[Mb-civic] In Africa, Justice Before Aid - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

<>In Africa, Justice Before Aid
Unless we help African states institutionalize the rule of law, crime 
and corruption will undercut the best of intentions.

By Kathleen Millar
Saturday, July 30, 2005; Page A19

A July 3 front-page article in The Post quoted a Kenyan farmer named 
Peter Kanans: "Even if they cancel the debt, even if they give our 
governments aid money, ordinary Africans will not benefit. That money 
will only make the corrupt people richer and Africans international 
beggars for decades to come."

At the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), we have been saying 
something similar about crime and corruption in Africa, and now that the 
Group of Eight countries have pledged additional billions of dollars in 
aid to that continent, it may be time to weigh in on where this money 
may make the greatest difference for ordinary citizens.

<>We know, as Kanans does, that crime and corruption are enormous 
obstacles to aid and development. A UNODC report, "Crime and Development 
in Africa," is filled with examples: Official crime figures, for 
instance, are unavailable for half of the African nations. In some 
cases, a lack of courts, prosecutors and workable judicial systems 
renders the exercise fruitless: "The police do not have the transport to 
collect suspects; the courts run out of paper and then can't hear cases 
until more arrives; parties have to pay marshals to serve summonses; 
court records are written on already used documents and folders; and 
some of the court buildings leak so badly that during the rainy season 
court records get damaged."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/29/AR2005072901624.html 

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