Corruption and the future of the public service in Africa

Corruption is a formidable challenge to the public service in Africa. Corruption has not only eroded the public service's established principales such as merit, neutrality, equality, accountability and representativeness but also its legitimacy or public confidence. Against this background, this paper discusses the implications of continuing corruption on the future of the public service in Africa in the wake of democratisation and reform of the public sector. The paper is divided into four sections. The first section is devoted to the definition of corruption and its various forms. The second section discusses the causes of corruption and their effects on the African public service. The third section examines the measures that can be put in place to curb corruption in the public service. The last section highlights recommendations that could improve the efficacy of the measures aimed at controlling corruption vis-a-vis the future of the public service.