‘$140bn yearly loss to corruption can address Africa’s power challenge’

By Femi Adekoya

 If Nigeria and other African countries checkmate the yearly loss of $140 billion to corruption, the continent might be able to reduce rising production costs and improve citizens’’ access to the regular

power supply, members of the organised private sector have said.
  
Citing data from the African Union (AU), the Executive Director, Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) Andrew Wilson, stated that the lost income is enough to provide power 24 hours every day to every citizen in the continent for the next three years.

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Wilson stated this at the Africa Business Ethics Conference (ABEC) organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) tagged ‘Tackling corruption to reduce poverty, unemployment and insecurity in Africa’.
  
He said the United Nations estimates that $3.6 trillion is lost to corruption, maintaining that the World Bank said corruption adds 10 per cent to the cost of doing business.
  
In his words: “The Africa Union estimates that $140 billion is lost through corruption annually. This is equivalent to the GDP of all but five countries in Africa. To put this in another perspective, this amount can ensure uninterrupted power 24 hours a day to every citizen in Africa for 3 years.”

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He said although corruption is a global problem, the impact in Nigeria has far-reaching consequences on the prospects of a nation and the quality of life of every citizen.
 
He noted that inconsistent government policies facilitate corruption by creating a perception that bribes are a more efficient way to get things done.
  
He advised that an efficient, transparent, and accountable administration would boost innovation and growth of the Nigerian economy, control corruption and eliminate waste such as nepotism, abuse of authority, trading influences, and other practices that undermine economic development.

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He said combating corruption is a collective effort, saying to tackle corruption the business community must be engaged.
  
Delivering his keynote address, the Compliance Director, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Idrissa Diop, said corruption does not only increase the cost of production but also increases the level of uncertainty in the African economies hence, decreases the investment, financial, physical and human capital.
 
He added that corruption reduces the productivity of resources, adding that it also undermines democracy by diverting resources of disadvantaged people, damages the rule of law, social justice.
 
He said in the Continent Free Trade Area (CFTA), Africa is arming itself with a tool for future prosperity but stressed that the success of CFTA is largely dependent on the continent’s ability to combat corruption and illicit capital flows to ensure availability of resources and infrastructure.