Political Opportunism, Corruption and Under development in Africa

Abstract

Barely fi fty years after many African colonies gained their independence from the Europeans, every effort to develop in the continent has been constrained by the political opportunism and corruption of African leaders. This is happening at a time when many developing nations such as China, Brazil and India are making a strong macroeconomic impact on the global economy. This study found that the major determinant of  underdevelopment in Africa is political opportunism aggravated by massive corruption and looting of  government treasuries. While the effect of corruption on development has not shown clearly in the Corruption Perception Index of countries like Libya, Algeria and Tunisia, it has presented many African countries as low human development nations. This is evident in the Human Development Report of year 2013.