Donations, credits and emergency funds; emergency purchases, extraordinary aid and budget modifications. The exceptional nature of the covid-19 epidemic suspends many of the mechanisms designed to guarantee the transparency of public accounts. In this case, the troubled river favors the profit of the embezzlers. For this reason, an organization called the African Filtering Protection Platform (PPLAAF for its French acronym) has once again launched a wake-up call to protect alerters, that is, those citizens who in their jobs may witness corruption. or any other type of irregularities of the Administration and they have to know that the mechanisms exist to make them public with security.
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For those responsible for this organization that has supported information leaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Algeria, South Africa or Angola, among other countries, the new coronavirus pandemic generates a kind of perfect storm for corruption. On the one hand, the opacity in economic operations, from collection to spending. On the other hand, the accumulation of powers in the hands of presidents under states of emergency and similar formulas. And, finally, an interested interpretation of patriotism that makes things very difficult for a critical civil society.
"The response is perceived as an act of anti-patriotism," says Fadel Barro, a veteran activist and current PPLAAF coordinator in West Africa, "and it is true that in this situation it is very difficult to organize criticism. But you have to adapt, there is always a space to carry out the work of the alerters and, precisely, now is when we need the most, at the moment when everything is organized so that there is no transparency, so that there is total opacity. ” The shadow of suspicion did not take long to spread over exceptional measures in different countries.
In Senegal, opposition, some media and citizen activists drew attention to the rice purchase scandal under Force covid-19, the government's emergency aid program that included food aid for families. Several of the acquisition contracts valued at more than 18,000 million CFA francs (about 27.23 million euros) have opened the gap of doubt. In Gabon, the arrival of the donation of Chinese tycoon Jack Ma and the order for medical supplies carried out by the state have been mixed in a confusing dance of dates and numbers, generating considerable discomfort in the networks. In Zimbabwe, the government claimed to have spent $ 1 million on protective materials in early May. The bill included 5,040 masks paid at $ 28 a unit. Some media warned of the link between the winning company and the president's son, although the government denied any relationship and took the opportunity to send a message to journalists. In the Republic of Guinea, amid a climate rarefied by political confrontation, President Alpha Condé has announced confusing selective donations of medical supplies and food.
"In countries where the separation of powers is a mirage or where the state is weak and the counterpowers are poorly structured, there is a real risk of diversion of funds," warns Henri Thulliez, director of the protection organization for alerters. “The mobilization of funds from economic elites to fight the pandemic is to be appreciated, especially in some West African countries. But it is necessary to be able to demand from the governments total transparency in the management of this collective contribution, ”claims this lawyer. The warning of the person in charge of PPLAAF is forceful: "The resources obtained to fight the epidemic are more likely to be diverted or misused in countries where corruption is a more serious threat."
In countries where the separation of powers is a mirage or where the state is weak and the counterpowers are poorly structured, there is a real risk of diversion of funds
Thulliez cautions that the threat to fundamental rights and increased corruption in the current situation is not unique to the African continent. “The conditions that are occurring now are conducive to irregularities across the world. When fear prevails in the media and in public opinion, and the urgency is constant in political decisions, citizens must be especially vigilant to preserve the rule of law. During this global confinement, restrictive measures of rights have been taken in the face of general indifference, and even freedoms of political contestation, such as that of demonstration, have been limited. The more power is concentrated in the hands of a few, the more vigilant citizens must be, "Thulliez warns.
For his part, Fadel Barro reinforces that perception from Senegal: “All powers are alike. Whether here in the poor countries or those that are often labeled as undemocratic, but also in the apparently democratic rich countries, we find that those in power try to take advantage of the state of alarm to restrict freedoms. It is not a problem of poor or undemocratic countries, but of restrictions on freedoms organized by the powers that take advantage of the crisis to make things happen that under normal conditions would not happen. ” The veteran activist, who was one of the founders and coordinator of Y'en a Marre, one of the most respected citizen movements on the continent, recalls that "democracy is a permanent conquest, it is never guaranteed, it is not a definitive acquired right, we always have to be on the lookout, vigilant, combative, in any situation and in any country ”. "Those who are at the head of the institutions are human, and if there is no strong citizen control, they tend to make decisions that may not be in accordance with the general interest," he says.
For Barro, the combination of alert launchers and civil society activists is essential to preserve democratic quality: “We are always potentially in conflict with organized powers. We have to continue doing the work of investigation, of pressure, of information, so that public opinion understands what is happening. It does not matter whether it is in times of crisis, in a poor country or in a rich, democratic or undemocratic country. In countries where democracy is not strong, public opinion is weak and the work is more difficult, because in addition to restrictions, there is terrible repression against activists and alerters. But in these countries you have to redouble your courage, be creative to continue doing that necessary control work and to adapt to those conditions. ”
At PPLAAF they are well aware of the importance of ensuring the security of witnesses to acts of corruption. They have accompanied those responsible for the leaks that shook the Jacob Zuma regime in South Africa before he was displaced from the presidency by corruption scandals; they have covered the bank employees who uncovered cases of embezzlement in the environment of the former Congolese president Joseph Kabila; and more recently they have been at the origin of the Luanda Leaks , a massive leak of documents that alerted to the opaque origin and I suspect a part of the fortune of the richest woman in Africa, Isabel Dos Santos.
The threat of the current situation on fundamental rights and the increase in corruption is not unique to the African continent
"To reduce the risk of embezzlement or attacks on fundamental freedoms, we must demand that our leaders control citizen mechanisms," says Thulliez, who refers to both the use of personal data from anti-epidemic applications and the management of special funds. But also remember that it is necessary to guarantee the reporting mechanisms, the figure and the role of the filtering devices. “Alerters must be able to contribute to clarifying the truth while being protected. States must adopt laws that give alerters legal protection. The more they can reveal illegal activities or activities contrary to the general interest while being safe from retaliation, the decision makers will know less unpunished due to the possibilities of disclosures, ”demands this French lawyer.
The PPLAAF coordinator in West Africa recalls that at this moment of exception “alert launchers are especially necessary, in a context in which it is difficult to organize public meetings, demonstrations or meetings to denounce due to the rules of social distancing” imposed by measures against covid-19. For this reason, for Fadel Barro at this moment, more than ever, the organization's strategy prevails in the region that it coordinates: “Civil society actors need to speak better. Everyone does a great job in their field, but I think we need to network. We are trying to put alert launchers together. A strong community defends its members much better than when we are isolated. We need to continue to get together to be more effective and move forward because individually we are weak. We intend to create strong networks, both for public denunciation, as well as for pressure, or to improve the legal framework and to form opinion. If public opinion is strong, if it is well informed of what is happening, it is capable of organizing itself and becoming a citizen wall against the bad government, against corruption, against the diversion of public goods. "
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