World Bank targets corruption in Africa

Corruption in World Bank-funded ICT projects in Africa is expected to come down following the institution's decision to involve the private sector in the implementation of the initiatives backed by the institution's money.

By launching a new initiative dubbed e-Transformation, aimed at driving telecom sector growth in collaboration with the private sector and African governments, the World Bank expects less corruption in the awarding and implementation of the projects that it is funding, particularly e-procurement in the first phase.

The African ICT sector is marred with corruption allegations about the way contracts are awarded and how incumbent operators are being sold to bidders.

Instead of allowing African governments to float tenders for the projects it funds, the bank has decided to partner with Microsoft, IBM, Intel and Pfizer as well as the Korea Trust Fund on ICT for Development for the implementation of bank-funded projects.

The e-Transform initiative seeks to connect Africa leaders and IT practitioners in developing countries with expertise in the public sector, the private sector and academia on how best to use ICT to transform government services to citizens.

The second phase of the initiative will include the use of ICT in areas such as agriculture, food security and climate change.

"This new initiative will definitely have a positive impact on Africa's telecom sector, which has for a long time been faced with corrupt practices. Money for ICT projects should no longer to be given directly to African governments," said Amos Makanya, senior telecom analyst at African Mobile Communication Development.

The World Bank is the largest funder of ICT development in Africa. The east Africa community including Kenya and Rwanda have already benefited from $424 million for the improvement of dilapidated ICT infrastructure. Last year, the World Bank also agreed to set aside $50 million for ICT infrastructure development, connectivity, skills and development and capacity building for Nigeria. The bank has also been confident that a wider application of ICT as well as the popularization of business process outsourcing (BPO) could lead to a significant transformation in African societies.

However, most African governments have been involved in corrupt practices in the awarding of contracts for the World Bank-funded projects. Supply contracts are not given on merit to international companies, as government officials are easily bribed.

Last year, Siemens lost the right to bid for the World Bank funded communication projects for two years after corruption allegations arose regarding the company's acquisition of supply contracts in Nigeria and Libya. The German company is alleged to have paid more than $100 million in bribes to officials in Nigeria and Libya in order to win supply contracts. The company is also alleged to have paid bribes to government officials in Egypt and Cameroon, among many other African countries.

After complaints from the World Bank and many other telecom institutions in Nigeria, the Nigerian government was forced to cancel a supply contract with Siemens and suspended dealings with the company pending investigations into allegations that it gave more than $14 million in bribes to Nigerian government officials.

Siemens later committed to paying $100 million to support the bank's global effort over the next 15 years to fight corruption. The company also agreed to provide information on any additional cases of wrongdoing to the World Bank's integrity vice presidency, which investigates fraud and corruption in addition to changing industry practices.

In 2007, the company was indicted by a court in Germany for paying more than $12.7 million to three former communication ministers in Nigeria.

Mohsen Khalil, director of global information and communication technology at the World Bank, said the highest returns on investment exist in ICT. The World Bank believes the ICT sector is a vehicle to lift people, women and youths out of poverty.

The World Bank now wants to work with African communication ministers to see how best to create an enabling environment and the formulation of policies that will move Africa beyond the current cellular phone boom to harnessing the transformational power of ICT in every sector of African countries' economies.

Over the past 12 years, the number of mobile users in Africa has grown from two million to 400 million, with over 65 percent of the population now owning a mobile phone.