17 Sep 2018

 Participation of  the general public on fight against corruption is important because the battle needs a collaborative approach, Maun Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) public educator, Mr Thuto July has said.

Speaking at Maun Administrative Authority’s (MAA) audit and finance committees workshop in Maun recently, Mr July said corruption was an international epidemic that needed stakeholder collaboration.

Mr July said there was need for the general public to be aware of the factors that led to corruption and the indicators of corruption for them to take part in the fight against corruption.

He explained that it was important for the public to have knowledge that would enable them to diagnose all the loopholes of corruption, adding that the most concerning corruption with government officials was the abuse of public revenue.

He explained that  some government officials on trip would go around different hotels and lodges asking for wrong invoices saying sometimes they went to the extent of increasing the amount on invoices.

“Sometimes they drink alcohol with their imprest revenue, which is not allowed, and then ask the hotels to state in their invoices that they were drinking soft drinks. This can only be reduced when all are involved in the fight because if so, the hotels won’t get tempted to give out wrong invoices and that will reduce corruption,” he said.

He said they had realised that most people lived beyond their means, while some had close associations with suppliers saying these were the most indicators of corruptions that needed to be understood by the general public.

Mr July said they had introduced anti-corruption clubs in different villages, as well as spreading information on the fight against corruption on social media as a way of involving the public.

“We also circulate our messages through performing arts, so that everyone could understand what corruption is, and knowing their roles on how they could assist the government in this fight”, he said.

He however urged the public to work cooperatively with them to fight corruption adding that they should report all the cases of corruption.

Mr July explained that all who reported any corruption case should understand that they have highest confidentiality to protect them, saying the reporter has the choice to remain anonymous or say out his or her names.

For his part, the chairman of MAA finance committee, Councilor Toto Baganaletso of Moeti ward, acknowledged the efforts of DCEC office and assured them that they would be their ‘eyes and ears’ when at their respective communities.

Cllr Baganaletso said they are aware of the fact that there were officials that were abusing government revenues.

He said they would help the DCEC to spread the messages on the fight against crime to the public. 

He however advised DCEC to give the public feedback on any cases they reported to them such that the public could be able to see the results.

As the council, he said they also believe that could only conquer the fight against corruption with the engagement of all stakeholders.

"Giving feedback to the Public will encourage them to report more cases to you because they will be able to see the results and the way forward," he said.

The two-day workshop which was said to be eye opening by participants, was aimed at empowering the audit committee members on risk management, as well as share experiences and challenges faced by other audit committees and mitigation solutions. ENDS