Anti-corruption: How to tackle economic and financial crimes - Botswana has an important role to play
Correspondent | Friday September 18, 2015 15:52
Even paying a “dowry” can be seen as part of a corrupt system. But, in the twenty-first century, we cannot turn our backs to such practices, as one form of corruption leads to another. Corruption is bad for the economy, undermines ethical standards, and has a wide-ranging impact on society. Indeed, it is a crime in many countries. Regrettably, while over 120 countries are members of, and signatories to, the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA) that was formed in 2006, the necessary political will, administrative and legal mechanisms, and supporting institutional structures to address corruption, are weak or non-existent in most countries. In this article, I will focus on economic and financial crimes and how to systematically wage a war against such crimes.
Before I proceed further, it helps to know that various governments, international and regional institutions, policy bodies and non-governmental organisations have been actively engaged in a variety of anti-corruption initiatives. For example, the Commonwealth Africa Anti-Corruption Centre (CAACC) was established in February 2013 in Gaborone, Botswana, with the help of the Commonwealth Secretariat. Partners in this endeavour include the Government of Botswana and the Association of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa and The Commonwealth (AACACAC; see Guiding Principles and Implementation Measures that I have outlined below). Similar regional bodies have been set up elsewhere in the world. So how does a country tackle economic and financial crimes? Here are a set of:
Ten guiding principles and supporting implementation measures
Vision, policies, plans and strategies.
To draft and endorse a set of principles on anti-corruption, and associated implementation measures, a vision, supported by policies, plans and strategies, is central to launching and sustaining anti-corruption endeavours. For without these, any association, act, or partnership on anti-corruption is rudderless.
Leadership
Good and effective leadership is indispensable to any anti-corruption programme. Leadership encompasses various dimensions, including, political, organisational, professional and administrative. But political leadership is perhaps the key driver to the other forms of leadership. China, for example, and based on personal experience on development projects over several years, was quite corrupt about 20 to 25 years ago. But, today (better late than never) it is tackling a fading economy and corruption, all under the leadership of its President Xi Jinping. As a case in point (New York Times, August 23, 2015, p. 1), “the Communist Party’s anti-corruption agency announced it was investigating a senior Chinese leader, Zhou Benshun, on suspicion of serious violations of party discipline and the law, signalling his ouster as the Party Chief of Hebei Province, one of the nation’s most populous”. This action is part of a campaign against official corruption that has continued longer and reached higher than most expected, and it is driven by Xi Jinping.
Partnerships
Partnerships go a long way in tackling cross-border corruption and crimes. Also, organised gangs (whether national or trans-national) cannot be effectively tackled without partnerships and supporting laws, regulations and agreements. Cooperation between anti-corruption authorities, such as that promoted by the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (established in 2006 and based in China), and the Commonwealth’s facilitation and support in the creation of the Association of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa (since 2011 and the establishment of the Commonwealth Africa Anti-Corruption Centre in Gaborone, Botswana, in 2013), are examples of partnerships being forged and advanced to address corruption, especially economic and financial crimes.
Programming
Programming, in the sense that limited resources and a large mandate, demands that projects and programmes to combat corruption are planned and placed in the pipeline to be programmed for implementation with national governments. Programming therefore offers a planning and implementation tool.
Training, Education and Prevention
As staff need to be trained and educated on a variety of anti-corruption projects and programmes, training, education and prevention are necessary for all aspects of anti-corruption initiatives.
Monitoring & Evaluation
In order to ensure that implementation proceeds as planned, and corrective measures are taken when problems are identified, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) are critical to the success of projects and programmes.
Results-based management
Results-based management (RBM) complements monitoring and evaluation to ensure that implementation is “on track”. It goes beyond simple M&E. With its overarching focus on results orientation and strategic management of development projects, programmes, and overall assistance, RBM is all of the following: a philosophy, practice, management strategy, management information system, and the guiding force to planning and implementation.
Laws, supporting regulations and agreements.
One of the first things that an anti-corruption programme does is to ensure that the necessary and supportive laws, regulations and agreements are in place. Often agreements (such as the IAACA and the AACACAC) precede the enacting of new laws and regulations.
Reporting mechanisms, investigation, enforcement and funding
So far so good, but what’s missing are reporting, investigation, and enforcement mechanisms, and adequate and sustainable funding for anti-corruption. These have to be tied in with each of the above principles and implementation measures.
Follow-up and corrective action
Last but not least, follow-up measures and mechanisms, and corrective action, will assist in ensuring that the anti-corruption initiatives are sustainable over the long run.
Concluding remarks
Corruption is not easy to mitigate or better still, eradicate. But it can be done. Important new multilateral and regional initiatives are currently underway to tackle it. The above guiding principles and supporting measures will go a long way in the anti-corruption drive. And Botswana has an important role to play through the centre (CAACC) that is based in Gaborone.
* Michael Chibba is a writer, public speaker, guest columnist, international business & development management guru (incl., importantly, anti-corruption initiatives), economist/social scientist, teacher/lecturer/professor (and the former Managing Director, Distinguished Fellow & Adjunct Professor of ICDEPR, Canada). He has worked in over 30 countries, including Botswana