26 Feb 2013

The Vice President, Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe, says launching of the Commonwealth Africa Anti-corruption Centre represents a new chapter for fighting corruption in Africa. 

Officially launching the centre yesterday, Dr Kedikilwe said, “our continent has and is still suffering from a deadly disease in the name of corruption.  For us as a Commonwealth, countries of Africa have a special responsibility to take the fight against corruption to another level”.

The government and the Commonwealth have made an arrangement through which  Botswana will  house a Commonwealth Africa Anti-corruption Centre, where all anti- corruption training initiatives for Commonwealth countries in Africa will take place.

 Dr Kedikilwe said the world had become a global village and when one country was infested with corruption, the problem was bound to spill over to other countries doing business with it. He described launch of the anti-corruption centre as a milestone in the development of Botswana as a country alongside its trade partners under the auspices of Commonwealth.

He noted that the establishment of the centre reaffirmed the initiative from the Commonwealth to be committed to the fight against any form of corruption.

Dr Kedikilwe, who explained that corruption was a common enemy to all nations, said government was conscious of the benefits of promoting the fight against it.

“It is imperative that our countries unite to fight this common enemy. No country can singularly fight corruption and succeed. Strength will be found in numbers and collectively in the prestigious Commonwealth Africa Anti-corruption Centre,” he stressed.

Under the arrangement, the Commonwealth secretariat wiould provide a technical expert who will provide the crucial professional expertise needed for the centre to operate successfully. Botswana on the other hand would provide the secretariat and training facilities through the DCEC.

Dr Kedikilwe said Botswana would benefit because officers from local oversight bodies will receive training from the centre. He added that it was fitting that the country was chosen to host the centre since it was rated the least corrupt in Africa in 2011.

The Commonwealth deputy secretary general, Ms Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba encouraged African governments to root out systematic corruption such as extortion and bribery because it undermined good governance and economic development.

“Corruption has many faces, from the backhanders received by petty officials to the contracts granted to friends and relatives, from international trade deals which favour the political elite, to the systemic abuse of power for personal wealth,” she said.

She explained that Commonwealth heads of government had consistently condemned corruption in all its forms. “For every percentage of the GDP lost to corrupt practice, the economic and social development of a nation suffers.”

In his closing remarks, Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi described the launch as historic, adding that it confirmed that the world could benefit through collaborative efforts in fighting corruption.

Minister Masisi stressed that government would give DCEC the necessary support to ensure that the project succeeds.

“It will certainly become a centre of excellence,” he stressed. ENDS