Call for private sector-led effort to stem corruption

The Private Sector recognises the importance of a corrupt-free society, and will do whatever it can to fight graft, Hannington Namara, the CEO of the Private Sector Federation (PSF) said, yesterday, in response to recommendations from a lawmakers’ meeting on corruption.The one-day meeting at parliament aimed at bringing together legislators and their different partners from all arms of government and the private sector, to devise means of stem out all forms of graft in the country.“When it comes to fighting corruption, there is a need to put things in context. One good way is putting in place a stringent legal framework and, the private sector would be very happy to oblige because we are the ones who suffer most.At the end of the day, he said, the private sector is actually all of us in Rwanda. “We are willing to back the efforts that the legislative body is putting in place so as to have what I would call a seamless arrangement.” The meeting at parliament was organised by the African Parliamentarians’ Network against Corruption (APNAC), the continent’s leading network of parliamentarians against corruption. It also called for more collaboration with the judiciary in combating the vice, as well as in sharing information on related crimes.Other suggestions include: perfecting the role and collaboration between government, the civil society and nongovernmental organisations; urging relevant authorities not to accept any forms of corruption usually falsely linked to the culture of showing appreciation through ‘gifts’; and sensitising all administrative entities to provide good services.Opening the meeting, the Prime Minister, Dr Pierre Damien Habumuremyi, noted that despite the country’s unrelenting war on corruption, new strategies were required to eliminate the remaining traces.Rwanda is ranked fourth least corrupt African country by, the World Bank, and the least corrupt country in the East African Community bloc.The country has achieved significant progress over the past years in terms of government effectiveness and transparency of the regulatory framework including putting a number of measures and institutions in place such as the Rwanda Public Procurement Authority, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) and the Ombudsman’s Office.

National

Call for private sector-led effort to stem corruption