Corruption is a canker worm, a cancer that eats into the fabric of society. Ill-gotten gains don’t disappear by themselves. Dictators, warlords and other criminals need ways to hide their identity and move dirty cash around the world. Then they need a nice safe place to spend their loot. We need to keep the fire burning under their feet, raging hot. If they have the brazen neck to steal food from our children’s plates or ‘divert’, resources meant for their school fees then they will have no peace! We shall show them no mercy! Together we shall hunt them down, even beyond this earthly world!

In Africa the fight against corruption has been declared a high priority by the AU and its Member States. Are our state managers really serious about eradicating corruption? Are they really serious about vision 2063? The truth is corruption remains widespread in the region and mainly responsible for the sorry state we are in. There are too many instances of political and bureaucratic corruption, public funds embezzlement, fraudulent procurement practices, and judicial corruption. The AU and its Member States have put in place a well-developed legal and institutional framework, with institutions including the AU Anti-corruption Board. Some AU Member States have been the enacted the Right to Information Act, which grants citizens access to government information and a mechanism to control public spending. In spite of progress, however, law enforcement in Member States remains weak and reforms have a long way to go.

AU Watch is the first and only organization in Africa that is taking a radical approach to eradicate corruption. We have initiated the Regional Corruption Barometer – the only regional public opinion survey on views and experiences of corruption.

What we also do:
• We advise government on national initiatives on the implementation of strategies to combat corruption;
• We advise sectors on the improvement of sectoral anti-corruption strategies.
• We contribute towards the establishment of a national consensus through the co-ordination of sectoral strategies against corruption;
• By working with other CSOs around the region and around the world, we aim to develop innovative creative approaches in assisting the AU and AUMS tackle corruption in Africa. Our goal is to bring together the talents, skills and ambitions of CSOs around the world to target the corrupt in the region and take them head on.

There are a number of other ways in which we fight corruption:
• We operate on the principle of regional and international co-operation. One of the key issues in battling corruption is that it is difficult to operate against the corrupt because they are often the most powerful. By sharing information and best practice on sectoral anti-corruption work and pooling resources and through the power of synergy as CSOs around the region we will expose corruption together. We shall set up an anti-corruption Research Network made of CSOs and other institutions to research the cancer of corruption on the continent.

• Our weekly TV program ‘A Focus on the AU Anti-corruption Board’ will hopefully explore the issues of corruption in Africa with the AU and AUMS. Our Online radio and monthly magazine will regularly carry issues on corruption.

• By looking at a number of thematic areas, we aim to combat corruption by examining its effects across various areas from all areas of government and businesses; from bidding processes to its effects on the environment, and the like. We are developing indices and parameters to measure corruption across the whole range of activities.

• We intend to publish:
– Corruption Perceptions Index
– Regional Corruption Barometer
– Bribe Payers Index
– Regional Corruption Report
– Regional and country reports
– Policy positions
– Working papers
• We are also looking at developing a corruption costs index in co-operation with research institutions to accurately measure the real cost of corruption to societies and economies around the world, and use this as a tool in our fight against corruption.