New guidance from the African Development Bank and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development will help African companies of all sizes set up measures to prevent bribery and improve the quality of corporate compliance and anti-bribery policies.
Many African companies have yet to establish effective internal control mechanisms to ensure compliance with the law and prevent bribery in their business transactions. The OECD-AfDB Joint Initiative to Support Business Integrity and Anti-Bribery Efforts in Africa has developed the Anti-Bribery Policy and Compliance Guidance for African Companies to serve as a practical, concise guide to help African companies ensure adequate controls are in place to prevent bribery.
"Transparency and accountability provide the pillars for good economic governance which itself forms the foundation for real economic transformation. It is the duty of all actors on the continent, both public and private to break the chain of corruption," said Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank.
"Companies can prevent bribery, a corrosive crime that erodes the strength of our economies and the trust of citizens in our private and public institutions. By working together to foster transparency, compliance and accountability, we can fight bribery and promote stronger, cleaner and fairer economies throughout the African continent," said Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The guidance will not only assist companies to get started with drawing up corporate anti-bribery policy and related compliance measures, it will also provide key insights on how to put them into practice.
The guidance offers a detailed compliance checklist enabling African companies to monitor their progress on areas relating to raising awareness of anti-bribery legislation among employees; developing anti-bribery policies; supporting the implementation of anti-bribery policies; industry collective action measures; specific bribery risks for state owned enterprises; and overcoming challenges confronted by SMEs.
The guidance is available at: http://bit.ly/2fndmq8
For further reading, please visit: www.afdb.org/en/topics-and-sectors/initiatives-partnerships/afdb-oecd-joint-initiative/
