Corruption In Africa

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“Life is a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor.”- Sholom Aleichem Similar to the polar ice caps, the middle class is slowly dissipating. The world is becoming a two class society and soon everyone will be either rich or poor. The phenomenon of the shrinking middle class is global however it is extremely significant in Africa as a whole. In the continent of Africa it is not unusual to see luxury homes and apartments right next to informal settlements. It seems the concept of “Africa Rising” is a “growth statistics measure only those who are active participants in the economy, leaving out the marginalized masses who often find themselves in sporadic, informal employment.” ( Veselinovic, M. “Rich…show more content…
There is not a single African country where corruption of leaders is not a pandemic. Africa as a continent is the richest in raw material and recourses yet the majority of africans live in absolute poverty (less than $1.25 a day). One may ask why a continent so rich is so poor. Corruption is a major factor contributing to poverty as a whole. It is noted that in Africa the large informal sector is almost completely untouched. Most Africans, when asked why they are faced with debilitating poverty will blame the corruption in the government and they are not far off. “According to the Africa Union (AU) around $148 billion are stolen from the continent by its leaders and civil servants.” ( “What is wrong with African leaders?”, 2009). This large amount of money could have contributed towards building of infrastructure and education, however country officials used it for their own personal needs. In numerous African countries, such as Egypt, Nigeria and Tunisia, the idea of democracy has been stained by leaders staying office for well over the prescribed time. These leaders infringe on the citizens fundamental right to choose. Unstable governments in Africa also often have coups which disrupt the stability of the country. Recently, South African president Jacob Zuma was charged of using state funds of up to $15 Million to renovate his home. Although there were calls for impeachment, as of currently nothing…show more content…
The reasons leaders do that is to so they are not responsible for paying tax on these funds. Recently, the Panama Papers has exposed various leaders internationally to be involved in these offshore investments. Often, the wealthy in Africa does not invest in Africa but rather in European or American businesses. It seems illogical, but the wealthy do this as they see international companies as more stable than African ones. Poor transport and corruption discourages investors from putting their money in the continent. Most international countries when hearing and African country is in trouble, donates or gives aid to the country. However, throwing money at an issue will not help, rather investing and encouraging growth would. If given the opportunity to invest in Either a European or African business most people would choose the European due to safety concerns. “Since oil was first discovered in Nigeria about 50 years ago, more than 350 billion of dollars have been realised from its but today majority of the population continue to live in abject poverty and the country has nothing to show for it.” ( “What is wrong with African leaders?”,
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