Rwanda
News and blog
New article in African Studies: can understanding behavioural drivers of corruption help us devise more effective strategies?
A new article in the open-access African Studies journal makes a novel contribution to understanding petty corruption in East Africa. By providing evidence of behavioural drivers of petty corruption in Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, the research could help in designing more effective anti-corruption strategies. Petty corruption in the public sector: A comparative study of three East African countries through a behavioural lens results from a multi-year collaboration between an international team of researchers: Claudia Baez-Camargo, Saba Kassa and Cosimo Stahl of the Basel Institute on Governance plus Paul Bukuluki of Makarere University in Uganda, Richard Sambaiga of the University of Dar es-Salaam in Tanzania and Tharcisse Gatwa of the Protestant University of Rwanda. The article presents comparative evidence about the relevance of behavioural drivers in relation to petty corruption in three East African countries. It discusses the potential to incorporate behavioural insights into anti-corruption policy-making. Persistently high levels of bureaucratic corruption prevail in many countries across the African continent. This, along with the limited effectiveness of conventional anti-corruption prescriptions, calls for a contextualised understanding of the multiple factors determining corruption-related decision-making. Adopting a behavioural lens involves accounting for the human factor as it relates to the effects of sociality and social constructs on propensities for corruption. As such, this novel approach complements the literature that has sought to understand corruption on the basis of political, economic, and institutional drivers and constraints. Field research conducted in Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda found evidence for such behavioural drivers. It showed that citizens are swayed by social pressures and beliefs that ultimately spur petty corruption by endorsing associated maladaptive practices. These are sustained by social norms of group solidarity and reciprocity and legitimised by commonly shared perceptions of corruption as the norm. The research points to a problematic overlap of the public formal and the socio-cultural informal spheres. By adding a behavioural dimension to the study of the drivers of corruption, this article seeks to contribute towards the development of more effective anti-corruption policy formulation - one that acknowledges the pitfalls attached to behavioural factors that conventional anti-corruption prescriptions have largely failed to address. The research was supported by the UK Department for International Development through the East Africa Research Fund Initiative of the Research for Evidence Division. Learn more The article was published in the open-access African Studies journal on 19 August 2020. View the article online on the African Journal website. Learn about our Public Governance team's research, technical assistance and training programmes. See all our recent publications.
Learning through doing, even online – East Africa training with ARIN-EA
Eighteen participants from anti-corruption authorities across East Africa took part in the first ever online delivery of our Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery training programme last week. Our International Centre for Asset Recovery ICAR training team conducted the five-day intensive training programme at the request of ARIN-EA, an East African network for informal information-sharing on asset recovery matters. ARIN-EA’s President, Ms Lillian William Kafiti from Tanzania’s Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau, is a former ICAR trainee and graduate of our successful train-the-trainer programme in 2017. Learning by doing – even virtually The ICAR training approach emphasises the importance of “learning by doing” and practical work forms around 50 percent of each of our training courses. In our flagship Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery programme, ICAR trainers guide participants through a complex simulated investigation with its maze of financial transactions. Despite the challenges of replicating this kind of practical work online weak connectivity in particular , the participants successfully formed breakout groups of practitioners from various agencies and countries. Together they worked hard at “investigating” the case involving the fictitious Mr Boniface Msangi, Director of Public Works at the Ministry of Internal Development in Tanzania, and deciding how best to charge the suspect using the criminal provisions of one of the participant countries in each group. Fostering inter-agency and regional collaboration An ARIN-EA spokesperson thanked all the participants for taking the course and encouraged them to make greater efforts to “work as a region in collaboration to fight corruption”. This is a particularly fitting statement. Our training programmes are designed to encourage inter-agency collaboration in the investigation and prosecution of corruption and money laundering crimes, as well as asset recovery, by including representatives of various law enforcement agencies within our programmes. This programme contained an additional regional dimension. The participants came from a wide variety of agencies and countries: the Financial Intelligence Unit South Sudan , Criminal Investigation Division of the Police Uganda and Kenya , Inspectorate of Government Uganda , Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Kenya , Special Brigade Anti-Corruption Burundi , Anti-Corruption Court Burundi , Ombudsman Rwanda , Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau Tanzania , Inspector General Djibouti , Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions Kenya , Office of the Attorney General Ethiopia and South Sudan Anti-Corruption Commission. Feedback from participants was encouragingly positive, with many commenting on the “superb” lessons and “able trainers” thanks to whom “I learnt a lot”.
Shining a light on sextortion – insights from behavioural research on non-monetary corruption
In its new report on Breaking the Silence around Sextortion, Transparency International references our work on the recent evolvement of the anti-corruption field towards “documenting and recognising non-monetary forms of corruption”. This comprehensive understanding of corruption dynamics is at the centre of our research on behavioural influences on attitudes towards petty corruption in Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. The research was commissioned by the UK Department for International Development DFID , through its East Africa Research Fund EARF . Sextortion is a pervasive and transversal theme in all three country case studies. The research shows that women as a social group are particularly vulnerable to corruption. For example, access to public services is sometimes exchanged for sexual favours in an extortive manner. This topic deserves special attention. Sextortion is clearly different from monetary forms of corruption, so we need very specific approaches to eradicate it. In the report we propose two approaches: Raise the costs of soliciting or accepting sexual favours on the part of male public officials. By costs, we mean both criminal sanctions and social shaming. Establish safe whistleblower mechanisms for women to denounce unwanted sexual advances. Linking these to a strong, positive female role model would help. We join Transparency International in the call for better data collection and more research on the scale, patterns and impacts of sextortion. Let's bring light to the dark world of sextortion to help the victims escape the cycle of this particularly damaging type of corruption – and prevent other vulnerable women being caught in the same traps. Learn more View the comparative study: Corruption, social norms and behaviours: a comparative assessment of Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. View the country reports for behavioural influences on attitudes towards petty corruption in Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. Read more about our Public Governance research team's work on social norms and behaviours around corruption.
Social norms and corruption research published in book on Corruption, Social Sciences and the Law
A summary of groundbreaking research into social norms and attitudes towards corruption by our Public Governance team has been published in Ellis, Jane ed. Corruption, Social Sciences and the Law – Exploration across the disciplines. Published by Routledge, the book is part of a series entitled The Law of Financial Crime. The chapter, Social Norms and Attitudes Towards Corruption: Comparative Insights from East Africa, is drawn from a recent Basel Institute research project on Corruption, Social Norms and Behaviours in East Africa, commissioned by the UK Department for International Development DFID through its East Africa Research Fund EARF . It was written collaboratively by the Basel Institute's Claudia Baez Camargo, Saba Kassa and Cosimo Stahl, along with research partners Abel Egidius and Robert Lugolobi. See the publisher's flyer with full details of the book and a 20% discount code. Excerpt from the chapter introduction Despite more than two decades of concerted efforts by the international development community to address corruption, progress remains far from satisfactory, especially in those countries where corruption is endemic and pervasive. Such cases of seemingly entrenched corruption highlight the importance of increasing our understanding about context-specific drivers of corrupt behaviours. Traditionally, anti-corruption has focused on the incentives and constraints that impinge on individuals’ cost-benefit calculations and decision-making as determined by the law and associated regulatory frameworks. Nevertheless, a growing body of evidence suggests the relevance of more intuitive, automatic, quasi-rational and non-rational decision-making factors that take place in the subconscious mind and which may be heavily influenced by contextual factors grounded in sociality, collective ways of thinking and culture. This chapter presents empirical evidence from the application of a behavioural research perspective to shed light on how collective practices of petty corruption are experienced, understood, and ultimately justified from the perspective of those directly engaging in them.
Experts finalise research study on understanding how endemic corruption works in East Africa
Researchers at the Basel Institute have finalised their study on “Corruption, Social Norms and Behaviours in East Africa”. Funded by DFID’s East Africa Research Fund and headed by Dr Claudia Baez Camargo from the Basel Institute, this research project was launched in January 2016. Since then, the Basel research team has been working closely with a number of East African researchers to investigate the behavioural factors driving attitudes towards petty corruption among citizens in Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Earlier this year in May, the researchers had already completed an important milestone of the project, by publishing a systematic literature review on the topic. During the month of July, the researchers organised a series of consultation workshops in Dar es Salaam, Kampala, and Kigali to present the project findings and solicit feedback from major national stakeholders. The workshops were well received and attended by representatives from the case study countries' anti-corruption authorities as well as the local donor community, civil society and academics. Their feedback was used to finalise the project deliverables consisting of research reports and policy briefs for each of the three countries as well as a comparative analysis distilling major findings and policy implications of the study. All reports will be published online on our website in the Fall 2017.
Publications
Engaging the private sector in Collective Action against corruption: A practical guide for anti-corruption agencies in Africa
This guidance seeks to capture and explore the innovative approaches that African governments have developed to address the demand and supply sides of corruption more effectively and sustainably. It is designed to help government institutions, in particular national anti-corruption agencies, engage with the private sector more effectively to prevent corruption.
The document highlights good practices identified through interviews, desk research and a 2021 Southern African Development Community (SADC) training on “Emerging anti-corruption issues and private-sector engagement for SADC anti-corruption agencies”.
Africa offers many examples of innovative, unique and context-sensitive approaches to engage the private sector in anti-corruption efforts. Ghana’s National Anti-Corruption Action Plan, for instance, offers an award scheme and is looking into providing tax benefits to companies that enforce anti-corruption measures and demonstrate leadership in the fight against corruption. Other agencies and governments in the region, such as Morocco, are currently discussing implementing a reward system for compliant companies that can be considered when companies bid for public tenders.
These examples demonstrate how African governments proactively seek to tackle corruption and collaborate with the private sector.
From the initiatives captured, three common strategic approaches can be identified to underpin effective and impactful engagement:
- Raising awareness, guiding and working with the private sector to more effectively address corruption risks.
- Identifying and providing incentives to companies investing in their compliance programmes.
- Demonstrating leadership by actively participating in Collective Action and public-private partnerships.
This document is a follow-up of a practical global guide published in July 2022 and was produced with the support of the Siemens Integrity Initiative.
It is freely shareable under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence. Please credit the Basel Institute on Governance.
Petty corruption in the public sector: A comparative study of three East African countries through a behavioural lens
This article presents comparative evidence about the relevance of behavioural drivers in relation to petty corruption in three East African countries. It discusses the potential to incorporate behavioural insights into anti-corruption policy-making.
Persistently high levels of bureaucratic corruption prevail in many countries across the African continent. This along with the limited effectiveness of conventional anti-corruption prescriptions call for a contextualised understanding of the multiple factors determining corruption-related decision-making.
Adopting a behavioural lens involves accounting for the human factor as it relates to the effects of sociality and social constructs on propensities for corruption. As such, this novel approach complements the literature that has sought to understand corruption on the basis of political, economic, and institutional drivers and constraints.
Field research conducted in Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda found evidence for such behavioural drivers, showing that citizens are swayed by social pressures and beliefs that ultimately spur petty corruption by endorsing associated maladaptive practices. Sustained by social norms of group solidarity and reciprocity and legitimised by commonly shared perceptions of corruption as the norm, the research points to a problematic overlap of the public (formal) and the socio-cultural (informal) spheres.
By adding a behavioural dimension to the study of the drivers of corruption, this article seeks to contribute towards the development of more effective anti-corruption policy formulation that acknowledges the pitfalls attached to behavioural factors that conventional anti-corruption prescriptions have largely failed to address.
The article was published in the open-access African Studies journal on 19 August 2020.
Social Norms and Attitudes Towards Corruption: Comparative Insights from East Africa
This eye-opening exploration of social norms and attitudes towards corruption appears in Chapter 12 of Ellis, Jane (ed.) Corruption, Social Sciences and the Law – Exploration across the disciplines, published by Routledge on 15 May 2019 as part of a series entitled The Law of Financial Crime. See the publisher’s flyer with full details of the book and a 20% discount code.
Much of the original material for this chapter comes from a recent Basel Institute research project on Corruption, Social Norms and Behaviours in East Africa, commissioned by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) through its East Africa Research Fund (EARF).
Excerpt from the chapter introduction
Despite more than two decades of concerted efforts by the international development community to address corruption, progress remains far from satisfactory, especially in those countries where corruption is endemic and pervasive. Such cases of seemingly entrenched corruption highlight the importance of increasing our understanding about context-specific drivers of corrupt behaviours.
Traditionally, anti-corruption has focused on the incentives and constraints that impinge on individuals’ cost-benefit calculations and decision-making as determined by the law and associated regulatory frameworks. Nevertheless, a growing body of evidence suggests the relevance of more intuitive, automatic, quasi-rational and non-rational decision-making factors that take place in the subconscious mind and which may be heavily influenced by contextual factors grounded in sociality, collective ways of thinking and culture.
This chapter presents empirical evidence from the application of a behavioural research perspective to shed light on how collective practices of petty corruption are experienced, understood, and ultimately justified from the perspective of those directly engaging in them.
Working Paper 26: The ambivalence of social networks and their role in spurring and potential for curbing petty corruption: comparative insights from East Africa
This paper compares social network dynamics and related petty corrupt practices in East Africa. It highlights how the properties of structural and functional networks could serve as entry points for anti-corruption interventions.
With a focus on the health sector in Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, the empirical findings from this research corroborate the role of social networks in perpetuating collective practices of petty corruption, including bribery, favouritism and gift-giving.
The paper makes a case for designing a novel type of behavioural anti-corruption intervention, whereby the power of social networks is harnessed to elicit behavioural and attitudinal change for anti-corruption outcomes.
This paper is part of the Basel Institute on Governance Working Paper Series, ISSN: 2624-9650.
Informal governance: comparative perspectives on co-optation, control and camouflage in Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda
This article applies a novel conceptual framework to characterise and assess the repertoire of practices used by informal networks to redistribute power and access to resources. These distinct norms and practices are typologised as co-optation, control, and camouflage. Co-optation involves recruitment into the network by means of the reciprocal exchange of favours. Control is about ensuring discipline amongst network members by means of shaming and social isolation. Camouflage refers to the formal facades behind which informality hides and is about protecting and legitimising the network. All three are relevant to a more fine-grained understanding of corruption and its underpinnings.
Findings from our comparative research in three East African countries (Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda) suggest that these informal practices are relevant to an understanding of the choices and attitudes of providers and users of public services at the local level. Adopting this analytical lens helps to explain the limited impact of conventional anti-corruption prescriptions and provides a basis to develop alternative strategies that harness the potential of social network dynamics to promote positive anti-corruption outcomes.
This article was published by the International Development Policy journal in a special issue devoted to African Cities and the Development Conundrum. The full electronic version of the book is available in open access on the International Development Policy Journal website. The paperback version is available for order through Brill.