03 May 2018

Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Nonofo Molefhi says government is committed to the implementation of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which it ratified in June 2011. 

Speaking at a workshop on Botswana’s second review cycle of the UNCAC in Gaborone on May 2, Mr Molefhi emphasised that strong political will on the part of government had led to development of robust measures against corruption. 

He pointed that the second review cycle, which followed the one conducted in 2013, would enable reviewers to assess measures taken by Botswana in the implementation of the Convention as well as the difficulties she was encountering.

 “The second review cycle offers us as a country the opportunity to be assessed on anti-corruption strategies that have been adopted. 

Specifically, this review process focuses on the implementation of Chapter II on preventative measures and Chapter V on asset recovery on the UNCAC based on mechanism for the Review of Implementation of the Convention,” said the minister. 

He said measures taken against corruption in the past included establishment of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), and other strategic offices such as Directorate of Public Prosecutions, Finance Intelligence Agency, Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board, Office of the Receiver and the Competitions Authority. Such measures, he said were geared towards competitive, fair, transparent and clean business transactions. 

Mr Molefhi further added that the Corruption and Economic Crime (CEC) Act was amended in 2013 to close critical gaps and make the instrument compliant to the Convention. 

“Introduction of a new offence of Trading in Influence came into play and it is now fully criminalised under the amended CEC Act,” he said. 

DCEC director general, Mr Victor Paledi said government saw it fit to be signatory and party to the UNCAC as an all-inclusive instrument to developing a comprehensive response to the global problem of corruption. 

Mr Paledi said the second review cycle offered reviewers an opportunity to assess Botswana’s anti-corruption and prevention strategies and would put Botswana in a better position to know how its standing in implementation of the Convention. 

He said commendable efforts and best practices picked from the first review process included the specialised anti-corruption units in specific government offices, the cross country regional presence of DCEC and the specific allocation of a specialised court to handle corruption matters from the DCEC. 

Reviewers from Sri Lanka and Guinea, DCEC senior management, executives from parastatals, private and civil society organisations as well as UN Office on Drugs and Crime secretariat attended the workshop. ENDS