Society should not tolerate corruption

Mozambique’s Attorney-General, Beatriz Buchili, said on Tuesday that her organisation is optimistic that Mozambican society will not be tolerant towards corruption.

“Our bet is that we cannot be a society that tolerates corruption, where a motorist who breaks the rules offers money to a traffic policeman so that nothing happens to him; a society where a businessman breaks the rules governing his activity, but then offers money or other favours to the inspector so that he is not penalised”, she declared.

Buchili was speaking at the opening of an international conference on “The Intervention of State, Society and Law in the Fight against Corruption”. The conference is part of the “Project to Consolidate the Rule of Law” in the Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP) and East Timor. It is financed by the European Union and the Portuguese Camoes Institute.

Buchili added that it is not acceptable for citizens to believe that they can obtain what they want, or jump the queue, simply by offering money to a public servant.But citizens needed to understand the law, if they are to contribute to the construction of a society free of corruption. “Experience shows that it is necessary for citizens to know the conduct that constitutes criminal behaviour, as well as the mechanisms to prevent and combat it”, said Buchili.

Corrupt conduct should be purged from society not only by state officials, but also by members of the public who witness, or become aware of, corrupt practices. Society shapes individuals, argued Buchili, and so it was crucial to find the best ways of involving society in the fight against corruption.The two day conference brings together prosecutors, judges, academics, business people and specialists from financial bodies such as the Bank of Mozambique, and the Mozambican government’s Financial Intelligence Office (set up to combat money-laundering).

The “Project to Consolidate the Rule of Law” will extend until 2019, and has a total budget of 8.4 million euros (9.8 million US dollars).Its activities are intended to strengthen the institutional capacity of the relevant legislative, judicial and executive bodies, by promoting knowledge and good practices.