• How corrupt is Africa?
• Why is world attention focussing on Africa?
• What does corruption cost Africa?
• How does corruption affect the poor?
• What are African countries doing to fight corruption?
• Why should the G-8 leaders and donor countries care about corruption?
• What can the G-8 do?

A single answer, valid for all of Africa, would be neither fair nor accurate. Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) shows that corruption in Africa is a major concern, more so than on any other continent.

But the picture is varied. There are countries, such as South Africa and Botswana, whose perceived level of corruption are comparable to developed countries such as Italy, Greece, Hungary and Taiwan, while others score much more poorly. Trailing the CPI are Nigeria, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and Cote d'Ivoire.

Some countries perceived as very corrupt, including Kenya and Nigeria, are dealing with the legacy of past corrupt regimes, even though the political will to tackle corruption may exist. Additionally, there may be individual strong institutions and differing problems at various levels of government.

Lastly, it is important to note that in a globalising world economy, the problem of corruption is not just local. While corrupt networks are deeply embedded in many African countries, they are often created and nurtured with money from foreign investors, governments and companies.

Pressure generated by civil society organisations in Africa and in developed countries has helped push poverty in Africa to the top of the global agenda. The United Kingdom's decision to form a Commission for Africa to address poverty and put debt relief on the Summit agenda has provided a window of opportunity to produce solutions.

The sense of urgency to improve living conditions for millions across Africa is underpinned by shocking facts:

• malaria - a curable illness - kills about 150,000 African children each month;
• with 11 percent of the world's population, Africa accounts for only about 1 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP);
• Africa is home to 25 million people with HIV - 64% of global infections;
• every day in Africa, 6,300 people die and another 8,500 contract the HIV virus - 1,400 of whom are newborn babies infected during childbirth or by their mothers' milk.

The United Nation's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) provide a framework for action. By the year 2015, the MDGs aim to:

• halve the proportion of the world's people whose income is less than one dollar a day;
• achieve universal primary education;
• promote gender equality;
• reduce maternal and child mortality;
• combat chronic illnesses including AIDS; and
• ensure environmental sustainability.

At current rates of development, none of the goals will be met in sub-Saharan Africa.

Because corruption is hidden, it is difficult to quantify how much money is lost to it. Worldwide, more than US$ 1 trillion dollars is paid in bribes each year, according to ongoing research at the World Bank Institute. The figure compares to a world economy worth just over US$ 30 trillion, and does not include embezzlement of public funds or theft of public assets.

The African Union estimates that corruption costs African economies more than US$ 148 billion dollars each year. This figure is thought to represent 25 percent of Africa's GDP and to increase the cost of goods by as much as 20 percent, deterring investment and holding back development.

An accurate representation of the cost of corruption would look not only at direct losses, but at the costs of opportunities lost. Countries that tackle corruption and improve their legal structure can see a considerable increase in per capita income in the long-term, and a highly significant decrease in child mortality, the World Bank Institute research shows.

Corruption affects the poor disproportionately, since they are more vulnerable to extortion and intimidation for basic services, as well as to the harsh consequences of corruption on their country's overall development. Corruption increases the cost of public services. It lowers their quality and can restrict the public's access to water, health and education; divert public resources away from social sectors and the poor; and limit development, growth and poverty reduction.

The drafting of the African Union Convention against Corruption is evidence that the issue is important to member states, and that African countries are taking a lead in efforts to rid the continent of the scourge of graft. Six more ratifications are needed before the Convention enters into force.

African countries have also taken the lead in signing and ratifying the UN Convention against Corruption, which 13 African countries have ratified. No G-8 country has ratified the Convention.

Furthermore, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which includes strong governance components, is another positive sign that African governments are willing to embrace the fight against corruption and are not waiting for others to show them the way.

At the national level, countries have taken steps across Africa to enshrine in law the principles that are basic to fighting corruption and improving governance. Important elements are:

• a free press;
• free and fair elections;
• political stability and the absence of violence;
• stable and effective government institutions;
• the existence of good laws that are respected and enforced.

Political will by government leaders is also essential. While some of the most egregious cases of abuse by heads of state have taken place in Africa, so too have courageous steps to purge governments of corrupt elements. A recent example was the decision by South African President Thabo Mbeki to sack his deputy, who had been implicated in a corruption scandal.

Citizen participation and monitoring by civil society are also important. In Uganda, for example, parents given greater access to information were able to track spending by local government and school authorities and thereby stem massive leakage in school budgets, ensuring a better education for their children.

Corruption should be addressed in the aid process. Donor countries should not assume that because a country is perceived to have high levels of corruption, aid will end up in the pockets of corrupt leaders. Many of the countries that rank worse in corruption indices are also those with the greatest development needs. Many of them have demonstrated the political will to tackle corruption but are dealing with the legacies of previous corrupt regimes. These countries should not be condemned to decades of underdevelopment.

Instead, corruption must be tackled in tandem with other problems of underdevelopment. The risk of corruption could be mitigated through more effective monitoring or through direct budgetary assistance, which increases local ownership of projects and reduces administration costs. Conversely, attaching conditions to aid - for example, requiring that the funds be spent on goods and services from the donor country - can increase opportunities for corruption.

The G-8 is important to the effort to reduce corruption and boost development in Africa. They play a major role in increasing aid and in lessening the debt burden on recipient countries.

But many of their companies also participate in corrupt transactions. Until 1997, when the OECD convention outlawing foreign bribery was signed, companies from some developed nations received tax breaks from their governments for bribing their way into new markets. Today, governmental export credit agencies, underwriters of massive infrastructure projects in Africa and elsewhere, continue to neglect their responsibility to carry out due diligence on the companies that bid for projects.

The G-8 has an important leadership role to play. Because foreign companies are often the source of big-ticket bribe money in Africa, G-8 countries should publicise and enforce their own laws, to ensure that their companies no longer view bribery as an acceptable way to win foreign contracts. G-8 governments should allow investigation and prosecution by foreign countries if their companies are believed to be involved in bribery abroad.

The G-8 should develop provisions for anonymous reporting of bribe requests, which could help identify hotspots where action to address corruption is urgently needed.

Publishing the details of aid given will allow civil society and independent investigators to follow the money trail, ensuring fair usage. Aid packages should include funding for measures to fight corruption and to build the capacity of local institutions.

The conditions under which aid is given should encourage free and fair bidding. The aid process should include procurement standards that ensure transparent, quality-based bidding on public projects, not tied to vendors from a specific country.

As part of its leadership role in fighting corruption, the countries of the Group of Eight nations should ratify the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

The G-8 should report publicly on progress in implementing their anti-corruption commitments, on International Anti-Corruption Day, 9 December 2005.