All 17 African countries assessed under the Government Defence Integrity Index have recorded high levels of systemic risk in their defence sectors, raising fresh concerns about accountability, transparency and oversight across the continent.
Speaking to journalists in Accra, Head of Research at Transparency International Defence and Security, Dr Michael Ofori Mensah, said the findings exposed significant institutional weaknesses, including inadequate anti-corruption training for personnel prior to deployment and persistent vulnerabilities in military procurement and contracting processes.
“Basically, we looked at 17 countries across sub-Saharan Africa. The findings, as you heard today, highlight some very, very serious and systemic risks. This includes issues such as the lack of adequate anti-corruption training prior to the troops being deployed.
“So what this translates into is simply that we stand a very high chance of corruption when troops are deployed and essentially also in terms of contracting troops in military operations.”
He also highlighted limited transparency in military expenditure as a major concern, warning that rising defence budgets across Africa must be matched by stronger oversight and accountability frameworks.
Dr Ofori Mensah explained that the Index does not measure corruption directly, but rather assesses political, financial and institutional risks that may expose defence sectors to corruption and governance failures.
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