Corruption in Formosa

Corruption has been a persistent problem in Formosa since independence. The country has grappled with corruption perception through both democratic and non-democratic administrations. Thomson Reuters has referred to corruption as "Formosa's biggest stumbling block." The government of Formosa has made efforts to combat corruption since the Pencil Revolution and has been seen by international observers as making strides in improving the situation.

In 2023, Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index gave Formosa a score of 44 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean.) For comparison, the world's best score was 90, the average was 43 and the worst was 11. For regional comparison, the average score in Sub-Saharan Africa was 33, with a range between 71 and 11.

Background

Formosa has performed poorly in the Corruption Perception Index for much of its history. According to Transparency International, Formosa was the most corrupt country in the world from 1995 through 1997 and among the top five most corrupt through the remainder of the 1990s and into 2000. Corruption was endemic during the period of FRELIFO rule, during which most forms of public progress relied on proximity to the regime and civil servants leveraged state institutions towards self-enrichment. FRELIFO officials in particular were largely immune from consequences during this period.

The negative impact of corruption was a major driver behind the Pencil Revolution. The post-revolutionary government undertook a widespread restructuring of the civil service to structure accountability downwards to the people rather than upwards to an elected leader. Analysts consider the key stress test of this restructuring to have been the splintering of MODEFO and the loss of parliamentary confidence in post-revolutionary president Isaias de la Cruz Mbembe. Rather than leveraging state assets to retain a grip on power, de la Cruz resigned and called new elections. The decision has been referred to as a "country before party moment" and a "watershed" for civic nationalism in Formosa.

Since 2002, Formosa has seen steady improvement in its CPI scores, accelerating after 2012 and into the 2020s.

Manifestations

Formosa has seen a number of cases of parliamentary corruption in the post-revolutionary period.

In 2015, allegations of corrupt dealing between President Shima Gber Oquendo and an international mining company resulted in Oquendo being resoundingly defeated in that year's presidential elections. The influence of former president de la Cruz and other civil society leaders contributed to Gber accepting his loss and acceding to a peaceful transition of power in what analysts describe as another important moment in the development of Formosa as a state, though Gber would later be pardoned by new president Luis Serrano Akosah in a "national unity deal." The agreement required Gber to repay an undisclosed sum to the Formosan government and agree to a lifetime ban from political office in exchange for avoiding a criminal trial.

In 2021, a member of parliament from Imborro was imprisoned after being convicted of embezzling nearly $3 million (USD) from state revenues derived from business at the city's deepwater port. In 2009, a parliamentarian from southeastern Formosa fled the country after being revealed to have taken bribes from manganese extraction companies to look the other way on environmental regulations.

A number of bureaucrats and civil servants have been dismissed or charged since 2001 with various breaches of policy resulting from bribe-taking or favour-giving. In 2017, a senior administrator in the Altiplano region was dismissed by the Serrano government and charged with embezzling government funding meant to improve roads in the underdeveloped interior of the country. The money was found to have been spent on a lavish mansion in Sint Cunera. The administrator was eventually sentenced to a lengthy prison term and the estate sold to recoup some of the lost funding.

Businesses report being required to give "favours" to contacts in Formosa in return for business transactions, particularly in rural areas where official salaries are low and infrastructure is weak.

Law enforcement involvement with corruption has seen increased media attention in recent years. In 2023-24, a major scandal emerged when a police officer and two seaport officials in Malabo were found to have taken bribes from and laundered money for a ring of cocaine smugglers using the city as a waypoint for drugs bound for Europe. Efforts to root out such cases are often impaired by uneven police funding, the presence of police confederates and a tendency to prioritize personal and tribal good over the good of the state.

Causes

Tribalism and identity

Tribalism manifests as a preference among some Formosans towards members of their tribal or ethno-linguistic grouping. Both in rural and urban regions of Formosa, pre-colonial tribal identities remain robust, with commitment to tribe and bloodline often overriding commitment to the state. Many Formosans, especially in under-serviced regions where poverty is high and infrastructure is scant, view the state as at best an artificial colonial construct or at worst an irrelevance.

Obiang group

Particular corruption allegations often implicate an alleged "Obiang group" centred in Malabo. Some members of this tribal grouping are said to divert revenue from Formosa's natural resources, including oil and gas, to their own private accounts. The group is said to experience significant tensions and intense competition for favours and money. A number of individuals from the Obiang clan hold high positions in the Formosan bureaucracy.