Co-operation and Development (OECD) Anti-Bribery Convention: Its impact and its
achievements, Rome, Italy
21 November 2007
Mr Angel Gurria, OECD Secretary-General
Ministers and Deputy Ministers
Professor Mark Pieth, Chairperson of the OECD Working Group on bribery
Members of the Working Group
Ladies and gentlemen
All protocol observed
On behalf of South Africa I am honoured to address you at this momentous
occasion of the 10th anniversary of the OECD Anti-bribery Convention as a
member of the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business
Transactions and also having acceded to the OECD Convention on the Bribery of
Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. South Africa
is the 37th member and the first African country, hopefully not the last, to
join the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business
Transactions.
At the outset I wish to convey our sincere appreciation to the Government of
Italy and the OECD for hosting this event. The presence of South Africa here
today is a culmination of a long process that started in 1999 at the occasion
of the International Anti-corruption Conference held in Durban, South Africa.
His Excellency President Thabo Mbeki, at that time Deputy President, signalled
to the world that South Africa is tackling its corruption challenge with
dedication and that South Africa is committed to addressing the corruption
challenge at national, regional and global levels.
I would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to
the Secretary-General of the OECD, Mr Angel Gurria, his predecessor, the
Chairperson of the Working Group as well as the Director and staff of the
Anti-corruption division of the OECD for the support and encouragement that was
provided to South Africa in the process of accession to the OECD Anti-bribery
instruments. The efforts of the OECD to include major emerging economic players
such as South Africa to become party to the Convention are commendable.
We are here today as parties to the OECD anti-bribery instruments, to
reaffirm our commitment to fighting bribery of foreign public officials in
international business transactions. This event celebrates our collective
efforts. Over the past ten years, as pointed out earlier, the Convention has
achieved much in closing down the conditions for the supply side of
bribery.
This I can assure you is widely welcomed. While acknowledging progress and
the achievements of the Convention, we are also aware that combating this
offence remains one of the obstacles to promoting sustainable development.
Coming from a continent such as Africa where sustainable development remains a
key priority and being the victim of the crime however does not give any moral
high ground. It does bring perspectives that should be shared today.
There is no doubt that the Working Group has rigorously pursued compliance
with the Convention. Its phase one and phase two processes are exemplary in
terms of peer review principles. The results of the reviews and the engagements
of the working group on these results enforce compliance with the requirements
of the Convention. The question that we must engage with is whether we place
sufficient emphasis on the actual application of our legislative frameworks
where foreign bribery is detected. Does the number of self-initiated
investigations and prosecutions speak of an active commitment in applying the
convention? Can we really say that we are actively instituting prosecution of
the criminals who commit bribery?
The afore-going said we also need to guard against actual prosecutions as
the main measure of success. The balance between prevention and law enforcement
must be appropriate. The national integrity system of a country must be
underpinned by ethical and democratic values that find resonance in the
operations of the public, civil society and business sectors. The vigour in
which we are improving our legislative frameworks is a clear indication of
commitment on the part of governments.
The manners in which matters of integrity are increasingly becoming part of
business operations are welcomed. Initiatives such as the United Nations Global
Compact and the Partnering against Corruption-Principles for Combating
Corruption must be supported. But we must also continue reminding ourselves
that lofty partnerships require visible and active implementation to be
meaningful. We should not forget that the excesses of greed and
maladministration in business have been most prevalent in recent years. It is
the responsibility of all Governments and businesses to practice corporate
governance measures and to remove improper conduct of companies.
The third perspective that is related to my first point is whether countries
in which the foreign bribery is committed actually have the preventative and
criminal justice infrastructure to detect and report such crimes, and secondly
whether such an infrastructure can cooperate in an investigation? Without a
process of systematically supporting the creation of the required
infrastructure in vulnerable states closing down the supply side on its own
will not eradicate foreign bribery.
It is in this context where the OECD and the African Development Bank
initiative is welcomed. While we all pursue the eradication of all forms of
bribery we must recognise that all countries are not equal in terms of the
ability to fight corruption and engage in economic activity. South Africa has
invested greatly in its anti-corruption framework and our legislative framework
now complies with the material requirements of the United Nations Convention
against Corruption. We are however aware that the fight against corruption will
always remain work in progress and that we always strive towards continual
improvement.
The review of the OECD anti-bribery instruments comes at a very appropriate
and opportune time. In 10 years we have learnt what works and what does not
work. This gives us the opportunity to remedy the weaknesses and make the
instruments more effective. We should not allow opportunity pass to receive the
input from vulnerable governments, civil society and business formations around
the world. Our efforts to prevent and combat bribery of foreign public
officials will be effective only if we work in partnership with business and
civil society.
I wish to highlight some of the outcomes of the Africa Forum on Fighting
Corruption and the fifth Global Forum on Fighting Corruption and Safeguarding
Integrity which ties well into today's celebrations. This includes the debate
on a common understanding of corruption. Various streams of discourse emerged
at these forums. These include the following:
* While corruption manifests itself in the relationship between individuals
and institutions, corruption as a practice is rooted in the operation of market
forces.
* Corruption is fundamentally undemocratic and undermines the legitimacy and
credibility of democratically elected governments, responsible and accountable
public officials.
* Corruption is about the interface of political and economic elites at a
global, national and regional scale.
* Corruption is systemic and its effects undermine and distort the value
systems of all societies and their people.
* The fight against corruption requires leadership from those in the political,
economic and civil society spheres and which leadership must manifest in
practices and values.
* The discourse on bribe givers and bribe takers without a thorough
understanding of the complexity of social forces, systems, processes and
structures that underpin acts of corruption is simplistic to the extent where
it distracts from broader development goals.
* Corruption is a direct impediment to Africa's development and her efforts to
instil sound political, socio-economic and corporate governance.
It is in this context where the OECD Anti-bribery instruments exist and are
applied and where the issue of and discourse on the bribery of foreign public
officials in international business transactions is firmly located. The outputs
of the OECD Working Group on Bribery of Foreign Officials in particular and the
work of the OECD in general does not only directly impact on how we fight
corruption but also on how we understand and participate in the discourse on
corruption
We believe we can gain much from collective experience and knowledge within
the OECD Working Group especially those countries that have been members of the
Working Group for the past ten years. The intensity of the interaction within
the Working Group will assist us to continuously improve our ability to improve
our national integrity system in general and the fight against bribery in
particular.
We also believe that as a member of the OECD Working Group we will draw on
the OECD's technical and knowledge resources. At the same time we can
contribute towards the collective experience, knowledge and common
understanding on the fight against corruption through sharing the South African
experience amongst members.
Chairperson, ladies and gentlemen, South Africa is currently preparing for
its phase one review towards compliance with the requirements of the OECD
Convention. We are looking forward to the outcomes of this review and working
with the Working Group on refining our national anti-corruption framework.
South Africa remains ready to co-operate with all members on matters of
investigating and prosecuting bribery of foreign officials.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to commend the OECD for the
work that it has done over the past ten years in advancing the fight against
corruption especially as it relates to the bribery of foreign public officials.
Furthermore, I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm South Africa's
commitment to fighting corruption and its commitment to the work of the OECD
Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transaction.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Public Service and Administration
21 November 2007
