Maputo, 12 Jul (AIM) – The deputy director of the Mozambican Central Office for the Fight against Corruption (GCCC), Eduardo Sumana, believes that a shortage of funds has limited the protection of whistleblowers, ever since the Law for the Protection of Victims, Whistleblowers and Witnesses was approved and the Central Office for Victim Protection (GCPV) was created, 12 years ago.
According to Sumana, speaking on Thursday in Maputo – during a Seminar for Reflection on Effective Mechanisms for the Protection of Whistleblowers – “we have a shortage of financial, technical and human resources to strengthen the mechanisms for protecting whistleblowers and all those who collaborate.”
Therefore, he said, there is a need to create regulations for the protection of whistleblowers, as well as the application of certain measures in the cases carried out by the GCCC, because the removal of a witness from one jurisdiction to another entails financial costs in terms of accommodation.
For her turn, the representative of Spanish Cooperation and of the European Union, Edurne Iñigo Regalado, said that corruption remains a persistent challenge for all societies and harms economic development, social justice and citizens’ trust in public institutions.
According to Iñigo Regalado, combating corruption has been one of the key axes in the partnership framework signed by Mozambique and Spain in the field of justice, peace and inclusion.
“I consider the fight against corruption to be a priority for many governments, as is the case in Mozambique and Spain, which requires more effective efforts to protect whistleblowers by strengthening the capacities of the public administration and civil society”, she said.
She stressed that whistleblowers play a key role in the fight against corruption, and “suffer intimidation, reprisals and persecution.”
“It is important to develop and implement robust mechanisms to protect whistleblowers so that efforts to combat corruption are effective and sustainable, with a view to promoting a culture of integrity and responsibility”, she added.
(AIM)
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