ECA Holds Expert Meeting Assessing Anti-Corruption Efforts Across Africa

ECA Press Release No. 02/2009

Addis Ababa, 30 January 2009 (ECA) – As part of its anti-corruption programme, the Governance and Public Administration Division (GPAD) will hold a meeting of anti-corruption officials, assessing how well the national anti-corruption institutions in Africa are working.

The meeting, which takes place in Kigali, Rwanda from 16th to 17th February , will discuss the impact of GPAD's latest study – Assessing the Efficiency and Impact of National Anti-Corruption Institutions in Africa . The study presents a detailed examination of the work of national anti-corruption institutions across the continent and looks how well they do and don't work. The study will also be launched at the end of the meeting.

The objective of the meeting is to assess the efficiency and impact of national anti-corruption institutions in Africa and explore ways of strengthening their capacity. The study, prepared by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) presents in-depth survey of the scale, dimension and nature of the problem of corruption in Africa . It reviews international instruments and frameworks on anti-corruption, including the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, as well as other major international, regional and sub-regional instruments at combating corruption. Specific anti-corruption governance structures and institutions, such as the Ombudsman, the Auditor-general, are also analyzed.

The achievement made in the areas of investigation and prosecution of corruption offences is also highlighted in the study. The study also deals with problems encountered in the fight against corruption and suggests measures at solving them.

In Africa , unprecedented efforts have been made to raise awareness about corruption, its insidious nature and the damaging effects it has on the welfare of nations and their people. As a result, anti-corruption instruments are in place across much of the continent aimed at curbing the incidences of corruption in public and private administration. Yet, despite these efforts, Africa still appears as the most corrupt region in the world.

As the result of this exercise, it is expected that the data provided in the study will be of valuable use to policy makers, researchers and scholars in:

•  Improving technical capacity of anti-corruption institutions/agencies to combat corruption efficiently and effectively, both in the public and private sectors;

•  Strengthening institutional capacity and regulatory frameworks of member States to fight corruption more effectively;

•  Enhancing public transparency, external checks and balances on government and improve efficiency and accountability in public service delivery;

•  Encourage the involvement of non-state actors (media, academia, civil society, NGOs and international organizations) in the fight against corruption;

For further details, please visit our website at or ( http://www.uneca.org/gpad )

And the ECA/GPAD Web Portal on Anti-Corruption in Africa ( http://knowledge.uneca.org/community-of-practice/governance-and-ict-and-s-t-for-development/anti-corruption/ )

Issued by the ECA Information and Communication Service
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