United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

The UNODC Regional Office in East Africa (ROEA)

Regional Conference of the Eastern Africa Anti-Corruption Platform; Fast-tracking UNCAC Implementation in Eastern Africa, in Nairobi, Kenya.

In May 2024, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in collaboration with the Eastern African Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (EAAACA) and the Kenya Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), hosted an important conference in Nairobi on countering corruption in East Africa, building on six years of work and progress on tackling this issue.

Too frequently in East Africa, corruption siphons off essential resources from state budgets, deprives citizens of critical services, and imposes undue burdens on the business community. Economic growth in Eastern Africa is projected to rise in 2024, with many countries anticipating a 5% or higher GDP growth. Despite this optimistic outlook, the region grapples with instability stemming from prolonged conflicts, global inflation, and high borrowing costs. These challenges have led to a significant cost-of-living crisis, affecting everyday life for millions. For many countries, policies must be adapted towards prudent handling of public spending and improved mobilization of domestic revenues. The fight against corruption plays an important role in this dynamic as an essential component in making maximum use of limited public resources.

Recent data from the UN’s Global Progress Report on Sustainable Development reveal that an annual average of 29.7% of the population and 19.4% of businesses accessing public services in Sub-Saharan Africa regularly experience demands for bribes. This pervasive corruption, coupled with illicit financial flows (IFFs), poses a significant challenge across the continent, severely hampering economic development, governance, and regional stability. IFFs drain countries of vital revenue, stifling development and undermining governments' abilities to provide essential services. Thus, it is imperative to enhance countries’ capacity to recover assets lost to illicit practices and establish robust deterrents to prevent future losses.

In response to the global threats posed by corruption, the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) was adopted as the only global, legally binding international instrument against corruption. In February 2017, the EAAACA member countries convened in Nairobi, Kenya for a regional workshop on fast-tracking the implementation of UNCAC to build and foster partnerships and create a regional platform supporting anti-corruption efforts of the member countries through technical assistance and information sharing. Four key areas of work were initially identified: enhancing financial investigations, promoting transparency and accountability in public procurement, protecting whistleblowers, and fostering international cooperation among law enforcement authorities.

In subsequent years, a series of strategic initiatives were undertaken to implement recommendations across the four key thematic areas through capacity development workshops, trainings and support for legal and regulatory frameworks.

A comprehensive analysis of procurement and whistle-blower protection laws was conducted across all regional platform countries in the first quarter of 2018. Several gaps in institutional coordination were identified and addressed, as the regional platform supported the creation of national-level working groups on procurement corruption in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda in 2019. Regarding whistle-blower protection, UNODC conducted mapping and baselining missions and undertook extensive efforts in most platform countries to support the introduction or strengthening of whistle-blower protection laws between October 2018 and January 2019. National-level workshops on whistle-blower protection were also organized in Burundi in 2019 and South Sudan in 2022.

In the area of financial investigations, a detailed analysis of relevant standard operating procedures was completed in six out of eight platform countries to identify gaps in institutional frameworks and operational procedures. UNODC addressed this by supporting the Kenya EACC and the Tanzania Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau in drafting and adopting new policies on ongoing employee vetting and in managing seized and recovered assets between 2020 and 2022. 

Thereafter, the Regional Conference of the Eastern Africa Anti-Corruption Platform took place from 20- 23 May 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya. This conference marked the beginning of phase II of the platform's initiatives, rejuvenating efforts to combat corruption within the Eastern Africa region. The conference saw the participation of 181 representatives from government, civil society, the private sector, and development partners from the ten EAAACA member countries: Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, and Uganda, along with two observer states: the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia.

Organized by the UNODC in collaboration with EAAACA and the Kenya EACC, the conference received support from the UNODC-World Bank Joint Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). The United States Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), the European Union, and the Siemens Integrity Initiative provided financial support.

The event focused on identifying and prioritizing reforms to combat corruption in Eastern Africa. It featured technical discussions that brought together experts from anti-corruption agencies, financial intelligence units, and prosecution services from across the region. Key issues such as asset recovery, whistleblower protection, public procurement integrity, and private sector collective action against corruption were discussed during these sessions. This was followed by a high-level policy dialogue, culminating in an endorsed Outcome Statement to guide future activities supporting UNCAC's implementation in the region.

This conference served as a crucial platform for sharing best practices, fostering international cooperation, and developing strategies to enhance transparency and accountability. The participation of Eastern African countries reaffirmed their commitment to eradicating corruption. As Kenya’s Chief of Staff and Head of the Public Service, Mr. Felix Koskei, emphasized in his address, tackling corruption is essential for achieving sustainable economic growth and improving the quality of life in the region.

Following up on the event, UNODC is working with the EAAACA to develop viable initiatives at the country and regional level for the implementation of the recommendations contained in the outcome document.

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Francesco Checchi (Francesco.checchi@un.org)

Team Lead

Africa Anti-corruption Hub

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

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