President Adama Barrow has told African Heads of State and Government that Africa’s development would be seriously impeded without stringent measures against corruption
President Adama Barrow has told African Heads of State and Government that Africa’s development would be seriously impeded without stringent measures against corruption, stressing that there’s a strong connection between tackling corruption and the progress of the continent.
“Our successes in the fight against corruption will ensure that resources are retained and used to support structural transformations and expansion of our economies. Our desire for sustainable growth and development in the critical sectors of our economies can only be realized if there is a diligent focus on progressive policies and huge resource investments. Therefore, we cannot afford resource wastages through corruption thereby depriving our citizens the opportunities to improve their living standards.”
The President made the strong case against corruption as a contribution to the ongoing debate on corruption at the African Union Summit in Nouakchott, Mauritania, on the theme: “Winning the Fight against Corruption: a Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation.”
President Barrow described the theme as “a bold statement of intent”, given that corruption in both the public and private sectors negatively impact various national and continent’s development agendas. He further told his colleagues that success in the fight against corruption will ensure that resources are retained and used to support structural transformations and expansion of our economies.
“We can improve in most key human development indicators, such as access to quality health and education for the youth population of the continent, food security and meaningful employment. Corruption has negative effect on African nations and how we can judiciously use our resources.”
On the way forward for the continent, President Barrow argued that Africa needs to reform its legal and regulatory regimes, tax administration and procurement systems in order to combat corruption in the public, economic and business spheres. “It is imperative that we intensify our efforts to ensure that corrupt practices are systematically tackled and resources that are siphoned off recovered,” he told the Summit.
Office of the President, The Gambia
