Young people are most exposed to and hardest hit by corruption in Africa. Corruption remains a major obstacle to the continent’s social, political and economic transformation, and the causal relationship between corruption and instability is particularly worrying for African states. This
policy brief argues that to reverse the corruption trend, it is imperative for the African Union,
member states and their anti-corruption agencies meaningfully involve the youth in the anti corruption agenda. This policy brief demonstrates that corruption in Africa is pervasive and denies the youth their rights and opportunities. It denies them access to employment and education. Rampant bureaucratic corruption frustrates their endeavours to be self-reliant. Succeeding in the fight against corruption ultimately requires the presence of some fundamentals, for example respect for the rule of law irrespective of social or political status, institutional independence of anti-corruption agencies, media freedom, an independent judiciary and political will to fight corruption.
