International Conference on Institutions, Culture and Corruption in Africa Consultation Mechanism
OPENING SPEECH by Mrs. Lalla Ben Barka, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
13 October 2008 Addis Ababa , Ethiopia
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Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
The Executive Secretary of CODESRIA,
Partner Institutions,
Scholars and policy intellectuals here gathered,
Colleagues at the ECA,
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to Addis Ababa for this very important conference.
The Executive Secretary of ECA, Mr. Abdoulie Janneh would have loved to be here personally to grace this occasion, but other pressing official commitments necessitated his traveling outside Addis.
He sends his apologies and sincere greetings to you all.
This conference is extremely important to us at the ECA for three main reasons.
First, it is one of the events marking the 50 th Anniversary celebrations of the institution.
ECA was established in 1958 to facilitate the process of socio-economic development in Africa . We have relentlessly in the last 50 years tried to discharge this responsibility creditably well.
As a knowledge and policy institution, we have tried to generate new ideas, challenge dominant orthodoxies, and propose alternative policy options on Africa 's development agenda. I am sure you all recall our major intervention at the ECA on the debate on the structural adjustment program.
ECA formulated the African Alternative Framework to the Structural Adjustment Program (AAFSAP) in 1989.
We also, around the same time, convened a major regional conference on: Popular Participation in Development and Transformation in 1990 in Arusha , Tanzania in order to mainstream the peoples' voices in Africa 's development processes.
We continue to engage in Africa 's development agenda, and this conference is a practical demonstration of that.
The second reason why this conference is very important to us at ECA is the need to stamp African voice and agenda on the discourse and policy direction on corruption in Africa .
Non-Africans have produced much of the knowledge on corruption in Africa . It is not that Africans have not engaged the discourse on corruption in Africa , but such obviously lag behind what is produced by non-Africans.
The challenge here is to regain the discourse and agenda on anti-corruption in Africa , and explore ways by which we can effectively tackle the problem on the continent.
The third reason why this conference is important to us at ECA is that in spite of the institutions, processes and instruments established at the national, regional and international levels at combating corruption in Africa, corruption remains a major challenge to Africa's development process.
Where then lies the problem? Could it be that the institutions are inadequate, or incapable?
Or the laws, and regional and international instruments fashioned to fight corruption are weak?
Or could it be the result of a disconnect between the various constituencies working on corruption in Africa-policy community, academics, civil society actors?
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Whatever the problem may be, your presence here today is to challenge all of you, scholars, policy intellectuals, policy makers, members of the diplomatic corps and other stakeholders to engage in critical and intense discussion for three days and come up with practical suggestions and policy options on how we can move the anti-corruption drive ahead in Africa.
With the caliber of people gathered here today, I am absolutely convinced that at the end of three days of rigorous brainstorming, we would have advanced our knowledge on the tackling corruption in Africa , and possibly propose alternative policy options on the way forward.
Let's us explore how we can effectively harness and implement the main international and regional instruments on corruption in Africa: the UN International Convention Against Corruption and the AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption in Africa.
ECA is at the forefront in the anti-corruption agenda. This conference is one of our several initiatives on corruption. We have adopted a holistic approach at combating corruption.
These include engaging major stakeholders on the problem including the judiciary, national anti-corruption institutions, parliament and the pan-African body of national anti-corruption institutions in Africa .
We have conducted a study on: “ Deepening Judiciary Effectiveness in Combating Corruption ” and convened two ad hoc expert meetings on the findings of the study in 2006 and 2007.
The report is currently in press to be widely disseminated.
We are also currently undertaking a study on: “ Assessing the Efficiency and Impact of National Anti-corruption institutions in Africa ”.
In February 2009, we shall convene an ad hoc expert group meeting of Heads of national anti-corruption institutions to present the findings of the study to them.
Also, we shall be undertaking training workshops for civil society organizations on: Monitoring and Reporting Corruption in Africa . The first is to hold on 11 th -12 th November 2008 in Kampala , Uganda .
We shall be mounting training programs for parliamentarians on ethics and accountability in public affairs.
Mesdames, Messieurs,
La corruption est un phénomene tres complexe et j'espere que vous prendrez le temps pour bien l'analyser et comme je l'ai dit plus haut voir pourquoi malgré toutes les conventions, tous les accords et protocoles nous avons du mal a nous défaire d'un tel fléau qui mine nos économies et ralentit nos efforts pour sortir de la pauvreté.
Je suis contente qu'a la CEA nous organisions cette conference avec le CODESRIA et de voir ici avec moi au podium mon jeune frere et ami le Secrétaire executif de cette organisation.
Adebayo Alukoshi et moi avons eu quelques fois l'occasion de discuter de certains problemes profonds que rencontrent nos etats et de leur capacite a les cerner dans leur totalite, malgré parfois, une volonte réelle de leur part de résoudre ces prolemes.
Ces problemes comme je l'ai dit sont tres profonds et cela demandera que nous sortions des sentiers battus ou comme disent les anglophones « that we think out of the box » ou encore que nous soyions vraiment prets pour un « paradigm shift »
Et c'est pour cela qu'aujourd'hui je souhaite vraiment que l'on aille au dela de la corruption, comment dire ? la corruption conventionnelle, traditionnelle, financiere, materielle etc.
Que l'on parle aussi de la corruption intellectuelle qui, de maniere plus subtile, ronge nos societés, notre jeunesse, nos intellectuels. Le mot ou le concept ne semble peut etre pas tres adequat mais je suis sure que vous comprenez de quoi je veux parler
Mes collegues Okey, Said, Samba connaissent bien mes idees la dessus et nous avons souvent des discussions tres animees sur le sujet. Ce qui est sur, le sujet nous passionne et nous pensons qu'il faut mener le debat le plus loin possible, dans les CERs, dans les pays, dans les communautes a la base.
Alors ceci est le début d'un dialogue que nous voulons a la CEA, que nous voulons avec vous et je sais qu'Adebayo, Tajudeen et plusieurs parmi vous nous soutiendrez dans une lutte qui prendra une nouvelle forme, mais une lutte qui s'engagera avec de nouveaux partenaires, qui aura le courage d'aller au fond des choses, une lutte qui engagera veritablement et durablement tous dans le debat pour une veritable transformation, un veritable changement dans ce continent.
La CEA a 50 ans, l'Afrique independante (de quoi, de qui d'ailleurs ???) a 50 ans, il est temps d'enclencher un changement porteur.
Le mot revolution peut paraitre ideologique mais c'est bien de cela qu'il s'agit, peu importe les connotations qu'on peut ou veut lui donner, nous avons aujourd'hui besoin en Afrique d'une réflexion profonde, d'un changement du mindset, d'innovation, de créativite.
Nous avons 50 ans, notre histoire récente mais aussi celle des siecles passes nous ont rendus murs, nous sommes capables d'etre sérieux, nous sommes capables d'etre responsables, nous devons donc etre comptables de nos décisions et de nos actions.
Pourquoi devons nous recevoir des lecons des autres, pourquoi doit on nous imposer des politiques, pourquoi devons nous continuer a etre des dépendants, des assistés ?
Les générations futures nous reprocheront longtemps cette forme de corruption, intellectuelle ??? certainement bien plus pernicieuse, bien plus profonde!
Osons en discuter ouvertement et portons le débat la ou il doit véritablement se passer !
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In closing, I would like to thank your Excellencies who have deemed it fit to be part of this event. We really appreciate your presence.
For scholars, policy intellectuals and civil society activists who have graced this occasion, we are indeed very grateful. And for the organizers of the conference, especially the Governance and Public Administration Division of ECA (GPAD) and CODERSRIA, I thank you very much.
I wish you fruitful and rewarding deliberations.