Message of Support by Ms. Nardos Bekele-Thomas for International Anti-Corruption Day, 9 December 2021

Thank you to the Programme Director. Good morning to:

• Honourable Ayanda Dlodlo, the Minister of Public Service and Administration,
• Advocate Richard Sizani,  the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission,
• Prof Somadoda Fikeni, a Commissioner of the Public Service Commission,
• Mr. Michael Seloane, a Commissioner of the Public Service Commission,
• Prof Puleng LenkaBula, the Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of South Africa
• Fellow panellists and facilitators,
• Colleagues from the academic sector, civil society, the private sector and youth organizations
• Colleagues from the UN South Africa family,
• Distinguished guests – ladies and gentlemen All Protocols Observed

On this International Anti-Corruption Day, I wish to amplify the voices of many citizens of this continent in saying, no to corruption and now is certainly not the time.

Now is not the time for corruption.

Now is not the time to prioritize profits over people.

Now is not the time to reinforce the strands and layers of inequality through vaccine hording and xenophobia disguised as protection measures.

We must amplify the message against global corruption and the tragedy of inadequate political will, selfishness and mistrust. The experiences of the last 22 months have shed light on global injustice, subjective ethics and laid bare risks we have ignored for decades. Indeed, the ongoing pandemic has supersized the global prejudice against Africa and her people.

Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, notwithstanding the importance of today’s theme I wish to first reflect on what I consider as “corruption of the moral fabric of our global community”.

Last year the Secretary General delivered the annual Nelson Mandela Lecture. In his address he emphasized that the pandemic “is exposing fallacies and falsehoods everywhere: The lie that free markets can deliver healthcare for all…The delusion that we live in a post-racist world; The myth that we are all in the same boat. While we are all floating in the same sea, it’s clear that some are in superyachts whilst others are clinging to drifting debris.”

These sentiments are as relevant today as they were last year, if not more. We continue to see them through:

1. Vaccine Inequity:

• Most developed countries have, on average,  vaccinated 80 per cent of their adult population and are even hoarding vaccines for eventual use as boosters while  the developing countries are left behind.
• This situation is myopic as the virus does not discriminate and travels from rich to poor and poor to rich and mutates freely around the world, until we reach a heard immunity globally.
• The only weapon to fight the pandemic is therefore vaccine equity.  In In this regard, the UN through WHO is urging developed nations to  share their stocks with the world.
• In the same breath, the United Nations through WTO is advocating for patent waiver on COVID vaccines so that countries like South Africa with capabilities in place can manufacture such vaccines.

2. Imbalanced Recovery from COVID-19

• For the poorest and most vulnerable people, the pandemic has amplified misery and inequalities. Around 120 million more people have been pushed into poverty. Hunger and famines have become a serious threat to millions of people around the world. Billions lack the safety nets they need to cope such as social protections, health care and job protection.
• In contrast, even before the pandemic, the world’s billionaires held more wealth than 60 per cent of the global population — and that gap has widened enormously over the last 2 years. In the same breath, the stage is being set for a lopsided recovery with advanced economies investing 28 per cent of their GDPs into economic recovery, while the least developed countries are investing just 1.8 per cent.
• In my experience, for the “world to build back better from the pandemic and live a peaceful and prosperous life, it  cannot, depend on the actions of a single country or few countries but on concerted global efforts to rebalance the world economy.  No single nation can enjoy prosperity while the neighbourhood wallows in poverty. “
• We therefore need to accelerate the realisation of our common agenda of action, designed to strengthen and accelerate multilateral agreements particularly the 2030 Agenda and make a tangible difference to people’s lives all over the world.

Ladies and Gentlemen, these issues are not new. They are merely an expression of Western perceptions on who is more deserving of equal access to resources and opportunities for development. These are the impacts of a world order that continues to reinforce and benefit from an immorally corrupt system of colonialism and subjective ethics.

We must also acknowledge that corruption is not a developing country or an African problem only, it is global phenomenon. Throughout history, the Western countries have made themselves the gatekeepers on what is corrupt and what is not, and on what is wrong or right. These nations have dictated the discourse on corruption and framed it as an African problem to exonerate themselves from being held accountable for corruption. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, today we must interrogate this perception and we must call out Western corruption just as we do within in our own borders.

As the United Nations, we recognize that these critical issues will not go away through individual country actions alone. Instead, we need a strong multilateralism that will define a new set of values for global cooperation. We need to renew the social contract within all societies with a common agenda for a better world. We need a new social contract, which more fairly shares power, resources and opportunities and sets the foundations of a sustainable human rights-based economy. As the United Nations Secretary-General has said, the pandemic presents an opportunity to develop a New Social Contract at the national level, and to aspire to a New Global Deal at the international level. This should be our main priority.

As we commemorate International Anti-Corruption Day, we must also call out our own corruption which robs us of human development and displaces us of our right to safety and a prosperous life.  This year’s theme - “Your right, your role: Say no to corruption”- resonates with the resolutions of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. It challenges us to ring the alarm on the threats posed by corruption to the stability and security of societies, and the unethical behaviour that jeopardizes justice, sustainable development and the rule of law.

In 2003, through the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, Member States including those in the West, sent a clear message that the international community is determined to prevent and control corruption. It warned the corrupt that betrayal of the public trust will no longer be tolerated, and it reaffirmed the importance of core values such as honesty, respect for the rule of law, accountability and transparency in promoting development and making the world a better place for all.

Today’s forum provides us with an important opportunity to revisit the standards, measures and rules of the Convention and hold each other as -  States, Government officials, the judiciary, the national proscecuting authorities, the legislative sector civil servants, law enforcement officers, media representatives, the private sector, civil society, academia, the public and youth - accountable in applying them in these trying times.

As I close, I wish to emphasize that  it is not only countries that need to unite and face this global problem with shared responsibility. Every single person - young and old - has a role to play to prevent and counter corruption which is at the expense of the poor, eradicate endemic  poverty in order to promote resilience and integrity at all levels of society.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Now is the time to commit, to act and to deliver

Now is the time to restore trust and confidence

Now is the time to inspire hope and save lives and livelihoods.

History has shown that we are capable of great things when we work together for humanity and prosperity.

I thank you