—- Celebrate Africa Anti-Corruption Day
IPNEWS: Rueben Lifuka, the vice-chair of Transparency International, says the African region is in a critical moment for fighting corruption.
Lifuka stated that if corruption is not addressed urgently, it will block efforts to rebuild after the devastating pandemic and the region’s hopes of charting a path to a stronger future. Fairly and transparently managing large-scale COVID-19 recovery funds and preventing billions of dollars from illegally exiting the region through illicit means should be top issues for all leaders. On this Africa Anti-Corruption Day, we need the AU and governments of African states to heed the experts and action strong, decisive anti-corruption reforms.”
Speaking on Africa Anti-Corruption Day, 28 Transparency International chapters across Africa sent an open letter to the leaders of the African Union (AU), reminding them of their anti-corruption commitments and urging additional measures as a matter of urgency.
The organizations highlighted their concern over the region’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely affected the livelihoods of all African citizens and deepened inequalities. Extensive funds are needed to reverse these effects, but corruption threatens to divert money away from important areas like health care and food. These organizations are therefore calling for states to open up procurement information, and sanction and prosecute any abuses of COVID-19 recovery funds.
The letter also recognizes that tens of billions of dollars leave Africa every year in illicit funds, which is money that could be plowed into essential public services for its people. It calls on leaders to accelerate strategies to combat these illicit financial flows and roll out reforms such as “know your customer” requirements and an end to secretive company structures.
While the near-universal ratification by African States of the AU Convention on Preventing and Combatting Corruption is commendable, the letter calls attention to the poor translation of this into action at the national level.
