African Government Corruption
By Carson Davis and Braxton Langston-Chapman
Background of Government Corruption
According to Princeton government corruption also known as political corruption is said to be legislature officials using there power for personal gain. Most people assume that government corruption has to do with police brutality but it is not in the same subject as corruption because it doesn't relate to office duties. Bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft, embezzlement, drug trafficking, money laundering and human trafficking are forms of government corruption (Princeton).
Causes of Government Corruption
Some of the causes of the government corruption that occurred in Sound Africa included political neglect and poverty (The Rwanda Genocide). Political neglect made it easy for someone to come in and corrupt the order of the country. It was ignored for a while and people didn't even realize that it was happening. It could have been foreseen and even prevented if they realized what was going on (The Rwanda Genocide). Poverty caused government corruption through not having equal rights and a gap between social classes that gave the rich more opportunities than the poor, giving the poor less opportunity to get jobs.
Effects of Government Corruption
An effect of government corruption would be the African National Congress (ANC). "Which is a political movement in South Africa that was the driving force behind the transition from minority white rule to the multiple democracy in the 1920's"(GOTW). Going back to the statement mention in causes that the government put a huge gap in social classes proof being the poverty percentage of the natives of South Africans compared to the European's who have much more opportunities. Apartheid is a huge effect of government corruption it was caused due to the leaders of a government supporting the segregation of people. This is also seen in South Africa and it took violent protest by natives to get the government's attention. (GOTW) Apartheid, segregation, and violent protest are the effects of government corruption due to the fact that equal opportunities was not a policy or any written law at the time.
Solutions for Government Corruption
Having a balanced constitution is one of the biggest steps to having equalization in your government. This forces governments to abide by laws and when these laws are broken by the government then citizens can remind and use (peaceful) protesting. A well written constitution is literally the backbone of any government. In modern times most constitutions are edited and approved by the United Nations, therefore its virtually fool proof. Foreign aid is also a solution for government corruption but sometimes other countries putting boots on the ground in a developing country can lead to violence and the bigger nation may end up not solving the problems and maybe looking out for there own interests. We believe that a well written constitution with the approval from the United Nations could lead to an organized system of government. Foreign aid is not the best idea, or it be done all the time, but with the right nations on your side it could lead to a positive outcome. Examples being Jamaica and Trinidad.
Conclusion
From research and prior studies we now understand the causes and effects of government corruption. Corruption in Africa consist of inequality due to colonizations from European nations. (GOTW) Through a well written constitution and the possible help from nation super powers who have you in their best interest could lead to stopping in government corruption, of course there is always government country look where we live, just saying.