After brainstorming for almost a week on the best way to trace, recover and return looted funds in Commonwealth countries in Africa, the heads of Anti-corruption Agencies in the block, yesterday, singled out the extractive and construction sectors as most vulnerable to corruption and asked for urgent action to check the trend.
Similarly, the group asked anti-corruption agencies in Africa to take effective steps to combat illicit financial inflows into the continent and maintain a publicly available register of beneficial owners of corporate entities and their level of ownership as a means of checking corruption.
In particular, the group in a communiqué issued in Abuja and made available to Journalists, called on African countries to strengthen cooperation and partnership in the tracing, recovery and return of assets in accordance with Article 54 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and Article 16 of the African Union Convention on preventing and combating corruption.
In the same vein, the body urged African countries to enact and vigorously implement asset forfeiture legislation to facilitate asset recovery and return, and appealed to the judiciary in the continent to cooperate, support and fast track prosecution of corruption cases in their jurisdictions.
The communiqué said, “We further call on African countries to ensure the independence and provide adequate resources for anti-corruption agencies to enable them to trace, recover and return assets.
“We welcome the initiative of the Commonwealth Secretariat to develop a Commonwealth benchmarks package on anti-corruption and integrity standards and also call upon the Commonwealth Secretariat to incorporate existing benchmark packages.
“We also recognize the importance of whistle blowing in the fight against corruption, asset recovery and return, further urge African Countries to enact a strong whistle blowing legislation and provide protection to whistleblowers,” the communiqué said.
The next meeting of the body comes up in Uganda in 2019. The 8th Regional Conference For Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies In Commonwealth Africa, was held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, from the 14th to the 18th of May under the theme: “Partnering Towards Assets Recovery and Return”.
