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C ommo nwe a l t h A f r i c a A n t i -C o r r u p t i o n C e n t r e , i t s r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s a n d p r o s p e c t s to corruption related issues. This in-country anti-corruption project started off in African Commonwealth countries – Botswana, Zambia, Ghana, Lesotho, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Seychelles, South Africa, etc. – before expanding to the Caribbean region – Dominica, St Lucia, Grenada and St Vincent – and to Sri Lanka and Malaysia in Asia. The Association of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa Following years of in-country work implementing national anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) across the Commonwealth, particularly in Africa, a decision was made in 2011 to bring all heads of ACAs in Commonwealth Africa to a conference in Botswana. A direct result or outcome of the first conference was the creation of a practitioners’ network of heads of ACAs in Commonwealth Africa, now known as the Association of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa. Institutionalisation of an annual peer review conference The conference sought to broker the exchange of ideas and practices among Commonwealth ACAs and to encourage the sharing of expertise in areas where they have a comparative advantage. The host and venue for the heads of ACAs annual conference rotate among member countries. This led to the institutionalisation of an annual peer review conference/meeting of the heads of agencies – the 2011 conference was held in Botswana, 2012 in Zambia and 2013 in Mauritius – where heads of ACAs reviewed country presentations and shared transferable experiences through South-South co-operation and peer learning. Secretariat to co-ordinate the affairs of the association The second conference for heads of ACAs in Commonwealth Africa was held in May 2012 in Livingstone, Zambia. The conference informed the heads of the need for a secretariat to co-ordinate the affairs of the association. The heads were invited to confer with their respective governments to consider the possibility of sponsoring and hosting the association’s secretariat. The Botswana Government offered a proposal to host the Commonwealth ACAs secretariat in Gaborone. From secretariat to centre Having received Botswana’s concrete offer to host the secretariat for the Association of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa, it was decided to change the concept of a secretariat to a centre – naming it the Commonwealth Africa Anti-Corruption Centre (CAACC) – mindful that centre functions are more encompassing than that of a secretariat. An anti-corruption centre undertakes a hive of anti-corruption activities. Launching the CAACC In February 2013, the Vice President of Botswana, Dr Ponatshego H. K. Kedikilwe, and Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Masire-Mwamba jointly commissioned the CAACC, culminating in the signing of an agreement document to operationalise the centre on 25 February 2013. About 200 high commissioners, ministers, MPs, judges and senior government officials from Botswana as well as heads of ACAs and anti-corruption officials from Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2013/14 61 Meeting of the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM), October 2013 Commonwealth Secretariat


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