Strengthening mechanisms for oversight of governance institutions and improving performance will only be possible when Africa articulates what the role of the State in the continent is. Neither grievance politics nor apologist interventions will address the toxic combination of local and foreign induced accountability problems in African states. The global community, not just Africa, is losing the moral battle against corruption. How do we convince young people of the importance of honesty when leaders of some of the wealthiest and most powerful nations are openly corrupt and getting richer from the behaviour?

The wretched lack of transparency is a global problem, not just the global south; but where Africa fails the most, in comparison to many Western countries, is in its nonchalance and presiding over weak institutions that cannot objectively identify problems, prosecute their roles effectively to close systemic loopholes that enable and perpetuate weak governance and related corruption.

Lack of transparency is not unique to Africa and Africa would not necessarily be the worst in this area if Africans were the ones defining the problem, designing classification categories, writing the books and conducting research into the subject; indeed we can see what is currently happening in the U.S.A where Epstein Files, U.S./ Iran memorandum of understanding, President Trump suing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for leaking his past tax filings, using the acting Attorney General (his previous criminal attorney) through the Department of Justice (DOJ) to pursue a settlement of $1, 776bn with the IRS for a so-called ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ to pay criminals who did his bidding in the Jan 6, 2021 insurrection, attempting to cut a deal with the IRS that would have blocked a review of his and his family businesses’ tax filings from the past and into the future, among many movie script like actions under the Trump government, are deliberately ‘hidden’ from oversight committees and the public.

The moral depravity that fuels and protects corrupt power structures in the West, just as the graft and grift of Trump and his family and friends, is not being challenged enough, not spoken about enough in African media houses to shape the narrative, highlight Western double standards and dispel the myth of Africa being the most corrupt territory in the globe.

If Africa is the most corruption-friendly territory, how come the most wretched of African leaders choose to secure their loot in Western capitals, not in African palaces?  However, we make it clear that the presence of corruption elsewhere in the world does not excuse corruption in Africa. Social and political structural deficiencies that form fertile ground for unethical conduct within African society need addressing.

Change is a process and a responsibility that Africa must willingly embrace, define its terms and get on with it. Instead of standing on the resentment platform, let us accept that we are not perfect and some of our poor outcomes result from internal fallibilities. It is vital that we build a culture where honest expectations are communicated and peer accountability is the norm, only then will we be able to address poor performance and attitudes.

We must fight indifference to lack of transparency. We need to devise suitable tools that define accountability within its rightful context, rectify issues and effectively monitor for progress in ways discernible to the average citizen. Current institutions and methods meant to highlight and address accountability gaps are foreign and lack the necessary cultural sophistication to break the problem down to its small bites that communities can easily relate to and effectively engage in finding solutions.

Fragmented vertical and lateral governance structures are too weak to ensure coherence of interventions. Dealing with corruption is a highly sophisticated and dangerous exercise that requires trust from key allies. It is important that law enforcement agents are equipped with the right skills to tackle the increasingly globalised criminal syndicates and there is systemic protection of would-be whistle blowers.

Even more important, those tasked with undertaking important roles of law enforcement must be paid what they are worth, or they will become accessories in the nefarious activities they are meant to prevent and stop.

A government system is important because of what it can do for citizens, but also for how it works. When we vote for representatives, we give them the mandate to represent our interests to the state, we expect something back from them; the mutual interaction strengthens the relationship and accountability between the governing and the governed. Chronic marginalisation of the average African from opportunities to influence change is a longstanding problem in our continent. African leaders and policy makers need to reintegrate old ways of local governance with the relevant contemporary governance institutions; it is important to demonstrate for citizens the connection between high levels of citizen participation in governance and system accountability – ensuring the success of every citizen.