Fighting Africa corruption a slow process

LONDON – Fighting corruption in Africa is likely to take a long time and requires resolve on the part of African governments, an official at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Monday.

The organisation set up a joint venture last year with the African Development Bank to tackle business corruption, Patrick Moulette, head of the Paris-based OECD’s anti-bribery division, told Reuters television in an interview on the sidelines of an Africa forum.’Our countries have responsibilities for corruption in Africa – mulit-nationals from OECD countries – but it’s also a domestic problem,’ he said.’We want to partner with major institutions to help build their own legislation to fight bribery. It will take a lot of time. To combat corruption effectively you need laws in place, you have to enact laws, you have to enforce the legislation. It’s a bit too soon to assess political willingness.’Companies and investors frequently cite corruption as one of their concerns about doing business in Africa.’We need to sustain the political will,’ Moulette said.’This kind of international agreement or discipline has no effect if there is no political will behind it.’Moulette said there was a risk that austerity measures and cuts to public sector pay to combat the global financial crisis could increase the potential for bribery and corruption worldwide.’That is definitely a worry, though we have not seen any evidence or cases yet. The global crisis has exacerbated economic conditions. There is some pressure for companies to bribe to get markets and contracts.’-Nampa-Reuters