Most chief executive officers running companies in African countries are concerned about high levels of corruption on the continent.
This was revealed by the Pricewaterhouse Coopers' Africa Business Agenda report released yesterday, which showed that 86% of African CEOs were worried about corruption compared to 55% of their global counterparts.
PwC Southern Africa chief executive Dion Shango said Africa had a legacy of bribery and corruption. He said the continent was regarded as more notorious than other continents.
"While bribery and corruption was coming down in Africa it has a tendency to rear its ugly head," said Shango in Sandton yesterday, after the launch of the report which interviewed chief executives of 156 companies across 15 African countries.
Shango said the private sector needed to tackle corruption by refusing to be involved in it when the opportunity presented itself.
The study also found that:
- 84% of African CEOs were concerned about the increasing tax burden on their organisations;
- 92% were worried about exchange rate volatility;
- 79% believed developing a skilled, educated and adaptable workforce should be a priority for business; and
- 65% were concerned about the lack of trust in business;
"They are also worried about transparency and the impact of tax on their organisations' reputations.
"Overall, business leaders believed an effective and stable tax system would be more beneficial to their organisations than reducing tax rates," reads the report.
PwC Africa CEO Hein Boegman said though African countries faced many issues, company leaders should do their best to focus on the positives and the role their companies play to solve some of the problems.
"The global financial and economic crisis has revealed Africa's vulnerability to a number of external economic shocks," said Boegman.
"These include the decline in commodity prices fueled by the economic slowdown in China; a marked decline in the demand for commodities; and the collapse in value of the emerging market currencies against the US-dollar in anticipation of an interest hike," he said.
He said companies that wanted to invest in African countries would not reap rewards overnight, but their chances of succeeding in making big profits would materialise only if they invested for the long haul.
'Corruption in Africa too high'
Most chief executive officers running companies in African countries are concerned about high levels of corruption on the continent.
This was revealed by the Pricewaterhouse Coopers' Africa Business Agenda report released yesterday, which showed that 86% of African CEOs were worried about corruption compared to 55% of their global counterparts.
PwC Southern Africa chief executive Dion Shango said Africa had a legacy of bribery and corruption. He said the continent was regarded as more notorious than other continents.
"While bribery and corruption was coming down in Africa it has a tendency to rear its ugly head," said Shango in Sandton yesterday, after the launch of the report which interviewed chief executives of 156 companies across 15 African countries.
Shango said the private sector needed to tackle corruption by refusing to be involved in it when the opportunity presented itself.
The study also found that:
- 84% of African CEOs were concerned about the increasing tax burden on their organisations;
- 92% were worried about exchange rate volatility;
- 79% believed developing a skilled, educated and adaptable workforce should be a priority for business; and
- 65% were concerned about the lack of trust in business;
"They are also worried about transparency and the impact of tax on their organisations' reputations.
"Overall, business leaders believed an effective and stable tax system would be more beneficial to their organisations than reducing tax rates," reads the report.
PwC Africa CEO Hein Boegman said though African countries faced many issues, company leaders should do their best to focus on the positives and the role their companies play to solve some of the problems.
"The global financial and economic crisis has revealed Africa's vulnerability to a number of external economic shocks," said Boegman.
"These include the decline in commodity prices fueled by the economic slowdown in China; a marked decline in the demand for commodities; and the collapse in value of the emerging market currencies against the US-dollar in anticipation of an interest hike," he said.
He said companies that wanted to invest in African countries would not reap rewards overnight, but their chances of succeeding in making big profits would materialise only if they invested for the long haul.
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