Niger forms anti-corruption body

Following concerns that widespread corruption was discouraging investors, an anti-corruption body aimed at stepping up the fight against graft has been created in the uranium rich West African nation of Niger.

The new body [the High Authority to Combat Corruption] will be tasked with "centralizing and processing complaints and information it receives relating to corruption," AFP quoted a government statement as saying. Anti-graft watchdog Transparency International's latest index of global corruption shows Niger ranking 123rd of 178 countries. President Mahamadou Issoufou is said to have taken a tough stance on corruption with his government promising to investigate how $186 million were reportedly siphoned from the state's treasury under former president Mamadou Tandja. Tandja was ousted in a February 2010 military coup after he amended the constitution to extend his rule. He had being in power for 11 years before his ouster which then paved the way for this year's elections. A month after his election in April, President Mahamadou Issoufou created a corruption hotline through the ministry of justice for citizens to report cases of suspected graft. For the first time, the new government revealed a case of embezzlement involving $3.3 million. That was in June. The budget minister and two other senior officials were sacked following the revelation.