24th February 2022
Own Correspondent
The Ministry of Health and Wellness(MOHW) held a Pitso themed ‘Counteract Corruption by Promoting a Corruption Free Workplace,‘ to harness support from all stakeholders to eliminate corruption in the workplace amidst growing perceptions that corruption in the civil service is widespread.
It also serves to sensitize various service providers on issues undermining the fight against corruption and any activities which continue to hinder the integrity of the fight against this societal ill amidst a public health crises and measures that can be developed to facilitate such initiatives.
It is allegedly another demonstration of Government’s commitment towards inspiring public confidence and trust to promote good governance as well as an efficient and corrupt free public service.
Grace Muzila, Permanent Secretary for Ministry of Health and Wellness, said “We have not been faring well in the battle against corruption. COVID-19 on the other hand, has had a considerable impact on the rise of corruption, with large sums of money utilized to deal with emergencies, including the need for urgency in disbursing funds.”
She said, “The fight against corruption has become a top global priority. It is also a priority for our Government and Ministry. We cannot achieve our vision and mission if we have not closed all the gaps that allow corruption to reign.”
According to official’s corruption is not merely the domain of the Mafia but also people from all walks of life. This includes bribery, embezzlement, extortion, money laundering as well as conflicts of interest, the trading of influence, the abuse of functions and the obstruction of justice.
“The problem is not only in the scope of corruption but in how much is actually being done to contain it,” said Muzila.
The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. A country or territory’s score indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0(highly corrupt) to 100(very clean).
Botswana scored 60 in 2021, compared to 61 in previous years. It means there has been a perceived rise in the incidence of corruption in Botswana.
Sethomo Lelatisitswe, Assistant Minister of Health in the Ministry of Health and Wellness(MOHW), said “We should honestly and fairly evaluate our processes and activities to determine if they helped us fight corruption or see if there are some gaps that we need to hasten to close. Let us be free and openly discuss the policies, processes, guidelines and eventually come up with preventative measures that can help us perform better.”
He said, “We have seen allegations and insinuations from both the print and social media that our Ministry was one of the most corrupt. These are bad labels that we should do away with. We can only do so by proving to the world that we conduct our business in a clean and corrupt free manner. We should show all that we abhor corruption in all its manifestations. I further wish to emphasize that corruption flourishes in the absence of accountability, transparency and good record keeping, hence our gathering here as Accounting and Procurement Officers to map a way forward to bridge that gap.”
