Rampant corruption in construction industry � DCEC
Isaac Pinielo | Friday June 30, 2017 17:06
According to the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), allegations of collusions between building contractors, supervising consultants and government employees are still rife.
DCEC director general, Rose Seretse said fraud and corruption in the construction industry is so common that it is often accepted as a cost of doing business.
“We at DCEC receive allegations of corruption related to tenders issued by central government, local authorities, and parastatals,” she said.
Since all these entities procure using public funding, Seretse noted that it is important to highlight the risks of corruption in tenders and put in place measures aimed at preventing and exposing corruption at all levels and at all times.
She said curbing corruption could benefit the country’s economy by billions of pula, which can go towards poverty eradication, considering all government efforts to drive economic growth, and the fact that corruption adds to business costs. She said other corruption occurrences are also found in land-related issues and driving licences.
The anti-corruption leader said the fact that the country has been rated as the least corrupt does not in any way suggest that there is no corruption in the country. “It only means that compared to other countries, the level of corruption in Botswana is low and there is certainly room for improvement,” she said.
Despite the positive strides made by Botswana towards attaining democracy and human rights, Seretse said corruption remains one of the greatest threats in the region as it degrades democracy, undermines rule of law, distorts markets and stifles economic growth. In addition, she said corruption denies many their rightful share of economic resources as it lines up the pockets of a few individuals at the expense of many.
She appealed for concerted efforts to improve and implement initiatives aimed at zero-tolerance for corruption in line with the national Vision 2036. “Fighting corruption is a collective responsibility and cannot be done single-handedly by any anti-corruption agency. It requires political will for all government institutions and the private sector to work towards a common goal of a corrupt-free Botswana society,” Seretse said.
However, she expressed gratitude saying the government has put the fight against corruption as one of its top priorities. She added that the cooperation of the private sector in this regard is key as corruption takes place between the public and private entities. “Both the public and private sector should demonstrate the required commitment to fight the scourge,” she said.
Seretse further stated that corruption has and continues to be the enemy that torments nations in the African continent and the developing world, adding that this is not to say corruption is confined to these countries only. She said whilst corruption is a global phenomenon affecting all countries of the world, its adverse effects are deeply felt in poor and developing nations such as Botswana.
“Both poor and developing nations require significant injections of investment to grow, noting that where corruption thrives, indications are that investors tend to shy away from such countries,” she said.