Fighting Corruption in Africa – A Comparative Study of Uganda and Botswana Dissertation zur Erlangung des Grades eines Doktors der Verwaltungswissenschaften (Dr. rer. publ.) der Deutschen Hochschule für Verwaltungswissenschaften Speyer vorgelegt von: Stefan Ittner Speyer, 2009 Erstgutachter: Univ.-Prof. Dr. iur. Hans Herbert von Arnim, Dipl.-Volkswirt Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Sefik Alp Bahadir Datum der mündlichen Prüfung: 18. März 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ___________________________________________ 4 I. INTRODUCTION _______________________________________________ 5 1. Object and Scope of Study ______________________________________________ 5 2. Structure of the Study_________________________________________________ 15 II. DEFINING CORRUPTION ______________________________________ 17 III. FIGHTING CORRUPTION ______________________________________ 26 1. Common Strategies Against Corruption__________________________________ 26 2. Criteria For Judging the Effectiveness of Anti-corruption Measures __________ 30 3. Difficulties in Fighting Corruption ______________________________________ 34 3.1 General Problems _________________________________________________________34 3.2 Specific Problems of Fighting Corruption in African Countries ______________________43 IV. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ANTI-CORRUPTION STRATEGIES IN UGANDA AND BOTSWANA_____________________________________ 50 1. Historical Background and Determining Factors of Corruption ______________ 50 1.1 Country Profiles___________________________________________________________50 1.2 History of Corruption ______________________________________________________55 1.3 Current State of Corruption __________________________________________________63 2. Anti-corruption Institutions and Safeguards ______________________________ 79 2.1 Overview of Anti-corruption Laws ____________________________________________80 2.2 Enforcement of Laws_______________________________________________________84 2.3 Corruption Safeguards in the Civil Service _____________________________________100 2.4 Public Procurement Safeguards______________________________________________111 2.5 Auditor General __________________________________________________________119 2.6 Specialised Anti-corruption Institutions _______________________________________126 3. Further Important Actors in the Fight Against Corruption _________________ 144 3.1 The Role of Civil Society Organisations and the Media ___________________________144 3.2 The Role of the Political Leadership __________________________________________161 V. CONCLUSION ________________________________________________ 183 BIBLIOGRAPHY___________________________________________________ 193 3 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ACCU: Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda AG: Auditor General BDP: Botswana Democratic Party BHC: Botswana Housing Corporation BNF: Botswana National Front CTB: Central Tender Board CID: Criminal Investigations Department CIET: Community Information, Empowerment and Transparency CPI: Corruption Perceptions Index CSRP: Civil Service Reform Programme DCEC: Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime DPP: Department of Public Prosecutions DTC: District Administration Tender Committee e.g.: For example GDP: Gross Domestic Product i.e.: That is IATM: International Anti-Corruption Theatrical Movement ICAC: Independent Commission Against Corruption IG Inspectorate of Government IGG: Inspector General of Government IGP: Inspector General of Police IMF: International Monetary Fund MLW: Minimum living wage MP: Member of Parliament MTC: Ministerial Tender Committee NFS: National Fraud Squad NGO: Non-governmental organisation NRA: National Resistance Army NRC: National Resistance Council NRM: National Resistance Movement OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development P: Pula (Botswana’s currency); exchange rate on 23 November 2007: 100 P = 11.30 € / 16.75 US$ PAC: Public Accounts Committee PPADB: Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board PSRRC: Public Service Review and Reorganization Commission SADC: Southern African Development Community SAMNAC: Southern African Media Network Against Corruption UCB: Uganda Commercial Bank UDN: Uganda Debt Network UHRC: Uganda Human Rights Commission UN: United Nations UNDP: United Nations Development Progamme UPM: Uganda Patriotic Movement URA: Uganda Revenue Authority USh: Ugandan Shillings; exchange rate on 23 November 2007: 1,000 USh = 0.40 € / 0.59 US$ 4 I. INTRODUCTION 1. Object and Scope of Study “Corruption in Africa has reached cancerous proportions. In fact, so pervasive is this phenomenon in the region that it has been labelled the ‘AIDS of democracy’ which is destroying the future of many societies in the region. The corruption problem in Africa reflects the more general, and now legendary, climate of unethical leadership and bad governance found throughout most of the continent.”1 Since the beginning of the 1990s, there has been a substantial increase in academic and policy interest in the problem of corruption in developing countries. Before, corruption was generally not considered to be a major problem either for industrialised or developing countries. In the West, there was a widespread complacency that corruption was virtually limited to developing countries and authoritarian regimes.2 Concerning developing countries, the problem was either respectfully ignored if it occurred in regimes that were considered important to Western interests, or regarded as being of minor importance in comparison to aims like promoting economic growth or pursuing Cold War objectives.3 A further reason for indulging corrupt political leaders and administrations was the prevailing opinion that little could be done against corruption anyway.4 The perception of corruption in the Western world changed dramatically at the beginning of the 1990s due to what Stephen P. Riley terms the “corruption eruption”:5 A series of corruption scandals in developed and developing countries alike dispelled the myth that it is a problem of poor countries only.6 The end of the Cold War 1 Hope (2000), p. 17. 2 This Western complacency about corruption is exemplified e.g. by Huntington (1968a), pp. 262 f. 3 The former Zaire is a classic example of this Western ‘blindness’ to corruption: Mobutu’s authoritarian regime was well known for plundering state and aid resources. However, since he was regarded as an important pro-Western ally in Central Africa (“Our Man in Kinshasa”), he was allowed to get away with it. Cf. Riley (2000), pp. 139 f. 4 Riley (2000), pp. 139 f.; Szeftel (1998), p. 222. 5 Riley (2000), p. 140. 6 The “corruption eruption” affected a large number of countries. Instances of public sector and political corruption were uncovered in Western Europe (Italy, Germany, United Kingdom), Asia (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan), Africa (Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania) and in many Latin American states. Cf. Doig / Riley (1998), p. 48; Riley (2000), p. 140; Manzetti / Blake (1996), pp. 662 ff.; Heywood (1997); Harriss-White / White (1996); Global Coalition for Africa (1997). 5 weakened the political influence of developing countries and ended the timidity of Western nations to interfere with the politics of corrupt regimes for the sake of political expediency. The so-called “third wave of democratization”7 in developing and transitional countries was one more factor that brought economic reform and structural adjustment on top of the agenda.8 Corruption is, to a greater or lesser extent, a problem in every country. However, African countries are, due to their poverty, probably least able to bear its negative consequences.9 Many African countries are experiencing social, political and economic changes spurred by institutional reforms that are often implemented with the cooperation of Western donors. It is now widely believed that the effectiveness of a large number of institutional reforms intended to fight poverty depends on the integrity of a country’s political and administrative systems. What is more, the process of institutional change itself is suspected of providing an environment that generates additional opportunities and incentives for corrupt practices.10 The Global Coalition for Africa sums up this vulnerability of countries in transition as follows: “Once established, democratic political systems and open economies provide the best opportunities for controlling corruption. In periods of transition, however, when one set of rules has broken down, but another has not yet become institutionalised, opportunities for corruption can flourish, while the openness enjoyed as a result of political liberalisation makes corruption more evident.”11 The necessity of further institutional reforms in order to reduce poverty in African countries and the supposed causal link between corruption and poverty12 explain the 7 This term was coined in 1991 by Samuel P. Huntington’s influential book The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. 8 In this process, especially the rampant corruption and fraud in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union led to a growing concern in Western countries. Cf. Riley (2000), pp. 141 f.; Trang (1994); Kaufmann (1997), pp. 114 ff. 9 On the negative consequences of corruption, which are considered to be especially serious for poor countries, see e.g. Mauro (1997) and Abed / Gupta (2002). 10 Olowu (1999). 11 Global Coalition for Africa (1997); see also Charlick (1993), pp. 177 ff. and Olowu (1993), pp. 227 ff. 12 Indeed, there is the “fear that nascent growth