role. Equally, schemes to extract Africa’s mineral resources while leaving little value to the host country typically involve a network of people and companies, both in and outside Africa. This also means that existing anti-corruption safeguards failed to prevent the outflows. Where are the loopholes? What needs to change? Who is not yet on board?

The Anti-Corruption Day also helps Africa’s anti-corruption fighters share good lessons and practices. Asset recovery efforts are paying off in some member states. For example, the Angolan Attorney General in 2019 reported that their office has recovered more than US$5bn in assets in one year. Several other countries report progress in their asset recovery efforts, including Nigeria where in 2018 the government recovered US$322m from the Swiss government that had been stolen by former military ruler. Similarly in 2019, Sierra Leone’s Anti-Corruption Commission presented a cheque for 7.5 billion Leones to President Dr Julius Maada Bio as part of 16 Billion Leones of stolen cash recovered from corrupt officials.

Whereas consolidated data on the effects of actions being taken to reduce corruption is lacking, there is however strong evidence that the efforts are growing, with stronger continental coordination towards collaborative efforts to combat corruption. More African countries have moved sign and ratify the AUCPCC and in in cooperation with the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption, more countries are sharing reports of their implementation of the AUCPCC.

The African Union has also recently carefully negotiated and agreed on a Common African Position on Assets Recovery. This framework provides guidelines for African countries to follow in handling recovered assets, and to speak with a common voice with international partners regarding a transparent timetable for the recovery and return of illicitly acquired African assets.

For the Africans, the African Anti-Corruption Day provides that necessary pause to assess any gains made so far, the viability of existing tools, the potential of new ideas, the success of colleagues, and partnerships that need strengthening.

Written by Charity Nchimunya: Executive Secretary of the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption and Paul Banoba: Regional Advisor for Africa at Transparency International.