An anti-corruption pact between companies, government and civil society in preparation in DRC
Representatives from the public sector, private sector and civil society gathered in a workshop to finalise DRC’s Anti-Corruption Pact
Delegates at the anti-corruption pact workshop
On 24 October 2013, representatives from the public sector, private sector and civil society are coming together for a workshop to finalise DRC’s Anti-Corruption Pact. This Pact will:
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Commit the parties to refrain from corruption, inculcate ethical values in their organisations, and adhere to the principles of integrity, good governance, respect and transparency;
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Initiate a national anti-corruption campaign to address the culture of corruption in DRC;
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Establish an anti-corruption forum to serve as a platform for communication and coordination among the parties to the Pact, and, possibly, to assist the judiciary in enforcing anti-corruption law; and
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Establish level of sanctions for parties violating the pact
This workshop is a continuation of a process begun in December 2012, when in response to a request from the Prime Minister of DRC, a seminar was held to draft an anti-corruption pact. Funded by the UK Embassy in Kinshasa, this initial seminar was organised by the DRC Private Sector Anticorruption Initiative with the technical assistance of Ethics Institute South Africa. The workshop is funded through UK aid’s Private Sector Development Programme that is being designed at the moment.
In her speech to the workshop, Ambassador Diane said:
As we all know, corruption always involves two parties: the corruptor and the corrupted.
Addressing corruption must therefore equally involve these two parties. The idea of the Pact between the public sector and the private sector aims to do just that.
The full French version of the speech is .
The official launch of the Anti-Corruption Pact will follow on 9 December 2013, to link in with International Anti-Corruption Day.