Africa’s Anti-Corruption Efforts Need to Move Beyond the President’s Office

This opinion piece was originally published by Devex.

Anti-corruption efforts often fail because the very executives charged with fighting corruption are themselves tarnished. Long-lasting anti-corruption reforms are only durable when independent agencies and citizens are not treated as external critics, but as co-owners. This works especially when institutions providing oversight connect and collaborate with the public, giving them the political support to do their jobs. 

This week, we mark African Anti-Corruption Day, often a moment for declarations and commitments. But do those declarations translate into action felt by citizens and real development progress? 

It is an all-too-common pattern: A head of state announces an anti-corruption drive, signs an international commitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action..., gives a speech and poses for photos at a summit, and then hands implementation to a domestic ministry or two. This is not enough. 

Most global anti-corruption frameworks channel reform commitments exclusively through executive focal points. Yet these are often the same institutions at high risk of corruption through dubious contracts, dispensing patronage jobs, and demanding “facilitation” payments from investors. 

Targeting corruption saves money and lives. Every audited contract can mean that a nurse is hired and clinics have medicine, schools have books and teachers, and roads survive the rains. Every cleanly certified election strengthens the legitimacy of the elected government. A taxPlacing transparency, accountability, and participation at the center of tax policy can ensure that burdens are distributed equitably across society. Technical specifications: Commitments related to c... evader caught keeps money in the country where it will do good. 

So how do we move beyond declarations of intent? 

One way is to strengthen independent authorities — the auditors, controllers, election boards, and independent investigators mandated to curb bad behavior. Another way is to build coalitions with the citizens and civil society who pay the price of corruption. Both improve public service deliveryTo ensure that citizens of all groups are better supported by the government, OGP participating governments are working to improve the quality of and access to public services. Commitments in this are... More, make public finances more accountable, and increase investor confidence, which are essential ingredients of sustainable economic development. 

African countries have begun to move reforms beyond the president’s office. In Ghana, parliament, independent regulators, and local governments have all made governance commitments. When power changed hands in 2024, the reform momentum flourished, because ownership was distributed across institutions that transcended a single administration. In Morocco, local governments now publish contracts for hospitals and streets, letting citizens own the reforms and monitor the outcomes. 

The efforts of independent authorities can be strengthened further by civil society and the private sector. In Nigeria, joint advocacy efforts led to the creation of Africa’s first free and public register of beneficial ownership, tracking the real owners behind companies, to prevent illicit financial flows and other forms of corruption. While the directive came from former President Muhammadu Buhari, it is the ecosystem outside the executive branch that gives it life. Citizens and journalists have used the register to spotlight Nigerian-owned firms tied to foreign property and sanctioned entities, complementing the work of law enforcement agencies investigating suspicious activity.

As aidMore and better information about aid helps partner countries and donor institutions plan and manage aid resources more effectively, parliaments and civil society to hold governments accountable for t... shrinks and is replaced by new financing instruments, stronger efforts to boost direct trade and domestic resource mobilization mean that strengthening national institutions matters more than ever. So where can African countries focus their efforts?

Strengthening independent oversight bodies is a good start. Amplifying their work by spotlighting it is a next step. The auditor-general, anti-corruption commissioner, and electoral body chair should all be at the table alongside government and business to announce, justify, and account for their own reforms on the international stage. 

Failing that, countries and governments will be stuck with the status quo of development initiatives grinding to a halt, and public trust diminishing. 

Legitimacy is at the heart of institutions’ strength and effectiveness. And legitimacy ultimately comes from the people. An “independent” commission that the public sees as the president’s instrument convinces no one. When countries embed independent authorities, local governments, parliaments, and civil society into designing reform commitments, they produce more ambitious and durable results. Citizens help to set the goals and write the rules they will later use to hold power to account. Financers, in the form of investors or donors, see this national ownership and are reassured that their money will be put to good use. 

Today, we are making the case for a deliberate move beyond executive-only anti-corruption reform. It is neither quick nor glamorous, because building accountability never is. But the cost of waiting increases with every crisis, and every impassioned speech and flaccid follow-through gives corruption more room to fester across the region. 

On African Anti-Corruption Day next year, let the test not be how earnestly stirring a president’s speech is. Let us judge instead whether institutions are stronger, more legitimate, and more trusted than they are now. 

Our international friends can help by nurturing the whole ecosystem of the executive, parliaments, independent institutions, and the citizens who give them authority, so that each is resourced, protected, and accountable to the people it serves. 

Africa’s peace, security, and shared prosperity depends on it.