04 Jul 2018

The African Union (AU) has been asked to institute a tangible roadmap to aid progress review of the organisations’ undertakings in an effort to fight corruption.

Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation Dr Unity Dow made the call at the 31st AU summit held in Nouakchott, Mauritania recently.

The summit was held July 1-2 under the theme: “Winning the fight against corruption: A sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation.”

Dr Dow stressed the importance of peer-review among nations on anti-corruption matters.

“It will also be beneficial to consider creating a mechanism through which member states may seek assistance, submit solutions and share best practices in the fight against this scourge, while collectively monitoring emerging trends in corruption,” she said.

Dr Dow urged AU member states to continue seeking new innovative solutions in the fight against corruption in Africa as the current global community and criminal syndicates know no borders due to technological advancements.

In this regard, she said, Botswana had taken a deliberate approach to proactively reinforce her legal and institutional frameworks on a regular basis to ensure that there was continuous improvement in the fight against corruption.

Botswana recognised civil society as an integral part of the pillars of a nation’s integrity system, the mainstay of good governance, she said.

In addition Dr Dow said Botswana promulgated into law the Whistle Blowing Act of 2016 which empowers and protects members of the public who speak up when they witness or suspect wrong doing.

“We are also at an advanced stage of passing into law the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Bill. This is expected to enhance transparency and encourage accountability by all who have the public mandate,” she said.

Dr Dow also said in Botswana every ministry was assessed and reviewed on its interventions with regards to anti-corruption initiatives to ensure checks and balances were infused within the ethics and integrity tenets of the institutions, curricula, policies as well as legislation to make this part of the country’s identity.

She however said despite the country’s modest achievements, there were still challenges including lack of transparency in some situations, conflict of interest and nepotism, social acceptance of corruption, which she said remained high, especially by those engaged in business.

Therefore, she said it was compelling that AU members should seek to promote and strengthen coordinated and collaborative measures among themselves geared towards the attainment of effective engagement in the fight against corruption.

Other issues discussed at the summit include state of peace and security in the continent, African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) and implementation of the African Union Institutional Reforms.

The summit also adopted the 2019 budget and discussed health issues including the fight against HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria.

The assembly also discussed peace and security in Lesotho, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia and Libya. ENDS