17 Feb 2013

Corruption continues to be one of the greatest factors of poverty and under development. Most developing countries continue to grapple with the debilitating effects of corruption and the fight against it and Botswana is no exception.

To that effect, the Botswana Confederation of Commerce, Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM) has put up measures to out-root corruption and would like to see it exterminated.

Thus, last Thursday BOCCIM, launched ABM University College's code of conduct for the private sector and other members of BOCCIM are also expected to become signatories.

BOCCIM business development services director, Mrs Zoe Isaacs said signing the code would give businesses operational standards.

“These standards will also allow BOCCIM to remove a member who is found corrupt and does not abide by the code of conduct,” she said.

The code of conduct for the private sector represents commitments voluntarily made by companies, associations and other entities which contain standards and principles for the conduct of business activities in the market place.

It aims at providing a podium for the private sector to fit into place on anti-corruption initiatives. It addresses such things as business ethics, conflict of interest, customer service, political interference and employee relation.

The essence of the code is to guide private sector directors, managers and employees away from situations where their personal integrity could be compromised and the name of their business brought into disrepute.

However, Mrs Isaacs regretted that only 20 companies out of a 2000 BOCCIM membership have signed. That, she said was because BOCCIM has not done enough in selling the code to ensure that companies sign.

Nevertheless, she said BOCCIM was devising means of getting the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) to enforce the code as one of the requirements for tendering processes.

“This is a challenge as PPADB has its own code, but if it could be made a requirement, it will ensure that the tendering process is corruption free,” she said.

Formulation of the code was derived from a Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) initiative on corruption mandated by Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOG) who accepted the analysis that corruption puts a serious impediment on investment, undermines growth and poverty reduction.

 CHOG then called on business and government to work together to remedy the situation Already, 10 countries have signed for this initiative; Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

Mrs Isaacs said after Botswana signed, she came up with a code of conduct for the private sector called business action against corruption, which deals with protection of shareholder value, responsibility to community and penalty for non-compliance.

Meanwhile, corporate ethics are said to be important for any business setting as they ensure businesses live by principles of their ethics.

Thus, businesses have been encouraged to have a framework of dealing with ethical issues that are unique to their organisation as well as to promote a corporate identity of their firms. ENDS