4th Annual Conference on Good Governance is Underway in Kigali Corruption symbolizes breakdown in ethical and moral values and institutions…… says Rt. Hon. Speaker East African Community Secretariat, Arusha, 8 July 2013: The 4th EAC Annual Conference on Good Governance is underway at the Mille Collines Hotel, Kigali – Rwanda. The Conference themed “Sustaining the Fight against Corruption to promote Regional Integration”, was officially opened by Rt. Hon. Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies in the Republic of Rwanda, Hon. Rose Mukantabana., Hon. Mukantabana reiterated that corruption was a cancer to economic development and “it undermines democracy, corrodes democratic institutions and renders, the rule of law, nugatory”. She emphasized that the theme of the conference blends in very well with the EAC vision of attaining a prosperous, competitive and politically united East Africa. She said upholding principles of transparency, ethics and accountability was crucial and applauded the EAC Council of Ministers for developing the EAC Protocol on Preventing and Combating Corruption. The Rt. Hon. Speaker underscored the negative impacts of corruption that mainly fall on already disadvantaged groups such as the poor, women and minorities, noting that Africa continues to be hampered by a high rate of corruption, which cost the continent hundreds of billions of dollars each year, thereby slowing down economic growth and social development. Hon. Mukantabana affirmed that corruption symbolizes breakdown in ethical and moral values and institutions, and undoubtedly, thrives in weak governance systems where controls are weak, decision-making is opaque and there is poor and selective enforcement of laws. “In actual fact, corruption is a symptom of underlying weaknesses in public service delivery policies, ineffective institutions charged with stamping out the vice and inadequate political will” asserted the Rt. Hon. Speaker. In her Remarks, Rwanda’s Minister for EAC Affairs, Hon. Monique Mukariliza underscored the fact that the EAC integration was premised on the fundamental principles set out under Article 6 of the Treaty i.e. adherence to the principle of transparency, accountability and social justice. In pursuance of these principles, she stated the EAC Council of Ministers developed the EAC Protocol on Good Governance and the Protocol on Preventing and Combating Corruption. She noted that despite the delays in concluding the Protocols, there was commitment from all the EAC Partner States to have the instruments concluded and adopted. “Cooperation, collaboration, networking among the institutions responsible for promoting good governance is the sure way of identifying common values in the EAC” noted the Minister. The EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Political Federation Mr. Charles Njoroge asserted that the EAC Annual conference on Good Governance had become a household event in the EAC integration bringing together all pillars of the EAC Programme on Good Governance including judiciary, anti-corruption agencies, human rights commissions, security sector, civil society organizations, Organs of the Community and relevant regional organizations to dialogue on critical governance issues affecting the integration process. Mr. Njoroge informed participants that from studies conducted on the implementation of the EAC Customs Union and the Common Market Protocols, it was clear that key among the challenges facing the Community were corruption and bribery. “There is no doubt that EAC Partner States have laws, institutions and policies in place that target corruption. These national measures need a shove from the regional level. It therefore, behooves us to develop and implement regional mechanisms to prevent and combat corruption to the extent that an act of corruption in one EAC Partner State should constitute an act of corruption in all Partner States” notes the EAC official. Mr. Njoroge emphasized the need to finalize the EAC Protocol on Preventing and Combating Corruption and urged policy makers and policy initiators represented at the Conference to advocate for adoption of the Protocol both at national and regional levels. Speakers of National Parliaments, Ministers, Judges, Heads of the Institutions of Governance, Members of Parliament, among others are attending the conference. ____________________________________________________________________________________¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ For more information please contact: Owora Richard Othieno, Head of Department; Corporate Communications and Public Affairs; Tel: +255 784 835021; Email: [email protected]; Tel: +255 784 835021; Email: [email protected]; Photos: photos.eac.int/photos | Facebook: facebook/proudlyeastafrican | Twitter: @jumuiya | YouTube: youtube/eacweb Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department EAC Secretariat Arusha, Tanzania eac.int
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 14:59:24 +0000
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