3 March 2005
Addis Ababa — The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is hosting with partners a conference on ways of promoting investment in Africa.
Organised by the OECD in co-operation with the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the UN Global Compact and Transparency International, the conference will focus on ways in which African governments and investors can conduct business in an environment free of bribery, extortion and other forms of corruption.
According to a press release sent to The Daily Monitor, African governments and international bodies are holding this conference on Alliances for Integrity- Government and Business Roles in Enhancing African Standards of Living.
Representatives from business, trade unions, civil society, and international and regional organisations will discuss the links between integrity and investment and the roles of both governments and investors in creating an environment conducive to investment and hence to economic and social development.
A growing number of international instruments address the issues of integrity underlying efforts to promote development in Africa. The Conference will examine the impact these instruments have on companies doing business in Africa and discuss with business leaders how they can be improved.
Representatives of companies including Cadbury, SAP and De Beers that have signed up to the UN's Global Compact's anti-corruption principle will report on their experiences within their operations and with governments, other companies and non-governmental organisations in Africa.
To date, 32 African nations have signed the UN Convention against Corruption and South Africa has asked to accede to the OECD Convention against Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.
The African Union also has a Convention dealing with transparency and the fight against corruption. Transparency International's no-bribes Integrity Pacts and Business Principles for Countering Bribery clarify roles for both the public and private sector in ending corruption.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2005 The Daily Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
