Corruption and lack of accountability
When public money cannot be traced and citizens cannot follow how services are delivered, corruption grows unchecked. In the DRC, millions of dollars are lost every month.
In numbers
US$700M+of the US$962 million disbursed by donors for the Ebola response could not be traced to the organisations on the ground
Source: Africa CDC, October 2026US$33Ma month is reported lost to fraud, dumping and leakage of revenue at the borders of South Kivu
Source: Ministry of Foreign Trade, June 2026US$800,000a month is lost because taxes in South Kivu are collected by hand, in cash
Source: CERC estimateWhat are the main causes of the lack of accountability?
Oversight that is absent
Inspection services, courts and audit bodies are often absent, above all in the east: public money and posts can be diverted without anyone noticing.
Cash and paper
Taxes are still largely collected by hand, in cash and with paper receipts – the easiest money to divert.
Citizens without information
Parents’ committees (COPA) and health area development committees (CODESA) exist, but without information or real power, and providers have no incentive to improve.
Emergency funds without tracking
During the 17th Ebola epidemic, declared in May 2026, donors disbursed US$962 million – but more than US$700 million could not be traced. In 2020 a former health minister was convicted of embezzling Ebola funds.
How can we restore accountability?
Accountability grows when citizens can see, follow and report what happens to public money and public services. Students and parents use EduCheck to monitor their schools; patients use HealthCheck for their health centres; residents use GovCheck to report a problem to their city or commune; and the UNCAC Tracker follows how the DRC implements the UN Convention against Corruption.
We also call for taxes to be paid digitally and published, and for every dollar of reconstruction and emergency aid to be public and checked. And we hold ourselves to the same standard: every dollar CERC has received since 2017 is published, by donor and by project.
Without accountability, a heavy cost
Reconstruction without integrity brings war back. Without accountability, schools that were paid for are never built, medicines are diverted, and people lose trust in the State. The return of the State to the east is the moment to put accountability first.
How CERC responds
UNCAC implementation monitoring
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is working hard to advance the implementation and enforcement of provisions under both Chapter II (Preventive…
Institutional integrity building
CERC’s provides training and mentoring on building institutional integrity and anti-corruption helping local governments, ministries, agencies,…
Integrity Clubs in schools
Problems we are addressing: Corruption in education has a significant impact on the ability of young people to access future opportunities and…
Our financial accountability
All the funds CERC has received since 2017, by donor and project, and how they were spent – with filters by year, donor, project and type of expense.
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