There are several ways to prevent corruption, but first let’s talk about what corruption is. According to the Oxford Dictionary, corruption is defined as “dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery” ¹. It can also refer to the action of making someone or something morally depraved or the state of being so ¹. In addition, corruption can refer to the process by which something, typically a word or expression, is changed from its original use or meaning to one that is regarded as erroneous or debased ¹.

Corruption can have a wide range of negative consequences on society and the economy. According to a chapter published in IntechOpen, corruption can lead to a lack of trust in the law and the rule of law, as well as a reduction in the quality of life, including access to infrastructure and healthcare ². Corruption can also inhibit economic growth, reduce tax revenue, and affect business operations, employment, and investments ². In addition, corruption can create red tape and bureaucratic hurdles, skew laws and regulations, and discourage foreign investment ².

Transparency International measures corruption through its Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, scoring on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean) ³. The index is an average of expert scores produced by a variety of agencies assessing corruption at the national level as perceived by experts and businesspeople ³. It is an aggregate of corruption risk perception and does not measure transparency ³.

There are several ways to prevent corruption. These include creating pathways for citizen engagement, cutting red tape, using technology to build dynamic exchanges between key stakeholders such as government, citizens, business, civil society groups, media, academia etc., investing in institutions and policy, aligning anti-corruption measures with market, behavioral and social forces, punishing corruption, keeping citizens engaged on corruption at local, national, international and global levels, building capacity for those who need it most and continually monitoring and evaluating strategies ².

Ivory Coast has been struggling with corruption in the public sector for a long time. According to a report by Transparency International, the country is ranked 106th out of 180 countries in terms of corruption ¹. However, the government has taken some measures to combat corruption. In 2013, a presidential anti-corruption decree was passed, and new anti-corruption bodies were established to fight corruption at checkpoints ². Recently, the Minister for the Promotion of Good Governance announced that Ivory Coast has launched several operations against corruption in the public services, particularly the police and gendarmerie ³.

It is good to see that Ivory Coast is taking steps to fight corruption. However, it remains to be seen how effective these measures will be in practice.

In Abidjan, the economic capital city of the Ivory Coast, the Minister of Good Governance Promotion and the Fight against Corruption, Zoro Epiphane Ballo, held discussions with technical and financial partners (TFPs) on Thursday, June 15, 2023, to seek their support in the fight against corruption. This took place on the sidelines of the 5th edition of the International Anti-Corruption Alliance (ICHA) Forum, organized by the World Bank in partnership with the State of Ivory Coast.

The objective of these exchanges was to present the achievements of Ivory Coast in the fight against corruption to the partners. They also aimed to explore possibilities, including the establishment of the Academy of Good Governance and Anti-Corruption, to raise awareness among actors in the public and private sectors as well as civil society.

The Minister emphasized that the Ivorian government has implemented several reforms to strengthen mechanisms for preventing, detecting, and prosecuting acts of corruption, including the SPACIA platform for reporting acts of corruption and related offenses. He urged everyone to support this government platform to become firmly established.

According to Epiphane Zoro, this instrument established by the State of Ivory Coast complements other anti-corruption measures, aiming to make our country a reference in the fight against corruption.

Professor Charles Moumouni, an expert and consultant in the fight against corruption, presented the establishment of the Ivorian Academy of Good Governance, which has both institutional and pragmatic objectives.

The institutional objective will serve to create synergy among stakeholders in good governance and the fight against corruption, making this sustainable structure a reference for best practices in this field.

Furthermore, it will implement a three-part training program, including providing high-quality training to strengthen the capacity of 1,500 stakeholders by 2026, granting a governance proficiency certificate to approximately 700 individuals within the same timeframe, and establishing an executive master’s program in governance and anti-corruption leadership for 300 individuals by 2026.