The member countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on Friday agreed to strengthen the mechanisms for the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption at regional level.
The Regional Conference on fighting Corruption, which took place in Luanda from 29 May to 2 June, approved a common roadmap containing a list of commitments in thematic areas identified as priorities for the SADC region, such as national and regional coordination and contracting public, to ensure a comprehensive approach to these issues.
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The event, opened by the Angola’s Minister of Justice and Human Rights, on behalf of President João Lourenço, emphasized the need for dialogue and joint action between Governments and civil society in preventing and arresting corruption.
The conference, organized by the Government of Angola and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), discussed the opportunities and challenges of fighting corruption through a strong regional integrated approach.
The holding of the Conference resulted from the recognition of the urgent need to develop coordinated actions and cooperation within the scope of SADC, for prevention, as a global challenge that negatively affects economic development, social justice and political stability.
The chairman of the SADC Anti-Corruption Commission, Paul Sinowa, made it known that the results of this conference demonstrate that the region is on a very positive path in terms of combating corruption.
“We will build momentum and make SADC a model for other regions around the world in terms of fighting corruption. From now on, we will improve and ensure that we close all the possibilities where corruption is penetrating”, he stressed.
He assured that the SADC secretariat will forward the recommendations of the conference to the member states, to be incorporated into anti-corruption programs at the regional level and, at the same time, ensure that they deserve special attention in their implementation.
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On the other hand, the Secretary for Legal Affairs of the President of the Republic, Edílson Agostino, encouraged the SADC national delegations to observe the necessary procedures, in order to ensure the materialization of the documents produced at the conference.
More than 100 delegates from SADC countries, UNODC and partner organizations attend the event.
