Nonetheless, speaking at the end of a planning meeting between the G-10 and the government, the current G-10 chairperson, Danish ambassador Mogens Pedersen, recognised that advances had been made with the approval by the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, of three key laws – the law to protect victims, witnesses and whistle-blowers, the law strengthening the powers of the Central Office for the Fight against Corruption (GCCC), and the law on public probity (which sets out rules for the conduct of all public officials).
According to a report in Tuesday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”, Pedersen noted that the great challenge now lies in implementing these laws. He thought it urgent that the government create the conditions for implementing these laws, without waiting for parliament to approve the rest of the package of anti-corruption legislation.
This includes a complete re-write of the Mozambican Penal Code – the new Code has been submitted to the Assembly and is on the agenda for the current session. But with less than two months remaining for this sitting, which must also pass the state budget and plan for 2013, and amended electoral legislation, it is possible that the Assembly may have to postpone a debate on the Penal Code until next year.
“We think that the existing legal framework allows concrete actions to be undertaken to prevent and fight against corruption”, said Pedersen. “The administration of the public service has a fundamental role in prevention, while in the punitive area the main responsibility falls on the judicial system”.
The Minister of Planning and Development, Aiuba Cuereneia, assured the G-19 that the government is committed to seeking innovative solutions to development challenges though open, frank and participatory dialogue, as well as to complying with the indicators and targets agreed at the meetings with the G-19.
Post published in: Africa News