Former President John Dramani Mahama has urged African leaders to fight corruption, describing it as a tool that impedes economic growth.
According to Mr. Mahama, corruption is a malady that affects economies negatively and hinders development.
Speaking as a Special Guest at the 53rd Annual Conference of the Nigeria Institution of Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) under the theme, “Asset Valuation as a Global Anti-Corruption Tool: The Nigeria Experience,” he implored that corruption must be fought both in the public and private sectors.
“Because corruption is a global challenge, its scope and seriousness have led to calls for a worldwide response and cooperation in the fight against it. Corruption is an economic malady. It means different things in different contexts, but, my brothers and sisters, whichever form it takes and no matter the context, corruption is a feature of poor governance and ethics in both public and private sectors.
“And we all know why. Graft thrives due to the layered irresponsibility of institutions and state actors that must fight it. The World Bank explains corruption as the abuse of public office for private gain in the public sector. On the other hand, Transparency International (TI) says corruption within the private sector is the misuse of entrusted power for personal gain.
Whichever way you visualize it, corruption must be fought whether it occurs in the public or private sector.”
He went on to say that overwhelming evidence indicates that corruption has contributed to the continent’s high inflation, hence the increase in the cost of living.
“Specifically, the impact of corruption in our nation states shows that high corruption rates contribute to high inflation rates. Corruption-induced inflation contributes to high cash and unproductive capital inflows into an economy and leads to macroeconomic instability. These eventually impact micro-economic activities as prices of goods and services and the cost of living in general increase, culminating in labour agitation for commensurate increases in wages and salaries,” he said.
