Programme director
Deputy Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo
Minister of Public Functions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ladies and gentleman
All protocol observed
Let me start by conveying the greetings from the President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Mr Jacob Zuma.
On behalf of the government and the people of the Republic of South Africa, I am honoured to address you at this momentous occasion of the launch of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) national anti-corruption strategy, which address is a compliment to the government of the DRC for working very hard to make sure that necessary measures are put in place to address corruption.
I also want to express my sincere gratitude to all officials from the DRC Ministry of Public Function, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), my officials of the Department of Public Service and Administration of South Africa, GTZ and any other organisations that played a role in the development of this strategy.
When we gathered in this historic capital of our beautiful Democratic Republic of the Congo in December last year, we were all committed to make contributions for the establishment of a National Anti-corruption Strategy which we are launching today, as part of our resolve to work together for the prosperity of our nations, stability in the continent and peace in the world.
One of the sticky memories of that historic summit that refuses to escape my consciousness is the participation by men and women clearly committed to fight the scourge of corruption, and reflecting in their determination that they love their DRC and they are prepared to work with other people to give the DRC what she deserves, a proud nation free of corruption.
In addressing the summit last year, I reminded the people of the Congo about the footmarks of one of Africa’s legend, Patrice Lumumba, and I quoted one of his letters when he said, “All during the length of my fight for the independence of my country, I have never doubted for a single instant the final triumph of the sacred cause to which my companions and myself have consecrated our lives. But what we wish for our country, its right to an honorable life, to a spotless dignity, to independence without restrictions.
“To my children whom I leave and whom perhaps I will see no more, I wish that they be told that the future of the Congo is beautiful and that it expects for each Congolese, to accomplish the sacred task of reconstruction of our independence and our sovereignty; for without dignity there is no liberty, without justice there is no dignity and without independence there are no free men”.
He concluded his letter with visionary and inspirational words; “Africa will write its own history, and it will be, to the north and to the south of the Sahara, a history of glory and dignity. Do not weep for me, my dear companion. I know that my country, which suffers so much, will know how to defend its independence and its liberty.
Long live the Congo! Long live Africa!”
Today we see the children of Patrice Lumumba, the Congolese who know their rights and obligations, soiling their hands to make things happen in the fight against corruption, for they know that unless drastic steps are taken, the good story about their dignity will be compromised.
As we give our message in support of the good work done so far, we want to state that the fight against corruption has not come to the end with the launch of the Strategy today, because strategy alone may not fight the war, as it is just a vehicle that fighters will use to defeat corruption. We will remain partners in the implementation programme, because South Africa’s conviction is accelerated implementation of policies, legislations, regulations, protocols and strategies through mutual assistance.
Launching a successful fight against corruption means a total defeat of the corruption triangle consisting of the corruptor, the corruptee and the environment. In most cases, the war against corruption is directed at the corruptors, who are people who find themselves on corrupt activities where they are on the direct giving of whatever is an instrument of corruption.
Where money is involved, such people will be the rich in the community or the well-placed public servants or elected public officials who may abuse their positions in order to gain an unfair advantage, the practice of self enrichment.
If we are to succeed, we should target the receivers of goods generated from corrupt practices as well, because reality has it that it takes both the corruptor and the corruptee for corruption to succeed.
The environment where we find ourselves should be free of corruption because the oppositeto that is a situation where you find even the naturally good mannered citizens and public servants turning in their attitudes and become as corrupt as the environment itself. A corruption-free environment is the one where there are rules to identify and sanction corruption acts, and where such rules are enforced without fear or favour and there is no room to fear, if not by choice.
I want to stress that this is a priority leg of the corruption triangle. If we break it, we have broken the backbone of corruption. What matters is breaking this leg of corruption. Meetings alone will not fight corruption. Strategies will not fight corruption. Awareness drives will not fight corruption. All these are instruments to facilitate the real fight. We should adopt a zero-tolerance stance against corruption. We must get civil society, government and the business community to say no in real terms.
A fight against corruption is a project about writing our own history. A proud Nation like the DRC or South Africa will be telling their own good stories if they rise to the level of firmly repositioning their respective states as shining examples of the Continent in good governance, stability and a corruption-free environment.
A South African case of commitment in matters like this is reflected in President Zuma’s address after taking office, that South Africa would be wasting her time if we continue to do things the same way whilst we expect different results. Similarly, as we witness the launch of the strategy today in the DRC, we want to remind the Congolese that things will remain the same if there is no paradigm shift, and the words of Patrice Lumumba would have been wasted when he said:“I know that my country, which suffers so much, will know how to defend its independence and its liberty.
Long live the Congo! Long live Africa”.
A fight against corruption is an international fight. There is no country, whether developed or developing, that can rightfully claim that the war against corruption in their countries is over. It is for that reason that I want to repeat what I said in December during the summit here in the DRC, that fighting corruption is a Peer Review matter, in terms of which countries as peers would share experience and assist one another in complying with corruption-fighting instruments.
The African Peer Review Mechanism is one of them. As South Africa, we went through the country’s peer review for the first time, and the findings were that, among others’ we should address the issue of corruption. We are going to give a progress report at the summit of the Heads of State of the AU that participate in the APRM in January 2010. We have also gone through our second assessment in terms of the OECD Convention on bribery as a manifestation of corruption.
In conclusion, I think I will be failing in my duty if I do not state that a successful fight against corruption is a journey by leaders, appointed or elected, who have high command of the following attributes:
- Breaking new ground through innovations for solutions
- Inspiring success through self motivation and motivating others
- Raising standards to world-class level
- Introducing turnaround strategies to salvage situations
- Making a difference in the lives of the people through running an extra mile and sacrifice for others
- Ensuring success through collective leadership
- On board and own processes and initiatives
- International exposure and open for influence.
Once more, South Africa congratulates the DRC for developing such a detailed strategy and look forward to working with you and share experience in the implementation. We do it for ourselves, we do it for our children, we do it for our ancestors.
God bless us all.
Thank you very much.
For more information contact:
Dumisani Nkwamba
Cell: 082 885 9448
E-mail: dumisaniN@dpsa.gov.za
