As Africa commemorates African Anti-Corruption Day 2026 under the theme “Scaling Up the Promotion of Integrity and Anti-Corruption Actions Across Africa,” we join the African Union and
citizens across the continent in calling for a stronger, braver and more coordinated fight against
corruption.
“Africa does not lack anti-corruption commitments. The continent has laws, conventions, anti-corruption agencies, financial intelligence units, audit institutions, ombudsman offices,
procurement rules and regional accountability frameworks.
What remains urgent is enforcement. Integrity cannot be scaled up if powerful people and their conspirators can
steal public resources, launder the proceeds, intimidate truth-tellers and escape accountability.”
Mathieu Pourchier, Directeur Exécutif / Executive Director, Tournons La Page
The cost of inaction is severe.
The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
estimates that Africa loses approximately US$88.6 billion annually due to illicit financial flows.
These are resources that could finance schools, hospitals, water systems, youth employment, infrastructure and social protection. Corruption is therefore not only a governance problem.
“Grand corruption is especially damaging because it involves large-scale theft. It weakens institutions, distorts elections, undermines service delivery, and shields powerful actors from accountability. It also crosses borders.
Stolen public wealth is often concealed through banks, shell companies, offshore accounts, luxury assets, procurement networks, and professional enablers.
This is why Africa’s anti-corruption response must move beyond commitments alone and, concretely and firmly, include prevention, investigation,
prosecution, asset recovery, and international cooperation.”
According to Olanrewaju Suraju, Chair, HEDA Resource Centre, this year’s theme must therefore be understood as a call to closing the enforcement gap by
strengthening public institutions that resist capture.
“Africa does not suffer from a lack of anti-corruption commitments; it suffers from an accountability deficit. Scaling up integrity means closing the gap between promises and consequences by ensuring that no public official, business leader, or politically connected individual is above the law.
Every dollar stolen through corruption is a school not built, a hospital left without medicine, or an opportunity denied to a young African. Strengthening
national institutions remains essential, but where domestic systems are unable or unwilling to act against grand corruption, complementary international mechanisms such as the proposed International Anti-Corruption Court should be seriously considered.
