South Africa: Public Service and Administration minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi has appealed to the international community to join hands in fighting the cancer of corruption worldwide.

“For us to be effective in fighting corruption, we need to extend and align our efforts across our borders,” she said, adding that no country was immune from corruption.

Addressing a consultative forum on the United Nations’ (UN) Convention against Corruption in Pretoria this morning, minister Fraser Moleketi said corruption knew no borders and ought to be tackled in a collective approach.

She explained that the decision of the UN’s General Assembly to establish a new Convention against Corruption put the international community in the advantageous position of taking stock of workable solutions developed at the multilateral level.

“This also gave the opportunity to explore, with the benefit of the broadest possible participation, the experience of existing joint efforts that have enabled innovative solutions to emerge and to address new problems such as the transfer of funds of illicit origin and their return,” she said.

Globalisation has brought with it increased interdependence and a wide range of cross-border pullovers, including criminal activities, she said.

“Our participation in forging agreements such as the SADC Protocol against Corruption and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption is emphasised because they are the stepping stones to improved international relations.

“It is also clear that these frameworks reflect political will to change the regional and continental approach to combating and preventing corruption,” she explained.

Government’s Public Service Anti-Corruption Strategy, adopted by Cabinet in January 2002, she said, enabled it to implement a comprehensive, integrated and coherent strategy to tackle corruption throughout the Public Service.

Minister Fraser-Moleketi said it was clear that the provisions of the UN Convention only re-affirmed government’s position in recognising the societal nature of corruption, and that the fight against corruption required a national consensus and co-ordination of activities.

“South Africa had a long-standing quest for addressing the scourge of corruption through partnership and co-operation.”

Thabo Mokgola, BuaNews (Pretoria), March 18, 2004