A major Commonwealth conference this week set its aim to control and reduce corruption across Africa.
Hosted for the first time in South Africa, the 15th Commonwealth Regional Conference of Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies encouraged governments to tackle the root causes across the continent and stamp out the culture supporting corruption.
The conference brought together anti-corruption agencies in Commonwealth Africa, relevant international organisations, and partners to share and learn lessons in the fight against corruption.
Since 2011 the Commonwealth Secretariat and Commonwealth Africa Anti-Corruption Centre in Botswana has trained more than 7,000 staff from all 21 countries.
One of the issues discussed was the proposed International Anti-Corruption Court. Dr Roger Koranteng, Head of Public Sector Governance at the Commonwealth Secretariat, said:
“The proposed International Anti-Corruption Court is very important because we don’t have a way of dealing with politically-influential people in corruption. Corruption is being committed by the most powerful people in society, and domestic courts across member countries are not able to deal with this without risk. We need to have an international court for corruption.
“And we have a duty to ensure it has teeth. We need to bring together developed and developing countries, and every stakeholder in between, because corruption is a crime against humanity, stealing collective resources for own enrichment These resources are meant for people to secure livelihoods, education, health, and much more. The challenge before us, is how do we get everybody on board – it’s not going to be easy.”
A significant part of the Commonwealth’s work is to help member countries face up to corruption and tackle its destructive impact. This week’s conference offered an experience-sharing opportunity for all Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa to share innovative experiences and best practices to learn from each other.
Since the creation of the Association of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa in 2011, the Association has provided a unique platform for sharing emerging practices and country innovations in the fight against corruption and the promotion of good governance in Commonwealth Africa.
The Association has promoted collaboration and learning by brokering the exchange of best practices and helping to benchmark agencies’ capabilities, while also facilitating peer reviews and secondments between members.
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In closing the conference Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Hon. Mmamoloko Kubayi said the fight against corruption needed to cover all sectors of society, from banking, to business, academia and research institutions, community forums, the civil society and media.
Speaking on behalf of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Minister Kubayi said:
“We commend the Association of Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies of Commonwealth Africa for its commitment to sharing expertise, conducting joint investigations and providing mutual legal assistance.
“Over the last few years, South Africa has been working to build a strong, robust institutional framework for combating corruption. An important part of this work has been to build effective networks of cooperation between our institutions and with social partners.”
The conference is organised annually by the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Media contact
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Ben Maloney, Senior Communications Officer, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat
