Africa: Questioning corruption

Africa is a less corrupt place and there has been a global recognition of how harmful corruption is and how detrimental and damaging it is to development, according to Dr. Peter Eigen, founder of the global corruption watchdog group Transparency International. "On the international front, far more effective measures to protect countries from corruption are now in place. Five years ago, it was not a crime in domestic law for a firm from Germany or Japan or the US to offer bribes abroad. In fact, in many instances bribes were tax deductible! But there has been a sea change in the international legal system now. Some 35 countries have acceded to the OECD Convention Against Corruption, which means that those firms now cannot bribe abroad with impunity in places like Africa." This is an extract from an interview with Eigen in e-africa, the electronic journal of governance and innovation.