27 Jan 2025

The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) autonomy and delinking from the main public service is a vital step of its remodelling under the new administration.

This was revealed by the Minister for State President, Mr Moeti Mohwasa during a strategic engagement with DCEC senior staff members in Gaborone, yesterday.

He said effort to remodel the anti-corruption agency into an independent institution entailed delinking the DCEC from the mainstream public service.

“The government stands to support this initiative as it will enhance the directorate’s operational autonomy and efficiency,” he said.

Therefore, he said, priority was given to the review and amendment of the Corruption and Economic Crime Act to facilitate transition and alignment with the government’s vision.

He said it was envisaged that the revamped directorate and other critical institutions, would report directly to a select committee or Parliament, which would among others be tasked with interviewing and selecting candidates for the Director General position and recommend to the President for final determination.

Furthermore, Mr Mohwasa said there were several initiatives that government would undertake in the next few months, which included a forensic audit on government expenditure and the functional efficacy of existing systems and institutions.

“The importance of conducting a forensic audit on government expenditure to identify and address irregularities and deficiencies cannot be understated,” he said.

Mr Mohwasa said the audit was pivotal to promoting integrity and rebuilding public trust.

Also, he said addressing staff morale, recognising their contributions and providing the necessary resources to enhance the performance of the directorate was one of the utmost importance in its transformative journey.

“The government expected DCEC to reform its mandate of corruption prevention to elimination, he said, adding that the government intended to eliminate corruption and to entrench anti-corruption culture in the society.

  The DCEC Director General, Ms Botlhale Makgekgenene, said the country was once hailed as the least corrupt country in Africa but its ratings have steadily declined.

“While this decline reflects global trends, it is imperative that we intensify local efforts to reverse this downward trajectory and improve our international standing,” she said.

She said the DCEC was charged with executing a critical mandate that affects and impacts every facet of society and further said the directorate appreciated anti-corruption initiatives currently taking place across government.

She said such included forensic audits, development of digital expenditure tracking tools, addressing wastage and overcharging of government for goods and services, the call for collective accountability as well as enhancing overall efficiency in resource management.

Also, she said the directorate observed a surge in reports concerning corruption in high-value infrastructure projects, where evaluation teams colluded with contractors, manipulating bidding timelines and tender processes to favour undeserving bidders.

She said procurement, land-related corruption, poor records management and data collection and the lack of structured and digitised record-keeping systems remained some of the problems in corruption fight.

Ms Maipelo Mophuting, the assistant minister for State President, said the workshop provided a platform for discussions on how best the country could tackle corruption.

Ms Mophuting said fighting corruption was a shared responsibility for all. ENDS