Africa-Press – Seychelles. The President of the Republic, Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan, was the guest of honor at the Francophone Conversation organized Thursday by the Secretary General of La Francophonie, H.E. Ms. Louise Mushikiwabo, on the theme: “The fight against corruption: working for a “integral and transparent governance serving the people”.
It was the Secretary General of La Francophonie who kicked off this conversation which took place at the headquarters of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) in Paris in hybrid format with a virtual part and participation representatives of the 88 member countries and governments, high-ranking personalities as well as the actors of the Charter of the Francophonie and the institutional networks of the Francophonie.
In his inaugural address which was pre-recorded, President Wavel Ramkalawan underlined the importance of the Francophone Conversation which offers a framework for exchanges and reflections allowing members to combine their efforts to achieve a lasting solution on issues of concern. common interest, like that of the fight against corruption, a subject to which he says he attaches great importance.
“Today, corruption is a phenomenon that no longer needs to be presented. It exists everywhere, to varying degrees, in the least developed countries, as well as in the developed countries. It manifests itself in multiple forms such as favoritism, cronyism, extortion, bribery, misappropriation of public funds, etc., etc. It affects many sectors, whether public or private. It can concern or involve the ordinary citizen, as it can concern the junior civil servant or very senior agents in state structures,” he said before adding:
“Corruption is an evil that must be fought at all costs, because it inflicts a very heavy blow on our societies, financially, politically, economically and morally. It eats away at the workings of public institutions. It undermines citizen confidence and dilutes aid efforts for the most deprived. It widens social inequalities, undermines the foundations of democracy and dampens the energy of entrepreneurs. It shatters the dreams of some, ruins the lives of others and undermines the life prospects of millions of people, who are often the most deprived and vulnerable.”
“Corruption,” continued the Seychelles president, “reduces the scope of major designs such as the Sustainable Development Goals or the Declaration of Human Rights, the 75th anniversary of which we have just celebrated. It amplifies the effects of scourges such as economic inequalities and social injustices, climate change or armed conflicts. It is a breeding ground in which organized crime thrives. It is corrupting societies and emptying citizenship of all meaning! »
He took the opportunity to share the Seychelles experience and highlighted that the Seychelles anti-corruption model essentially contained 4 elements: political will, institutional architecture, international commitments and support from the population. In this context he drew attention to the fundamental values which are enshrined in texts such as the 2030 Agenda, the United Nations Convention against Corruption and that of the African Union on the prevention and fight against corruption which should serve as elements of reference and orientation.
“In this regard, I must remind you that we are halfway through the deadline for achieving the SDGs, and on the eve of the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the entry into force of the two aforementioned conventions. It is therefore an opportune moment to measure our level of adherence to these major texts because the States having signed and ratified them have a moral duty to apply them.
“As far as Seychelles is concerned, we adhere to the 2030 Agenda and we are parties to the two aforementioned conventions. We were inspired by the three texts in the development of our anti-corruption law promulgated in 2016. This law, which is our main legal tool in the fight against corruption, was amended in 2022 to be aligned with the Penal Code, the law against money laundering and the law against the financing of terrorism. Under this law the Anti-Corruption Commission was created, he said.
According to the President, “this law is the result of a political will of which I can proudly say that I was the instigator when I was still the leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly. This political will emanates from the desire for political change expressed in the October 2020 elections which led to the overthrow of the old regime and brought me to.
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