Anti-corruption agency chiefs from across Africa have called for greater collaboration and knowledge sharing between governments, civil society and business in a bid to crack down on corruption.
Anti-corruption agency chiefs from across Africa have called for greater collaboration and knowledge sharing between governments, civil society and business in a bid to crack down on corruption.
The 6th Commonwealth Africa Regional Meeting for Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies, convened by the Commonwealth Secretariat in Namibia, saw the agency heads share best practices and innovations to bolster good governance on the continent.
“Corruption is a governance issue and thus no effort should be spared to fight corruption,” said Paulus Noa, Director-General of Namibia’s Anti-Corruption Commission, which hosted the meeting.
The annual conference is a forum for anti-corruption agencies in the 18 Commonwealth member countries in Africa, as they fight corruption in all its forms including fraud, bribery, embezzlement and theft.
Africa loses around US$148 billion a year through corruption, according to the OECD, amounting to 20 percent of Africa's cumulative GDP.
The theme of the conference was ‘Partner Exchanges and Peer-to-Peer Engagements in the Fight Against Corruption’.
“The Commonwealth Secretariat must once again be commended for organising such a conference for anti-corruption agencies to discuss strategies for strengthening the fight against corruption on the African continent,” Mr Noa said, adding that the meeting had been “informative, insightful and highly constructive”.
Roger Koranteng, Governance and Anti-Corruption Adviser at the Commonwealth Secretariat, said: “It is time to step up efforts to combat corruption in Africa. It is only through a concerted, coordinated and collaborative effort that we can end the menace of corruption in Africa and enrich the continent’s hard-working people.
One of the participants, Gerhard Visagie from South Africa’s Special Investigations Unit, commented: “Despite national borders, we are all children of the same soil. As brothers and sisters at heart, we all have a common enemy in the form of corruption. Only by holding hands together and sharing our experiences and successes can this scourge of corruption be tackled head-on. The spirit of the conference shows a common understanding of this need and a commitment to make our continent a better place for its people.”
Rose Seretse, Director-General of Botswana’s Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime, said: “The conference was excellent and provided us with opportunities to share experiences.”
The meeting follows the Tackling Corruption Together conference in London, which brought together global anti-corruption leaders from civil society, business and government on Wednesday 11 May 2016.
The Commonwealth Secretariat first brought together the heads of African national anti-corruption agencies in 2011 to establish the Association of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa.
Find out more: thecommonwealth.org/tacklingcorruption
