Regional Anti-Corruption Platform for Southern Africa

Thematic priorities

Inter-agency cooperation on anti-corruption investigation and prosecution, with a focus on policy development.
Protection of whistle-blowers and witnesses.
Asset disclosure and declarations, detection of illicit enrichment, beneficial ownership and how to undertake increased scrutiny of politically exposed persons (PEPs).
Identifying and managing conflict of interest in public procurement.

The Regional Anti-Corruption Platform for Southern Africa brings together anti-corruption practitioners across the region, facilitating the sharing of experiences to accelerate the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

The platform was launched in October 2019 at a regional conference in Livingstone, Zambia, that resulted in the adoption of a statement with recommendations on fast-tracking the implementation of the Convention in four regional priority areas identified by the participating countries.

In February 2022, a regional workshop in Cape Town, South Africa took stock of the progress achieved in the thematic areas of whistle-blower protection and anti-corruption in public procurement with a specific focus on the use of data and technology.

Additionally, a regional conference was held in June 2023 in Luanda, Angola, gathering Southern African Development Community (SADC) Member States, namely Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The conference broadened the scope of participation in this platform to the SADC Member States in two thematic areas - cooperation (national and regional) and public procurement. The road map adopted at the event was integrated in the SADC Strategic Anti-Corruption Plan 2023-2027.

2019 Livingstone Conference Statement

This document is the main outcome of the regional conference on fast-tracking the UN Convention against Corruption in Southern Africa (October 2019, Zambia), containing regional commitments and recommendations in four thematic areas.

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Priority areas as defined in the 2019 Livingstone Conference Statement

Objective 1: Strengthen domestic cooperation among law enforcement agencies, public and private sector institutions, and civil society
Objective 2: Strengthen regional cooperation between law enforcement bodies and prosecution authorities
Objective 3: Strengthen independence of specialized bodies to investigate and prosecute corruption offences
Objective 4: Further capacity-building of specialized bodies to investigate and prosecute corruption offences

Objective 1. Raise awareness on whistle-blowing protection systems
Objective 2: Adopt or review a comprehensive legal framework on whistle-blowing protection
Objective 3: Improve the regulatory frameworks on whistle-blower protection
Objective 4: Improve the effectiveness of protection mechanisms applicable to whistle-blowers
Objective 5: Adopt an effective and efficient system to be able to handle all reports, including when they are made in an anonymous manner
Objective 6: Offer possibilities to provide independent advice to persons who consider making a report (“blowing the whistle”)
Objective 7: Clarify the concept of “bad faith” reporting
Objective 8: Improve protective measures applicable to witnesses, including reporting persons in the context of criminal proceedings
Objective 9: Enhance regional and international cooperation to improve the protection of witnesses, including reporting persons, in the context of criminal proceedings

Objective 1: Use asset and interest disclosure systems to both prevent corruption, and facilitate the detection, investigation and prosecution of corruption crimes
Objective 2: Strengthen beneficial ownership framework

Objective 1: Ensure the country’s conflict of interest approach in relation to public procurement is consistent with the global best practices
Objective 2: Ensure in-country harmonization of conflict of interest laws related to public procurement and to the maximum extent possible in the region
Objective 3: Increase prevention efforts in conflict of interest within public procurement

2023 Angola Conference Road Map

This document is the main outcome of the regional conference on combating corruption in SADC countries (May-June 2023), containing regional commitments and recommendations in the areas of regional cooperation and public procurement.

English

Priority areas as defined in the 2023 Angola Conference Road Map

Objective 1: Promote and facilitate regional cooperation to ensure effective and efficient handling of mutual legal assistance and extradition requests
Objective 2: Enhance the capacity of the SADC Anti-Corruption Committee (SACC) to oversee the effective implementation of the SADC Protocol against Corruption
Objective 3: Increase efforts on information-sharing between Member States
Objective 4: Strengthen the capacity of anti-corruption agencies and other related bodies
Objective 5: Intensify efforts to promote coordination and cooperation at national level

Objective 1: Increase transparency in public procurement systems
Objective 2: Increase citizens demand for accountability in public procurement
Objective 3: Strengthen institutional mechanisms for public procurement oversight
Objective 4: Increase professional standards for public procurement officials
Objective 5: Enhance regional cooperation in public procurement management

Learn more about the Anti-Corruption Hub active in the region

United Nations

Office on Drugs and Crime

Corruption and Economic Crime Branch

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Regional Anti-Corruption Platform for Southern Africa

Thematic priorities

2019 Livingstone Conference Statement

Priority areas as defined in the 2019 Livingstone Conference Statement

Priority area 1: Inter-agency cooperation on investigation and prosecution of anti-corruption cases, with a focus on policy development

Priority area 2: Whistle-blowing protection vs. protection of reporting persons in the context of criminal proceedings

Priority area 3: Asset disclosure, including asset declaration, detection of illicit enrichment, beneficial ownership and how to undertake increased scrutiny of politically exposed persons (PEPs)

Priority area 4: Identifying and managing conflict of interest in the context of public procurement

2023 Angola Conference Road Map

Priority areas as defined in the 2023 Angola Conference Road Map

Priority area 1: National and regional coordination

Priority area 2: Public procurement

United Nations

Office on Drugs and Crime

Corruption and Economic Crime Branch

Sorry, the browser you are using is not fully supported by our site.

Regional Anti-Corruption Platform for Southern Africa

8 participating countries

Thematic priorities

2019 Livingstone Conference Statement

Priority areas as defined in the 2019 Livingstone Conference Statement

Priority area 1: Inter-agency cooperation on investigation and prosecution of anti-corruption cases, with a focus on policy development

Priority area 2: Whistle-blowing protection vs. protection of reporting persons in the context of criminal proceedings

Priority area 3: Asset disclosure, including asset declaration, detection of illicit enrichment, beneficial ownership and how to undertake increased scrutiny of politically exposed persons (PEPs)

Priority area 4: Identifying and managing conflict of interest in the context of public procurement

2023 Angola Conference Road Map

Priority areas as defined in the 2023 Angola Conference Road Map

Priority area 1: National and regional coordination

Priority area 2: Public procurement