Governance and Fighting Corruption in sub-Saharan Africa

Many governments in sub-Saharan Africa are weeding out corruption to ensure that development assistance and debt relief reach the people that need it most.

FAST FACTS

• In 1989, there were only three electoral democracies in Africa. By 2008, that number had risen to 23.
• Rwanda has the largest proportion of women in parliament of any country in the world, and in September 2008 became the first parliament where women make up the majority – approximately 56% of members.
• The number of conflicts in Africa has declined.

Uganda: Increased transparency ensures funding reaches schools

With funding from the World Bank and bilateral donors, the Ugandan government developed a program to monitor and track the government's education budget. By informing parent associations about the amount of money schools were supposed to receive through announcements in newspapers and radio programs, the percentage of allocated funding actually reaching Ugandan schools increased from 13% in 1996 to 80% by 2000. Uganda's primary school enrollment increased from 68% in 1995 to 91% in 2006.

Tanzania: Anti-corruption program exceeds targets

With funding from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the government of Tanzania has put in place a program to crack down on corrupt practices. In year one of the program, the number of anticorruption investigations brought before the Prevention of Corruption Bureau has more than doubled (increasing from 17 to 40), far exceeding its target of 23 cases by mid-2007. In addition, since the end of 2006, the number of corruption-related stories appearing in the Tanzanian press has also grown from 20 per month to roughly 130 per month.

Nigeria: Government directs debt relief funds to poverty reduction

The Nigerian government has committed to ensure that the resources from debt relief are directed towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. In 2005, $750 million of the $1 billion saved from debt relief was spent through a tracking system (the "virtual poverty fund") that monitored the flow of funds to poverty reducing activity and evaluated their impact. The fund also provides a matching grants scheme to encourage Nigerian states to fund poverty reduction activities, specifically in health, education, and water and sanitation. The fund has yielded impressive results. In 2008, an additional 40,000 teachers were trained with debt relief proceeds as part of the Federal Teachers Scheme, bringing the total number of teachers trained under the VPF to 80,000. These teachers are deployed to states all over the country and operate at a local level. Also, in 2008, 35 states accessed grants of up to N1 billion each (approx $6 million) for poverty reduction interventions.