Ntsebeng Motsoeli
MASERU — The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) will next week launch the Business Action Against Corruption (BAAC), a public-private Commonwealth initiative to combat corruption.
The DCEO says the aim of BAAC is to bring government, private sector and civil society together to fight corruption.
“This initiative has been launched in several African countries such as Malawi, Botswana, Tanzania, Nigeria and Cameroon,” said a press release from the DCEO.
In Lesotho the initiative was introduced during the African Forum on public-private strategies to improve governance in March 2011.
“To date various stakeholders have been met in the 10 districts of the country and there is a strong buy-in,” the DCEO says.
Lesotho ranks at position 77 out of 183 countries assessed for corruption, according to the 2011 Corruption Perception Index.
Where 10 is the score for most corruption-clean countries, Lesotho scored 3.5.
The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries according to their perceived levels of public-sector corruption.
The 2011 index draws on different assessments and business opinion surveys carried out by independent and reputable institutions.
The surveys and assessments used to compile the index include questions relating to the bribery of public officials, kickbacks in public procurement, embezzlement of public funds, and questions that probe the strength and effectiveness of public-sector anti-corruption efforts.
Comments are closed.