As the world commemorates International Anti-Corruption Day today, The ONE Campaign and Accountability Lab are partnering with the continental pop giant, Trace Africa, to launch the 2019 Accountability Music Awards. The awards celebrate the African musicians using their voices to hold African governments accountable. For the next month, Africans can vote for their favourite song focused on the fight for less corrupt and more accountable governments. Trace Naija, Trace Urban and Trace Afrique will promote the contest on their platforms.

African citizens consistently place corruption amongst their top concerns, and report having lost faith in many key institutions, including legislatures, police, courts, and national electoral commissions. According to the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, corruption among government officials and bureaucracies has increased over the last decade. More than US$50 billion illicitly flows out of the continent every year according to a 2015 report by the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, led by former President Thabo Mbeki.

To rebuild citizen trust in governments and to enable citizens and governments to work together to build a better future, citizens must be able to track budgets and follow the money from resources to results. An independent media, citizens and appropriate judicial and legislative checks and balances must be able to hold leaders accountable.

The partnership aims to highlight the songs of musicians using their voices to shine a spotlight on the negative impacts that corruption and a lack of transparent and accountable government institutions have on our communities. Viewers can visit the Accountability Music Awards Website www.accountabilitymusicawards.org to vote for their favourite song.

ONE in Africa Interim Executive Director, Edwin Ikhouria said: “Corruption is a major obstacle to Africa’s growth and development, and contributes to high levels of poverty and instability on the continent. We are proud to partner with Accountability Lab and Trace Africa to highlight the courageous musicians raising their voices to bring about positive change in our communities.”

Blair Glencorse, Executive Director of Accountability Lab, said: “Traditional approaches to accountability and anti-corruption tend to focus on the perpetrators and the challenges which reinforce perceptions of wrong-doing. These awards fit with Accountability Lab’s approach to reframe these debates by focusing on artists who are advocating for positive social and political change through their music.”

-ENDS-

 NOTE TO EDITORS

For additional information about ONE Campaigns’ work on Transparency and Accountability and the Accountability Music Award, contact Tumba at [email protected]

About ONE

The ONE Campaign is a policy and advocacy organisation of more than 9 million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Not politically partisan, it raises public awareness and presses political leaders to combat AIDS and other preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and demand greater transparency in poverty-fighting programs.