By Wisdom Mumera
Temba Mliswa the Chairperson of Southern Africa Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption (SAPNAC) represented the regional body at the 4-day APNAC Biennial Meeting recently held in Ghana.
The meeting, brought together parliamentarians from across 24 African countries.
The theme for this edition was: “Repositioning APNAC in the Fight against Corruption: Overcoming Current and Emerging Challenges”
It discussed ways to strengthen anti-corruption efforts and promote transparency and accountability on the continent.
Mliswa hailed the initiative reiterating his call for vigilance as corruption fights back.
“It was an engaging and informative meeting at which ideas were shared and we reaffirmed the resolution to fight corruption.
“Corruption fights back and thus requires continued vigilance,” he said.
Louis G. Vlavonou, the President of APNAC-Africa and the Speaker of the National Assembly of Benin, said corruption stood as one of the most significant threats to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063.
“It undermines public trust, fuels transnational financial crimes, and jeopardizes our borders, sovereignty, and overall development,” he said.
Mr Vlavonou noted that while progress had been made in combating corruption over the past few decades, much more remained to be done, adding that “in this context, the work of the African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption was more crucial than ever.”
“Corruption is a cancer that is eating away at the fabric of our societies,” Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, the Speaker of the Parliament, said in his keynote address.
“We must reposition APNAC as a true vanguard of Africa’s integrity movement and work together to create a continent where integrity is the norm, not the exception,” he added.