The COMESA Business Council has revealed that Africa loses about US$15 Billion annually due to corruption.
COMESA Business Council Chief Executive Officer Sandra Uwera said Internal fraud by employees or intermediaries in terms of stolen cash, assets, inventory or information theft in companies, cost them as high as 10 percent of their annual turnover.
Ms. Uwera said most businesses do not have sufficient systems in place to detect such activities, hence the significance of a Compliance program to be put in place.
She was speaking when she officially opened the corruption compliance training workshop for 60 Zambian entrepreneurs at hotel intercontinental.
Ms. Uwera said inefficient and corrupt systems have also affected foreign investors, property rights which are not accurately protected nor enforced.
She says the cost of corruption is very high and can become an excessive cost on productivity and has an adverse effect on the growth of enterprises.
The Training being held under the theme “Towards strengthening business integrity for SMEs in COMESA” is being held in partnership with the US Centre for International Private Enterprise, Bankers Association of Zambia, the Zambia Association of Manufacturers and the Zambia Bureau of Standards.
Makes very sad reading.
The reality is the figure is much higher now that our very own leaders have mastered the art of being corrupt.
Efforts should be made to trace the money that gets stolen and culprits jailed.
Let us start by removing immunity clauses for ex presidents.
Excessive red tape and delays in getting paperwork done is the main cause of corruption. If you were able to have your title deeds, vehicle registration, driving license, passport etc etc done in a fast orderly manner without having to visit the same office 20 times or more just to have something done which is within your rights this then breeds corruption and African need to wake up to this, we copy and paste systems and policies from developed nations which have efficient systems and expect them to work here? No donor will tell you this because they the donors are really sadistic and enjoy the suffering of us the stu.pid Africans.
With Zambia accounting for over U$D 13.5 billion