Commonwealth Africa Anti-Corruption Centre, its responsibilities and prospects Dr Roger Koranteng Our continent has and is still suffering from the deadly disease of corruption. For us as a Commonwealth, the countries of Africa have a special responsibility to take the fight against corruption to another level... It is imperative that our countries unite to fight this common enemy. No country can singularly fight corruption and succeed. Strength will be found collectively in the prestigious CAACC we are gathered here to launch. Vice President of Botswana, Dr Ponatshego H. K. Kedikilwe, MP Introduction Corruption is a pervasive problem in both the developed and developing world. In Africa, issues around corruption have plagued the continent, leading to stunted development, weak institutions, lack of investment and a general attitude of mistrust towards governance and its institutions. Improvement in current levels of corruption requires strengthening of anti-corruption institutions. Strong regional support for strengthening oversight institutions like anti-corruption agencies is sine qua non. Commonwealth member countries are generally doing comparatively better than their global counterparts; this is believed to be largely due to the shared Commonwealth tradition of democracy, common law and public administration. Recent assessment of the leadership capabilities of African heads of governments found that eight of the ten top leaders are Commonwealth countries and none of the 19 Commonwealth leaders were rated in the lowest quartile of the 52 African countries assessed. Nine of the ten most peaceful were Commonwealth countries, headed by Botswana. Aside from quality leaders, Commonwealth governments are generally more effective and have a more consistent rule of law compared to non-Commonwealth countries and out of 47 countries in the world classified as ‘not free’, only four are Commonwealth countries. Very few Commonwealth countries are rated by major international development institutions as fragile, and the record of Commonwealth countries with regard to corruption is generally good. Only four of the Commonwealth countries appear at the bottom according to Transparency International’s corruption perception index, because amongst Commonwealth members, there is no room for complacency when it comes to corruption. The above notwithstanding, many developing African countries, whose public sectors are hampered by corruption, poor management and inadequate public services, have made little or no progress towards achievement of the MDG’s. This underscores why the Commonwealth facilitates co-operation and building of an anti-corruption agencies’ association in Africa that can ensure an effective public administrative, responsive and efficient corruption-free public service. A central part of the Commonwealth’s endeavours is to help member countries face up to corruption and tackle its destructive impact. Fighting corruption in Commonwealth Africa will also help in fighting poverty and make an important contribution for developing and delivering the MDG’s. In doing this, the Commonwealth Secretariat helps to make the vision of international development a reality. It is worthy of note that the Commonwealth is ideally placed in its strategic efforts to foster genuine partnerships between all member states. Its effectiveness is built upon the ‘ownership’ by its members, and the trust and confidence that member countries have in the Commonwealth Secretariat to work on this important agenda for the Commonwealth countries in Africa. Commonwealth response to corruption The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) mandate in 2005 obliges the Commonwealth Secretariat to support member states to develop and adopt measures and strategies to combat corruption and improve governance (CHOGM mandate, 2005). To this end, the Commonwealth Secretariat prioritised anti-corruption work to strengthen good governance through reduction in corruption, thereby promoting accountability and integrity in the Commonwealth. An anti-corruption project was developed by the Governance and Institutional Development Division in 2008 to assist countries in implementing their national anti-corruption policies by mobilising all key institutions and other stakeholders involved in monitoring, detecting and responding Commonwealth Governance 60 Handbook 2013/14
CGH13_ebook
To see the actual publication please follow the link above