Perception of public corruption in Kenya

Corruption decreases government efficiency and effectiveness, and influences the way citizens perceive the overall quality of the government. The main focus of this paper is to examine why perceptions of public corruption did not change during the Kibaki administration. This administration was in power for 10 years (2003-2013), and invested significant resources in setting up a legislative framework and an anti-corruption agency. Yet, according to the analysis of the Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) reports from 2003 to 2012, there was no change in the public’s perception of corruption and of government effort against corruption. Despite anticorruption agency efforts, optimism dropped, while pessimism increased. To bridge this gap requires political commitment, which is demonstrated by charging all corrupt public officials and recovering any public funds and assets that have been stolen

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND CORRUPTION: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN KENYA

The primary purpose of this dissertation is to examine if there is a significant relationship between organizational culture and tolerance of corrupt practices among the Non-Governmental Organizations located in Kenya. Despite the fact that NGOs have been attributed with a strong organizational culture, previous literature indicates that there is a connection between the organizational culture and decisions to engage in corrupt practices. Another purpose is to investigate tolerance of corrupt practices and determine the dominant organizational culture among NGOs. The study applied the competing values framework, which describes four dimensions of organizational culture. Mixed methods techniques were used to collect data from a sample of 185 participants selected from 30 organizations in Nairobi. The organizational culture data was collected using the organizational culture assessment instrument while tolerance of corruption was collected using ten scenarios in the first phase. The qualitative data was collected through telephone interviews with six participants. Statistical analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics to test for the most dominant culture and tolerance of corrupt practices. Clan dimension was the most dominant dimension, while some of the practices were perceived as less corrupt and likely to occur. Bivariate correlations revealed the number of years working in an organization was associated with the acceptance variable, while clan culture was correlated to corrupt variable. The three propositions were not supported by the multivariate analysis of variance. However, the second proposition could not be tested due to lack of adequate data to compare. In sum, the study did not find a significant relationship between the dimensions of organizational culture and the tolerance of corrupt practices. The study has helped in exposing some of the areas requiring further strengthening and is also useful in setting the agenda for future research

The Impacts of Political Conflicts in Africa

The number of conflicts and deaths in Africa is rooted in the complex constructions and conjectures of Africa’s political economies, weak institutions, social identities, and cultural ecologies, as configured by specific local, national, regional, and historical experiences. Using real-time data of violent and nonviolent events in Africa, this paper analyzes the most significant indicators. The paper finds that Gross Domestic Product, corruption, state legitimacy, ethnic fractionalization, political effectiveness, and polity are significant in modeling the likelihood of political instability. The paper concludes that African countries require reconfiguration of the public and social institutions without ignoring the human factor that accelerate polarization and aggravation. Any marginalized groups should feel economically empowered and in control of their resources. The existential benefit of strong political institutions cannot be underrated as a way to ensure smooth power transition and curb of greed, which is a motivator

Social Cleavages, Regime Type, and Economic Systems in Africa

Since achieving independence, economies of African nations have struggled to grow. Nearly all countries in Africa have dealt with economic crisis, corruption, poor governance, political conflicts, and poverty in one instance or another following independence. This study argues that politically  stable countries are likely to experience increased economic growth despite the political regime. This paper holds that regime type, whether  democratic or authoritarian does not necessarily matter in economic performance. What is critical is to provide a stable and predictable  environment for investors and development to take place. The paper highlights the best model, which includes all the factors deemed critical for growth. The paper concludes that for any economic growth to be experienced there is need for political stability, control for corruption, and inclusion of all groups in the political system. The paper also found that some political indicators such as political rights and civil liberties are not significantly important in economic growth. This conclusion builds on the hierarchy of needs that economic growth is more important to people than civil liberties, political rights, or regime type in general. Democracy is necessary, though certainly not sufficient, to achieve economic growth

Multinational Corporations as Supplier of Corruption in Africa

Corruption is a huge problem facing both developing and developed economies today. It is a complex issue that is made up of a vast array of determinants and effects that are often affected by the context of the country of  operations. Corruption has an international dimension that cannot be overlooked, despite the fact that it occurs in a local context. For international corruption to succeed, it must be sustained by both the supply and demand of corrupt local practices. The main objective of this article is to bring to light the fact that multinational corporations (MNCs) have been supplying corruption to Africa, without critical examination, for many years. This study  systematically lays out empirical and anecdotal evidence to show that MNCs export corruption from their countries of origin into Africa. This will support the hypothesis that MNCs are not, in fact, victims, but active participants that are motivated by profit to exploit weak institutions in Africa. These foreign countries offer shelter to MNCs that fail to pay taxes and act as enablers of corrupt behavior, despite accusing African countries of being the most corrupt. They allow undisclosed bank accounts that hold cash embezzled from Africa and other developing regions. This inaction, or ineffective approach on the part of developed countries challenges the moral legitimacy of these countries to lecture African countries on how to deal with corruption

The COVID-19-crisis and the information polity: an overview of responses and discussions in twenty-one countries from six continents

Governments around the world are utilizing data and information systems to manage the COVID-19-crisis. To obtain an overview of all these efforts, this global report presents the expert reports of 21 countries regarding the relation between the COVID-19-crisis and the information polity. A comparative analysis of these reports highlights that governments focus on strengthening six functions: management of information for crisis management, publishing public information for citizens, providing digital services to citizens, monitoring citizens in public space, facilitating information exchange between citizens and developing innovative responses to COVID-19. The comparative overview of information responses to the COVID-19-crisis shows that these responses cannot only be studied from a rational perspective on government information strategies but need to be studied as political and symbolic interventions