BUJUMBURA February 23rd (ABP) – The Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, Mr. Ferdinand Bashikako, proceeded on Monday February 21, 2022 to the opening of the 9th meeting of the executive committee of the association of Anti-Corruption Authorities of Africa (AACA), which is to be held from February 21 to 23 in Bujumbura, a check by ABP revealed.
In his speech, Mr. Bashikako clarified that the objective of the meeting is to analyze the annual report of activities, the 2022-2026 strategic plan of the AACA and the memorandum of understanding between the advisory council of the African Union on corruption as well as the preparations for the 5th annual general meeting of the association.
According to the permanent secretary in the ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, the fight against corruption is at the center of the concerns of the government of Burundi. That is why since 2005, several actions have been initiated by both the government and civil society organizations, he specified.
Mr. Bashikako added that to better establish governance, Burundi has equipped itself with the appropriate instruments and policy documents, which are in particular the program speech of the President of the Republic of Burundi Evariste Ndayishimiye, the 2020-2025 vision, the national development plan 2018-2027, the national strategy for good governance and the fight against corruption as well as the foreign policy document of Burundi. It is also about the sector strategy document of the ministry, the performance management policy in the public sector, the 2050 vision of the EAC and the 2063 Agenda of the African Union, he insisted.
To that end, Mr. Bashikako said that the corruption is one of the main scourges facing Africa and which prevents it from achieving its goals, in particular the promotion of good governance and effective public institutions. According to him, the fight against corruption is a very complex and dynamic phenomenon which manifests itself in different forms such as corruption, embezzlement, influence peddling, misuse of corporate assets, favoritism, money laundering and illicit financial flows, hence a collective effort to combat that scourge, and that is why cooperation between African anti-corruption institutions must be privileged, emphasizing that through the AACA, African States will be a common front to stem that scourge that prevents them from achieving sustainable development goals.
Taking the floor, the Chair of the AACA, Mr. Emmanuel Ollita Ondongo, recalled that since the inception of the association in 2013, the operation of the calendar of the annual general assemblies has often been confronted with pandemics, pointing out Ebola which has made long the term of their institution, from 2013 to 2017, and the Covid-19 which surprised the 2nd term of the association towards its end. In addition, he commended the African Development Bank for its support to the Association in holding its annual general meetings since its inception.
As the AACA chairperson explained, it is an international, independent, apolitical and non-profit organization with the objective of fostering unity, coordinating and intensifying cooperation among African States in the prevention and the fight against corruption within the framework of the African Union.
He did not forget to remind all the members of the executive committee present to do their best to resolutely get involved in debates that will take place, because the success of the missions entrusted to them depends on it.