Sierra Leone, which has been receiving substantial sums of aid from Britain since 2000, is facing particular scrutiny. The West African nation’s governing party, the All People’s Congress (APC), is accused of engaging in corrupt mining deals. Mitchell warns: ‘I’m watching particularly carefully how Sierra Leone intends to exploit its mineral (wealth). It is an important issue that requires openness and transparency and if not I am prepared to act.’

Plans to refocus DFID’s aid budget became public in June of this year, when the department announced that it would scrutinise those countries currently receiving a portion of the GBP2.9bn that the UK sets aside for bilateral aid. The move is designed to offer greater assistance to the world’s poorest countries. Yet the cuts have fuelled apprehension, particularly from charities such as Oxfam, Christian Aid and Save the Children who are reported to have accessed a leaked email in which Mitchell revealed he could drop in excess of 80 pledges. The charities have sent a joint letter to the secretary of state, emphasising their concern that if the development commitments were to be dropped this would impact on both DFID’s work and also those who are in desperate need of aid. DFID is suspected of buckling under intensifying pressures from the coalition government, which could leave the world’s most vulnerable people at risk of extreme poverty.

However, Mitchell rebuffs the critics by asserting that DFID is simply concerned with improving transparency: ‘Achieving transparency in the exploitation of mineral resources is one of the most fundamental aspects of development,’ he says.

However the Zambian government has found it difficult to impose the ruling. ‘The question of enforcing the judgment of the courts of the United Kingdom directly by registration under the act does not arise,’ said Judge Evans Hamaunduin. ‘I have looked through our laws for such an order and have been unable to find any.’ The government has subsequently been unable to seize Chiluba’s assets.

Chiluba is the first African leader to face trial for corruption in his own country. When he came to power in ‘91, it was under the banner of grass roots democratic values; however critics note that this was soon tarnished by the sins of power.

His presidential legacy was subsequently marred by what some commentators have referred to as ‘Big Man’ politics. Chiluba’s bid to change the country’s constitution so that he could run for a third term proved to be the last straw for the people, who demonstrated significant opposition towards political flagrance and ousted their head of state in ‘02. Ironically it was in fact his appointed successor Levy Mwanawasa who launched the anti-corruption drive that later culminated in Chiluba’s demise.

While previous anti-corruption progress has indicated a move towards improved democratization in the region, the court’s decision to throw out the case may subsequently prove to be a disappointing blow to those who have been waiting for some concrete action.

The convention is recognised as the only international anti-corruption instrument with a legally binding standard to criminalise bribery of foreign public officials.

The OECD report highlights that while some positive steps have been taken towards improving foreign bribery in the country – like the constitutional enactment of the country’s Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act – yet substantial advances still needs to be made.

Progress to curb foreign bribery in the country has been abysmal. While the National Prosecuting Authority’s Directorate of Special Operations (a multidisciplinary organisation that investigated and prosecuted organised crime) was closed in ‘09 and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (another special unit to organised crime, economic crime, corruption) was established soon after, however, effective anti-corruption enforcement in this respect has been lax.

The OECD report subsequently encourages the flagging state to boost awareness of the fight against foreign bribery in both the private and public sector; while also improving its ability to appropriately detect, investigate and prosecute those that are found guilty of accepting foreign bribes. In addition the study has argued in favour of upholding Article 5 of the Convention which prohibits political interference in the investigative and prosecutorial processes.

It is hoped that a peer driven monitoring mechanism like the one adopted by the OECD on foreign bribery will be an effective way of holding states accountable. While the OECD’s report demonstrates that such efforts are working to an extent, ensuring that countries enforce the convention may prove to be a bigger hurdle.

Selebi’s part in accepting bribes from convicted drug dealer Glenn Agliott consequently sends out a clear warning to senior officials. This tough sentence – the minimum recommended for senior police officers found guilty of corruption – drives home a clear warning that no one is above the law.

Selebi, who has also acted as the former president of Interpol and was well connected amongst the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, has had some tremendous accomplishments in the past; however such achievements do not condone his abject failures exposed in this case.

Given the seniority of his position as an enforcer of the law, Selebi wavered his authority the moment he agreed to turn a blind eye to what Agliott was doing and Meyer had little choice but to impose the tough sentence. ‘I am satisfied that a sentence of 15 years imprisonment is appropriate in the matter,’ he said in the courtroom on Tuesday 3^rd August. It is encouraging to see the levers of justice operating without fear or favour in South Africa.

However, satisfying the anti-corruption agenda will not be an easy task. Though significant strides with ventures like Anti-Corruption Act 2008 and the National Anti-Corruption Strategy were taken under the management Tejan-Cole, his departure clearly reflected the difficulties the ACC faces.  The strength and leverage of Kamara’s appointment will undoubtedly be measured by the degree of perceived independence, investigative and prosecutorial freedom that the ACC is able to enact.

Critics fear that Kamara’s appointment is merely a form of propagation of “northernisation” by President Ernest Bai Koroma and there are reservations that the ACC may experience reversions back to the politicisation and marginalisation that appeared to plague Tejan-Cole towards the end of his tenure. For the most part Kamara’s appointment appears to be positively met but only time will tell if he will be able to effectively fulfil the aspirations of millions of Sierra Leoneans and lead the battle against corruption or if he will flounder under the weight of such expectation.

“We will collaborate with the Efficiency Monitoring Unit, the Kenya Revenue Authority, the Attorney-General’s office and other government agencies in the fight against graft,” Dr Lumumba articulated.

He declined to reveal his strategy, but hinted that he would start fighting the vice from the top and that Kenyans should expect to see the fierceness “of a lion that does not spare people without regard for public property and resources.”

As part of his strategy, Lumumba says he would develop a community based approach to fighting corruption warning parents that he would also come after them “for continually aiding their children to cheat in national exams…we (KACC) cannot fight corruption alone the entire population must be involved.”

Lumumba, who is also a Television host for an Anti-Corruption programme on the State Broadcaster, pledged that he would clean up the image of the country and that, “it was time to put Kenya on the right course.”

“I will not respond to any mosquito bite with a hammer, but I will not hesitate to use the claws of my office to ensure that the public is protected from seasoned thieves,” Lumumba warned.

Others who will serve with the seasoned lawyer will be Prof Jane Onsongo and lawyer Pravin Bowry as Assistant Directors.

John Githongo, a former AntiGraft Czar based at President Mwai Kibaki’s State House was cautious about the pledges saying, “Unless the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission laws are changed and public confidence boosted through deliberate repackaging, the new appointments may not achieve much.”

Githongo, who is currently running a reconciliation outfit in the capital Nairobi, observed that the former director of KACC resigned citing weaknesses in the law against graft which had yet to be tightened.

In the strongest message ever to the state on the dangers of violating constitutional rights of citizens, the Court ordered immediate payment of KES40 Million (US$533,000) to compensate 21 victims of the infamous Nyayo Torture Chambers.

The victims made sworn statements in court where they recounted some of the physical and psychological atrocities they had experienced. High Judge Hannah Okwengu ruled that the government had failed to defend itself on the accusations leveled against it by the victims and touched on the violations of their fundamental rights. In her 55 page verdict Justice Okwengu observed that the 21 victims had convinced the court that they deserved the compensation.

These developments show that the country has recognized its previous faults and has overcome them successfully in order to show that she is progressing and stabilizing and that her justice system is working effectively.

The firm’s relationship with the government, who forced the company to keep petrol prices low, but simultaneously held back subsidy payments, is also under intense scrutiny.

According to finance minister Remi Babalola, the NNCP’s liabilities exceed assets by more than 754 billion naira ($5bn).

However, the NNCP have disputed the claim and said that the government owes it around $6bn in subsidies.

In a statement to the press, the firm said: ‘While it is true that the national indebtedness to the NNPC is putting pressure on our operations, nonetheless we are able to meet all our obligations. We therefore cannot be said to be insolvent.’

The controversy brings forward questions of what role corruption has played in the NNPC’s affairs.

With the firm struggling to pay its bills, there are a range of other connected issues, with the government looking for ways to reform the petroleum industry; the source of an estimated 90 percent of export earnings and 80 percent of government revenues.

Goodluck Jonathan, President of Nigeria has made it one of his key priorities to cut down on corruption and reform the oil sector to make it efficient and profitable.

In his bid to cut down on corruption, he has already sacked some officials from the NNPC and ordered an audit of the firm’s accounts

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s inability to capitalise on its oil wealth continues to cause aggravation to its150 million populous.

Source: AFP, 14 July

Global Witness’s Elly Harrowell said: ‘We are pleased and relieved to hear that Farai has been granted bail, but we are extremely dismayed that the spurious charges against him are yet to be dropped. The systematic intimidation and harassment of civil society activists in the country, exemplified by Farai’s arrest, must end.’

Maguwu is the director of the non-governmental organisation, the Centre for Research and Development, which has been instrumental in campaigning against state-sponsored violence in the Marange diamond fields of eastern Zimbabwe. His arrest followed a meeting with the official monitor from the Kimberley Process (KP) diamond certification scheme.

KP was set up in ‘03 to eradicate the trade in conflict diamonds. It brings together industry, civil society and governments, and sets certain criteria for diamonds to be certified as ‘conflict free’. The KP monitor had been appointed to assess the situation in the country’s diamond fields after reports of human rights abuses and non-compliance with the scheme’s minimum standards led to a suspension of diamond exports from Marange.

‘Farai’s bail must not distract from the horrific abuses, smuggling and militarised mining that are taking place in eastern Zimbabwe, nor from the fact that the country is still in clear breach of the minimum standards of the Kimberley Process. The trumped up charges against Farai are a crude attempt by the Zimbabwean authorities to silence independent reporting on abuses in Marange,’ said Harrowell.

Tal Raviv, a regional programme development officer at the U.N.’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM), believes that between 17,000 and 20,000 Somalis and Ethiopians are being smuggled every year by air, road and sea, mainly to South Africa

The business of smuggling them to destinations in Europe and North America via South Africa is worth $40 million, according to IOM estimates.

“Corruption is a very crucial element in human smuggling because it makes the process smooth … you can easily get false documents and pay bribes to move from one place to another,” said Raviv.

Raviv said IOM’s research — based on interviews with over 800 illegal migrants — had revealed alleged corruption and complicity between human smuggling rackets and migration officials in most east and southern African countries. “The journey is made possible because of limited border controls all the way to South Africa,” he added.

Many illegal migrants are escaping conflict in Somalia which has killed at least 21,000 people since the start of 2007 and uprooted 1.5 million more, triggering one of the world’s worst humanitarian emergencies. Other groups are fleeing southern Ethiopia, home to a long-running insurgency whose fighters are seeking more autonomy for the underdeveloped, ethnically Somali Ogaden region.

FIRST STOP KENYA
The first stop for many illegal migrants from the Horn is Kenya. Laban Nyasoi, a lawyer working with Kenya’s Kituo Cha Sheria (a free legal aid organisation for refugees and migrants) declared that most Somalis and Ethiopians enter Kenya with the hope of continuing elsewhere. “Most refugees we have given legal aid to use Kenya as transit country to illegally travel to other places,” Nyasoi said.

In 2007, Kenya officially closed its border with Somalia, citing the threat from weapons and narcotics traffickers, as well as the heavily armed militias allied to Somali warlords. It has, however, allowed thousands of refugees from Somalia to enter and live in the sprawling refugee camps at Dadaab, home to some 270,000 mostly Somali refugees.

IOM said in its 2009 report “In Pursuit of the Southern Dream” that many migrants were “reluctant to register as refugees due to their desire to be free agents with in Kenya to develop new identities, perhaps, and obtain travel documents and passports of another nationality”. The organisation goes on to say that countries in east and southern Africa needed to do more to ease suffering of migrants and prevent human smuggling. Raviv added that “countries must work through bilateral and multilateral agreements to facilitate smooth deportation of big groups of illegal migrants.”

She noted that most of the countries on the human smuggling route snaking through the Horn, East and Southern Africa have not ratified the U.N. Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.

Raviv conclude by stating that, “Ratifying this protocol would help countries come up with harmonised policies on how to deal with illegal migration.”

Source: TrustLaw