This book brings together a number of African anti-corruption policy makers from across different academic disciplines, religions, and generations. It engages in processes of economic, social, and political transformation to eliminate poverty and inequity, through individual and institutional means. Through historical and contemporary perspectives on authority structures, institutionalised myths, beliefs, and rituals of authority, the volume explores how to correctly mobilise and influence citizens’ behaviour and attitudes towards accountability, transparency and probity, all of which are key to strengthening national integrity systems all over Africa, and are needed for equity and sustainable development. The book strongly advocates that corruption is everybody’s business. All the chapters in some way commemorate the inaugural anti-corruption year of the African Union in 2018 by interrogating how mechanisms to eliminate inequity and poverty can be built in Africa.

This book outlines evidence-based and data-driven strategies for combating grand corruption in Africa. Although the causes of corruption vary from country to country, this book suggests that corruption in Africa is often a direct consequence of poorly conceived legislation, policies, and institutional loopholes. The authors in this solution-oriented book converge in arguing that effective strategies to combat corruption (corruption proofing) should integrate an independent enforcement system, vigilant civil society, vibrant media, and political leadership. Utilising empirical evidence and a systems thinking approach, the contributors also uncover root causes of corruption and identify high-leverage interventions to prevent abuse of entrusted power for personal gain. The book recommends an integrated proactive strategy that includes top-down, bottom-up, and multi-stakeholder approaches in the implementation of anti-corruption legislation and policies. Bringing together multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, the chapters in this volume include case studies from selected countries on the continent, including Cameroon, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Providing readers with a range of effective and functional initiatives in combating corruption in Africa, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of corruption, governance, ethics, peace and security, development, and African studies, as well as policymakers, practitioners, development partners, among other stakeholders.

This book investigates corruption and anti-corruption efforts in Africa, emphasising the regional and thematic differences across the continent, whilst also exploring key patterns and trends. Combatting the ethnocentrism of Western corruption research, this book highlights the importance of a home-generated and contextualised approach to understanding corruption in Africa. Bringing together a rich array of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research, the book considers how corruption manifests in a range of selected countries across the political, economic, and social spheres. The book adopts a strong comparative approach, exploring patterns, dynamics, and mechanisms in African societies. It assesses the historical underpinnings of corruption, emerging trends, and socio-economic realities before suggesting realistic contemporary solutions to the challenges of corruption in Africa. Bringing together academics and practitioners, readers will encounter intellectual discussion face-to-face with realities on the ground. As such, the book will be useful for scholars, politicians, public officials, and civil society organizations, as well as for students and researchers across the fields of political science, public administration, economy and corruption studies.

This book brings together leading African scholars and researchers from various academic disciplines, cultures, religions, and generations. It examines how to better mobilise and influence the actions, behaviour and attitudes of citizens towards accountability, transparency, and probity, in order to strengthen Africa’s integrity, equity, and sustainable development. It serves to deepen and strategically add to current efforts to combat corruption, and clearly advocates that fighting corruption is the business of everyone. The role of ethics in society and the presence of leaders who ideally should be ethical, effective, and empathic are also important. This volume shows that corruption robs the poor, and will serve to enrich the reader’s philosophy of life.

Over the past seven years, the author has written several articles for the media – often on request. This volume comprises the most important of these articles. The first 50 articles (Part 1) appear in English and the last 39 (Deel 2) in Afrikaans. The footnotes indicate who published the specific article and when. The latter is important because it puts each article in context. Sometimes the content in this volume differs slightly from that which has appeared in the media. Some of the articles have also been published by other than the indicated media platform / daily newspaper, but they are not mentioned here. There are some themes that overlap in English and Afrikaans but are not direct translations of each other. More than one article has been written on certain themes and some articles were co‑authored with colleagues as indicated in the footnotes.

This collective volume takes a social scientific approach to the subject of violence. Violence manifests itself on different levels, often beyond our comprehension. The book comprises 15 chapters in which experts from different academic disciplines and backgrounds examine violence carefully, logically, and in a challenging way. Although it is written from South African perspectives, it is relatable to other countries. As a source aimed at local and international scholars, researchers, and peers, it invites open and critical discussion. The arguments are presented systematically, intersectionally and constructivistically. It focuses on violence as an evolutionary phenomenon; on how it effects children; on interpersonal, collective, and structural violence; on ecological violence, and on violence as metaphor, amongst others.

The central message of this book is that leadership serves as a blueprint to transform Africa into a global powerhouse. There is an urgent need to refocus our efforts on the African Continent and her people, while at the same time forging ahead with democratic, accountable, people-centred, ethical and transparent governance and leadership. Corruption has undoubtedly become a hostile enemy in robbing the poor, violating the trust of the people and eroding the moral fibre of society. Abuse of power, position or office compounded by greed, self-enrichment and acts of dishonesty has dire consequences for mankind, and, as such, each contribution in this book promotes Africa’s vision to sustain humanity and its people, away from social ills such as extreme poverty, distinct inequalities and large-scale unemployment. What is needed is a new generation of bold, passionate, confident, inspiring leaders to make a difference and leave an edible mark in the global arena. This is the fundamental spirit of leadership for the Africa that this book wants and wishes to nurture. We cannot go back and change the past, but we can learn lessons, both good and bad, and change the future towards a bigger, better, and brighter tomorrow!