Ministers approve anti-corruption laws

African Union (AU) ministers meeting in Addis Ababa have backed tough new laws aimed at wiping out corruption that has cost the continent an estimated US $148 billion. They signed up to 26 articles which are expected to be adopted as a convention by African heads of state at the AU summit in Maputo, Mozambique next year. The move will see countries agreeing to extradite officials who are suspected or have been convicted of corruption. Governments will also have the power to confiscate documents from banks to help with convictions. The AU also wants both civil society and the media to play a role in the fight. But within the anti-corruption blueprint is also an article guaranteeing fair trails to those arrested for corruption. The laws also include a “Double Jeopardy” rule, which means that no-one can ever be tried for the same crime twice. “The objectives of this Convention are to promote and strengthen the development in Africa by each State Party of mechanisms required to prevent, detect, punish and eradicate corruption in public and private sectors,” the draft bill said.