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Archive -Seychelles

Transparency International (TI) - Putting the spotlight on illicit financial flows |05 April 2017

 

Transparency International (TI), a global movement, is hosting a workshop to strategically focus on the role of the organisation in stemming one of the leading threats to Africa’s economic growth  ̶  illicit financial flows.

A work-plan and joint collective action will be drawn up at the end of the two-day workshop taking place at the Savoy Resort and Spa at Beau Vallon.

The workshop is being attended by different TI secretariats in the region such as Mauritius, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa. Professor Dr Peter Eigen, founder of TI and Paul Banoba, responsible for TI Africa, are also present with other executive members of TI Seychelles led by Chrystold Chetty.

Dr Eigen noted in his opening remarks that “Seychelles never had enough problems for me to come here. As a global movement with one vision, we want a world free of corruption. Through chapters in more than 110 countries and an international secretariat in Berlin, we are leading the fight against corruption to turn this vision into reality. We have thousands of members around the world and we are happy to have Seychelles as the newest chapter in our fight against corruption. Since the Panama papers became public, our organisation is fighting hard to put a stop to those countries who are taking the wealth of many countries without paying taxes. Basically they are stealing from these countries. The main reason for poverty is corruption. It is also the first time that the G20 is also interested in the illicit flows of money around the world as they are also losing”.

Talking about how the organisation is financed, Dr Eigen said that “we are politically non-partisan and place great importance on our independence. We alone determine our programmes and activities – no donor has any input into Transparency International’s policies. Our sources of funding are made transparent as is our spending”.

Mr Chetty from TI Seychelles explained that “since last year we have been able to form the association, set up the executive committee and now we are in the process of raising funds and recruiting members. Our main objective is to create awareness and educate the public about having a code of conduct in our work. We will be focusing on four sectors for now: Tourism, Finance, Fisheries and Construction. We hope after the workshop, we all receive a document relating to the conduct”.

Regarding the unaccounted for US $50 million grant that have been making news recently, Mr Chetty said that TI Seychelles has written to the President and the Speaker of the National Assembly some weeks ago to initiate an investigation.

It is to be recalled that President Danny Faure has already asked the newly appointed Ombudsman, the Auditor General and the Anti-Corruption Commission to coordinate their efforts and carry out an investigation into the facts surrounding the said grant.   

TI is an international organisation with a vision to free the world of corruption. It does this by giving a voice to the victims and witnesses of corruption from villages in rural India to the corridors of power in Brussels. TI works closely with governments, businesses and citizens to stop the abuse of power and bribery.

TI is currently working in 35 countries in Africa, with a physical, formal presence in 27 countries and on-going dialogue and support in a further eight countries. TI Seychelles is the newest member of the TI family in Africa.

TI Seychelles was set up in October 2016 and is currently led by its five executive members. It has, since then, initiated a consultation process with key stakeholders in the country advocating for and promoting good practices on good governance, transparency and accountability. Its official launch will take place today.

 

 

 

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