| dc.description.abstract | This study bears on the achievement of three contemporary interlinked priorities
in Africa: development, democracy and human dignity.
Though a number of arguments keep on blaming, in a fundamental and exclusive
way, external factors and forces being the major inhibiting and detrimental factors
that play a definite role in compromising the attainment of the above-mentioned
trilogy of objectives in Africa as well as in other Developing Countries, the
present study brings about a new approach based on "self-criticism" and it
focusses on a "re-evaluation" of internal factors that constitute the actual and
factual causes for the obvious lack of development, democracy and human
dignity in countries in quest of these.
Bearing this in mind, the phenomenon of systemic corruption, i.e.
institutionalized, established and sanctioned corruption (as it obtained in
Mobutu's Zaire) constitutes one among many internal factors that seriously
hinders this achievement by reducing a great country which is potentially the
wealthiest country in Africa, into a land of bankruptcy, misrule and mass pauperization.
Following a general analytical and theoretical framework relating to the negative
impact and the dysfunctionality of corruption vis-a-vis the achievement of the
trilogy of objectives in the Developing World, and the analysis of this state of
affairs in the particular case of Zaire - it is shown in this study that, first and
foremost, when developing countries' political systems are characterized by the
institutionalization of corruption, governmental and bureaucratic efforts to
achieve development, viable democratization and human dignity within the
society are negatively affected.
Secondly, against the background of the evaluation of the issue at stake and by
utilizing the treble set of value-systems (normative values) pertaining to what can
be regarded as good government (indigenous African values, the Western value
system of public accountability and the christian values on responsible
governance) - all of which recommend servant morality - the research's finding is
that systemic corruption appears where the political leadership and bureaucratic
elites and cadres have been alienated from basic values pertaining to good
governance.
A number of alternatives and proposals for the future have been put forward by
the author - though these do not claim to be exhaustive in so far as the
eradication of what can be described as widespread institutionalized corruption in
Zaire and in other Zaire-like countries is concerned. | en_US |
