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{
    "id": 682026,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/682026/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 220,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. S.S. Ahmed",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 140,
        "legal_name": "Ahmed Shakeel Shabbir Ahmed",
        "slug": "shakeel-shabbir"
    },
    "content": "The Bill extends the fight against corruption to the private sector by criminalising bribery in that sector. Hitherto, corruption and bribery issues were restricted to the public sector. It also creates a legal obligation for every person who becomes aware of the act of bribery to report the matter to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC). We feel that, that is a good thing but we might want to extend that not only to be EACC, but the police and other bodies. The African Parliamentarians’ Network Against Corruption together with its partners like Transparency International (TI) and others, have been engaged with this Bill for the last six or eight months. We have presented our views to the Attorney-General. I am very pleased to note that many of the views that we presented have now been incorporated in the Bill that has been presented. As such, I see no reason for me to go back and say the issues we presented because they are now covered in the Bill. I also acknowledge the President of this country. He has on numerous occasions clearly stated that he has no time for corruption and people who are thieves. He has stated this on public television. He has taken corruption to the right place. Corruption is theft. Just the other day, I heard the President use that word “thieves”. This is the mood of the country. We have had enough of corruption. These guys are thieves. Let us call them by the name they are meant to be called by – “thieves”. We have no time for thieves in this country. Their 40 days are coming up. I support the effort that the Government is putting. I must admit that our President has tried to do the best he can, but it appears the President is now becoming more of a whistle-blower like anybody else. He is in the Executive and they are not implementing what he wishes us to implement. We feel that some of the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and the NGO Board, which have been fighting against corruption, must take a stronger action. The President has brought the private sector on board and given them notice that they are going to be just as liable as givers and receivers. That is a great thing. We need to blacklist the private entities that have been accused of corruption and bribery. Hitherto, this used to be the cost of doing business. No longer is the cost of corruption going to be the cost of doing business. There is a whistle blowing site that has been established. There are such international sites where we can put the names of people who have been involved in corruption, either the private sector or the public sector. There is a clause now requiring all private businesses to put together some sort of a standard on ethical business. We have standards for accounting and other things. There is going to be a requirement by the relevant institutes that the companies will make a declaration that they have in place procedures that will ensure ethical business practises. If those practises are not adhered to, the accounts and annual statements can be disqualified. That is a great move. I plead with our accounting bodies to adopt that particular clause. The Bribery Bill covers that. The Bribery Bill also ropes in foreign public officials. Any person who bribes a foreign official and has an intention to influence a public official is guilty of an offence. As we all know, we have had a number of foreign companies doing some very big business here. I thank them for that. Some of them have been flouting these ethics. They have been bribing, in different ways, the public officials and making them not to do their job. How do they do that? That is another form of corruption that we have discussed at different levels, where they gave commissions abroad. They gave commissions money in foreign currency. So, they say there is no corruption which has taken place in this country. If a foreign company wants a big contract, they go and talk"
}