APA – Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire) Cote d’Ivoire, which will host the 5th international anti-corruption forum from 14 to 16 June, is the first African country to host this event that brings together a number of specialists from 100 countries.
The 5th International Corruption Hunters Alliance (ICHA) Forum officially opened on Wednesday 14 June by the Vice-President of Cote d’Ivoire, Tiémoko Meyliet Koné.
He welcomed these meetings, initiated by the World Bank Group, as an opportunity to discuss issues of governance and the fight against corruption, which are closely linked to investment, business development and economic growth.
“Thinking and acting against corruption is even an opportunity in our world, which is facing multiple crises,” he said, urging participants in this forum, entitled “Collective Action in Times of Crisis,” to “synergise actions” against the threats posed by this global scourge.
The Forum, which brings together anti-corruption experts and decision-makers for exchanges and technical workshops, is designed to provide a framework for strategic dialogue, capacity-building and networking among anti-corruption practitioners.
Cote d’Ivoire’s Minister for the Promotion of Good Governance, Capacity Building and the Fight against Corruption, Epiphane Zoro Ballo, expressed the country’s ambition to become a benchmark in the fight against corruption.
The country, which was ranked 130th out of 180 in the NGO Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index in 2012, has moved up to 105th place in 2021 and 99th place in 2022. This progress follows the creation of anti-corruption bodies.
Cape Verde stands out on the continent when it comes to fighting corruption. According to its Deputy Prime Minister, Olavo Correia, “the fight against corruption is not just the fight of one country, (but) the fight of everyone, regionally and internationally.”
It is estimated that in Africa, “about 80 billion dollars (over 48,500 billion CFA francs) is lost every year in illicit funds that could be retained and invested in the continent’s development,” he said, also referring to tax evasion.
Mr Shaolin Yang, Chief Executive Officer of the World Bank Group, who led a delegation from the institution, insisted that “corruption is a cancer” that now operates through technology, while urging participants to find ways to combat this scourge.
He also called on countries to do more to fight corruption by creating tools and strengthening mechanisms to combat corruption, which also takes the form of money laundering.
ICHA’s previous edition was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Cote d’Ivoire is hosting the event in the wake of the COVID-19 health crisis.
AP/lb/abj/APA