Effects Of Corruption In Angola

Kleptocracy is defined as a state controlled to benefit an individual or small group who use their power to gain “a large fraction of society’s resources” to use for themselves. Kleptocracy “obstruct[s] development” of countries because the money taxpayers entrust to further develop their country through projects such as schools or infrastructure, becomes diverted to certain people for their own personal gain. Daron Acemoglu, Thierry Verdier, and James A. Robinson, writers for the Journal of the European Economic Association, established that kleptocracy runs rampant in “many developing countries.” As a result of this corruption, countries suffer “highly inefficient economic policies” and “expropriated the wealth of their citizens.”

Unfortunately, most African countries that are so rich in natural resources are countries that are forced into deep poverty, diseases and quarrels. The roots of these actions are actually grows from corruption. What African people need to start doing is changing the mentality of Africans and this can only be attempted through education and training within the home. Firstly, Africans need to focus on the younger generations and show them a good example of political behaviour. And they, in turn should be aware that wealth comes through hard work and being responsible, not by stealing public funds. Africans should start implementing courses about corruption and society in schools to educate people on the negative outside corruption that makes an impact on society. According to Pollock (2010), it is strongly needed to teach law legislators, who easily participate in corruption (para. 3). Secondly, the poor and miserable conditions in which most Africans are, is the next cause of the appearance of corruption. And most important action that should be taken in consideration is to fight with poverty. What is needed is a force to change mentality. Moreover, the belief that one can buy anything with money has enlarged corruption in all levels of life. The only way to destroy corruption is to do a massive campaign like they are doing in Kenya and that would take some time to produce results. There, in South Africa, exists such culture of an

One mother, when interviewed, had already lost two of her four children. She was also unaware that mosquitoes cause malaria. One of her two remaining children was sick. She took him to a clinic when he became ill, but the clinic did not do malaria tests or have medicine. The mother was told if her son survived he would have trouble walking and speaking again. This is because he had already suffered neurological damage. However, he was seen as a lucky person. According to Dr. Samson Agbo, a Unicef pediatrics expert, “Only about 40 percent to 50 percent of Angola’s population has access to the health care system” (Kristof, “Deadliest Country”).

Until 1974, Angola had been a colony under Portuguese jurisdiction since 1576. “The combined forces of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), and the National Union for the Total Independence succeeded in their struggle in removing the Portuguese colonial government in April, 1974”[1]. A bloody transitional period ensued throughout the next year, where a struggle for control of Angola’s government erupted between these three groups. The FNLA quickly disappeared from the scene, and the main battle for power evolved between the MPLA under Jose dos Santos and UNITA under Dr. Jonas Savimbi.

Angola is one of the many African countries which suffered from the Portuguese colonisation in earlier years. The colonisation these African countries suffered from (specifically Angola), began in the mid eighteenth century (Santos, 2010), where European countries identified the many resources that these countries were rich in, and found an opportunity to possess them through migrating to these countries and taking over the governance in these countries, changing the system in a way that was best suitable for them.

A governor is able to own a six-thousand square foot home fully equipped with multiple security guards, a swimming pool, and far more rooms than needed. Meanwhile, in a neighboring town just miles away is poverty stricken land where someone calls home. It is surrounded by trash, with little food to eat, as the stench of sewage from the local city coats the air. This scenario is foreign to people living in the United States. That is simply because this is a problem prevalent to ones living in Nigeria, West Africa. For decades, Nigeria has been infamously known for the non-progressive gap between the categorization of who is considered to be either wealthy or who is labeled as impoverished. It is a country filled with an abundance of resources, and in spite of this, Nigeria’s poverty rate continues to struggle. The leading factors currently contributing to the growing poverty rate in Nigeria are due to the lack of proper education, the increasing population, and corruption within the government.

Most children in the Niger delta have little or no education, due to lack of funds from their parents who have lost their lands and have no jobs because of limited opportunities. The Niger delta government and the oil companies have refused to look into the situation; instead they favor their close relations neglecting the masses. Corruption in the Niger delta has led some youths in taking drastic measure in order to put food on their table. For example, Ikechukwu Efe an indigene of the Niger delta said that some of his friends created their own “oil refinery”, which is made up of crude oil in metal barrels with controlled heat from fire woods. This is a dangerous process in refining crude oil but the degree of poverty in the state left his friends with no choice. If only the government of the Niger delta have created jobs with the wealth of the state Ikechukwu’s friend would not have to put their lives in danger. Until corruption is put to an abrupt the people of the Niger delta will continue to live in poverty.

In past centuries, Angola was among the areas most-devastated by the slave trade. In recent decades, it has been afflicted with wars. However, in both eras, much of the violence was driven by powerful external forces. This is because Angola, with an abundance of oil and other resources, could develop into a very prosperous country if led and controlled by the right power. In 1975 Angola was released from colonialism by Portugal. This pivotal event in history sparked the beginning of a massive conflict between many of the key players in world power. These key players included the United States, Cuba, China, and the Soviet Union.

The Angolan Civil War was a major civil conflict in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing until 2002. The civil war spawned a disastrous humanitarian crisis in Angola, internally displacing 4.28 million people. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that 80% of Angolans lacked access to basic medical care, 60% lacked access to water, and 30% of Angolan children would die before the age of five, with an overall national life expectancy of less than 40 years of age. The war began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The civil war was a power struggle between the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA). The war served as a surrogate battleground for the Cold War.

She stated:” It was during the academic year 2008-2009, I was majoring in law. I had some problems with my grades in one of my classes. I went to see my professor to try to figure out what was going on with my grades; and this was where my nightmare began. The professor forced me to give him my phone number. A few days later, he asked me to sleep with him using a condom while he was doing the same with other female students without using condoms. He sent to me $50 to reserve a hotel room, but I turned him down. And then, he swore to make me fail in the course. I decided to talk to the supervisor about the incident but unfortunately, no solution was found. I lost two academic years because of that situation. And I was obliged to find a new university.” This lady also explains that some professor offices are becoming hotel rooms. This horrible practice is becoming a part of the Congolese society.

Corruption and weak rule of law are major problems in Madagascar, this is due to government officials taking most of the profit of the country, so steps need to be taken to ensure that most of the countries profit is given to strengthen the infrastructure.

What happens when dad steps down?” is introducing the fact that the president’s daughter heads the national oil company. The severity of this information is in the fact that the country’s oil production is where ninety-five percent of their economy derives from. With this position held by his daughter Mr. dos Santos has direct influence over not only the executive branch but also the economy. Although Isabel has benefited the most she is far from being the only beneficiary of her father. “The president’s son, is also heavily involved in Angola’s economic life. He serves as chair of the country’s $5 billion sovereign wealth fund; he has been active in the banking sector since at least 2008; and he recently acquired 49% of Standard Bank Angola” (Engebretsen 7). Not only does the president’s family own the source of the economy but also almost fifty percent of the banks as well. With these just being a few examples of the countless people in official positions who will be inclined to act on influence of José Eduardo dos Santos’s, it is safe to say that he will play an active hand in the lives of the Angola people even after stepping down as president.

Even though Angola is one of Africa’s major oil producers, it is also one of the poorest countries in the world. After a 27 year civil war ending in 2002, it was hard for them to bounce back to stability. They are currently rebuilding under the guidance of their president José Eduardo dos Santos who has held the position since 1979 and was guaranteed the last five-year term because of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). MPLA was founded in 1956 and merged two nationalist organizations. Dos Santos is credited with leading the country to recovery after the end of the civil war in 2002. Others believe Dos Santos could be doing more for the country and spreading the profits from the oil more widely.

Liberia is a country rich in natural resources but is one of the poorest countries in Africa. In this paper, I will explain the causes of this poverty, such as poor governance and corruption and the effects on society and the economy of the country. Corruption is rampant in African countries and beneficial to only the private sector, yet this country has not been able to successfully stop it and improve its structure. The government is the backbone of the country. It is supposed to benefit its citizens, protect human rights and serve the communities, however the governments in Liberia has not. This has caused rampant poverty, instability and healthcare issues.

Nevertheless, 14 years later Zimbabwe’s economy became one of the most developed in Africa and its currency, Zimbabwe dollar was stronger than the US dollar (Coltart, 2008, p.1). To compare, it was possible to exchange 8 Zimbabwean dollars into one US dollar in 1995. However, nowadays one US dollar is equal to 100,000 Zimbabwe dollars. Corrupt political elite, with considerable international support is responsible for these problems. Since independence, in the last 4 decades 140 billion US dollars were stolen from Zimbabwean nation by its corrupt administration (Williams, 2006). As a result, number of officially poor people is at the rate of 80 percent nowadays, and that is more than twice as big as was in mid-1990s. Moreover, HIV/AIDS, poverty and hunger cause 3500 deaths per week, average life expectancy halved since 1994, namely it has fallen from 57 to 34 years for women and from 54 to 37 years for men. Also, number of children deaths increased. Between 1999 and 2006, number of children receiving all major vaccinations decreased by 21 percent while number of children getting no vaccination at all increased by the same percentage. Furthermore, Zimbabwe faced the immigration of millions of its citizens, and 80 percent of people left are unemployed. Unemployment takes place because of government’s insufficient policy. For instance, Zimbabwe is fortunately surrounded with amazing nature, but most European and American airlines cancelled all flights to