Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa: a practical-theological response

Abstract

On the 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International, 89.6% of Sub-Saharan African countries received scores below 50, where a score of zero signifies that the country is highly corrupt and a score of 100 declares a country free of corruption. From these results, it seems as if Sub-Saharan African countries are quite vulnerable to corruption. In this article, the question whether certain traits in the Sub-Saharan African culture such as communalism, gift giving and a shame culture could in some situations influence people’s perception of, and their possible openness towards, certain forms of corruption was investigated. The research showed that cultural traits do influence people’s behaviour and that there are certain traits in the Sub-Saharan African culture that might sanction corruption. In response to these findings, some preliminary suggestions were proposed as to how Christians living in Africa could evaluate their cultural practices in the light of God’s Word and from a reformed theological paradigm. Instead of succumbing to the pressure posed by their culture to participate in immoral or corrupt activities, they could contribute to a moral regeneration on the African continent.