STRENGTHEN INSTITUTIONS TO ROOT OUT CORRUPTION
Mossuril (Mozambique), 11 Dec (AIM) – Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi regards corruption as a worldwide scourge from which Mozambique is not exempt.
Speaking in Mossuril, in the northern province of Nampula, where he chaired ceremonies marking International Anti-Corruption Day, celebrated on 9 December every year, Nyusi said corruption is a major obstacle to development, and all three state powers, the executive, the legislative and the judiciary, should adopt measures of prevention, striking both at those who corrupt and those who are corrupted.
He promised to paint an exhaustive picture of the current stage in the fight against corruption when he gives his annual State of the Nation Address to the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, later this month.
There had been frequent calls to bring an end to corruption, said Nyusi. “We must act in a different way to root out this evil, so that our country can be considered free of corruption”, he declared. “We must be capable of strengthening our institutions, contributing to the dissemination of the culture of ethics and integrity. But that can only be done by those who have been disinfected of corruption”.
He called for an improvement in the relations between the public and private sectors, so that they establish mutual links of trust.
“We urge the three powers, the legislative, the judiciary and the executive, from central to local level, companies, civil society and socio-professional organisations, and the public at large to master and deepen the strategy to prevent and fight against corruption”, said Nyusi.
In particular, he encouraged the judiciary “to continue adopting measures that increase integrity, and prevent corruption within the judicial system itself”.
Nyusi recalled that two years ago he had urged consolidation of a culture of transparency in the management of public assets and of accountability. Those appeals remain relevant, he stressed.
“Integrity is the principle that confers capacity on an organisation to avoid ethical deviations, fraud and corruption”, he said. “If, on the one hand, corruption may be understood as the abuse of public power or the use of public position for private gains, including bribery, embezzlement, extortion, and blackmail, on the other hand integrity may be considered as the opposite of corruption, and its absence may empower corruption”.
Nyusi said the judiciary is a credible institution that is well aware of the risks to which it is exposed. “That is why we need preventive measures that deal meticulously and daily with risk management”, he stressed. “The judiciary is of essential importance in the fight against corruption and for the maintenance of the democratic rule of law”.
To improve the morale of society, the justice system must be seen as an institution that induces integrity, Nyusi continued, and “the public in general should be aware of the negative impact and the consequences of corruption not only in the judiciary, but throughout society”.
“Hence our understanding that the system of integrity is essential so that we may have full justice, and so that we are able to fight corruption through a culture of integrity”, he declared.
(AIM)
Ri/pf (515)
