Premier Ebrahim Rasool will deliver the keynote address at the Western Cape Anti-Corruption Summit taking place this Thursday and Friday, 7 and 8 December 2006, at His People's Centre, Goodwood, Cape Town. The summit is co-hosted by Local Government and Housing MEC Qubudile Richard Dyantyi, on behalf of the Provincial Government of the Western Cape, and auditing firm KPMG.

The summit has been timed to coincide with International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December and takes place under the banner "We stand together in defending development and delivery against corruption". It is expected to adopt several resolutions aimed at fighting corruption in the public service, especially at provincial and local government level.

There will be a particular focus on procurement procedures given that this is an area which has been identified as being vulnerable to corruption. The summit is also expected to re-establish the Western Cape Anti-Corruption Forum as a response to President Thabo Mbeki's call in his State of the Nation Address in February 2005. "The government will remain focused on the challenge to fight corruption in the public sector and in society at large. We will continue to intensify our offensive on this front, truly aware of the fact that much that happens in our society encourages the entrenchment of a value system based on personal acquisition of wealth by all means and at all costs," President Mbeki said at the time.

The Country Corruption Assessment Report, a joint initiative by the Department of Public Service and Administration and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which was issued during April 2003, revealed that of the businesses surveyed 49% experienced theft by employees, 34% were defrauded by employees and 15% had been offered bribes. 62% believed that corruption was now an acceptable way of conducting their trade.

The UN Economic Commission for Africa's (ECA) Governance report 2005, found that despite an overall improvement in governance in the 27 African countries surveyed, corruption is still pervasive. Corruption is ranked third amongst the most urgent problems in many African Countries after poverty and unemployment.

A more recent international survey revealed that companies reporting economic crime increased from 71% to 83% since 2003, though this can be ascribed to improved detection and improved access to report wrongdoing.

For further enquiries please contact:
Shado Twala
Spokesperson of The Premier
tel: 021 483 5642
cell: 083 640 6771
email: stwala@pgwc.gov.za