Ending corruption

What is corruption?

Transparency International defines corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo it takes many forms: bribes demanded at school or at the health centre, fictitious teachers on the payroll, public money diverted from building projects, illegal taxes at checkpoints, and sexual corruption, including “sex for grades”.

With a score of 20/100 in the Corruption Perceptions Index, the DRC is among the countries perceived as most corrupt. The Centre de Recherche sur l’Anti-Corruption (CERC) works with young people, communities and institutions to change this, school by school and service by service.

Corruption in numbers

20/100The DRC’s score in the Corruption Perceptions Index: 163rd of 182 countries

Source: Transparency International, CPI 2025

59%of parents say they had to pay a bribe at school

Source: CERC, Strategy 2027–2030

25%of the teachers’ payroll concerned unpaid or fictitious teachers in 2020

Source: CERC, Strategy 2027–2030

What causes corruption?

Corruption thrives where controls are weak. In much of the country, and above all in the east, inspection services, courts and audit bodies are often absent: public money and posts can be diverted without anyone noticing.

Taxes are still largely collected by hand, in cash and with paper receipts. Parents’ committees (COPA) and health area development committees (CODESA) exist, but without information or real power. And years of conflict have weakened the State where it should be serving people.

What are the effects of corruption?

Corruption is paid for by the people who can least afford it. Despite free primary education, households pay over 75% of education spending. Only 13% of secondary schools in South Kivu have water, and 18% have separate toilets. In health, 74% of people live more than five kilometres from a health centre, and patients pay official and unofficial fees to cover wages and running costs.

Girls suffer most, from schools that are not adapted to them to sexual violence. And in a vicious cycle, corruption destroys trust in the State – and that anger feeds the armed groups.

How CERC tackles corruption: cause by cause

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…

Institutional integrity building

CERC’s provides training and mentoring on building institutional integrity and anti-corruption helping local governments, ministries, agencies,…

Rule of law and access to justice

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the justice sector institutions lack the capacity and independence to advance its own reform and provide…

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…

Countering human trafficking (UNTOC)

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the number of victims of human trafficking is estimated at more than one million, most of them victims…

Countering transnational organised crime

In eastern Congo, organised crime and corruption feed each other: armed groups tax trade and travellers, goods cross the borders without paying…

Our results since 2017

204Integrity Clubs in secondary schools of South Kivu and Kinshasa

3,060young monitors trained since 2017

33%of the problems identified fixed thanks to student advocacy

Our impact