By Ibrahim Lamorde
Remarks at the inaugural EFCC
Zonal Anti-Corruption Sensitization Workshop for
Women Civil Society and Community-Based Groups organised in partnership with the African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL).
Protocols
I warmly welcome you to this unique gathering: the inaugural training forum
for women civil society and community-based organisations on
anti-corruption and economic and financial crimes.
In our effort to position civil society as a catalyst
in the fight against corruption, we have initiated a number of programmes,
including enhancing the investigative skills of journalists and building the
capacity of community-based organizations, faith-based organizations and
professional groups on budget monitoring and tracking.
We are convinced that the power to change the
destiny of our nation as one blighted by deep-rooted corruption, lies in our
hands. Therefore this sensitization
workshop with the
theme, ‘how women’s organizations can aid
the fight against corruption, economic and financial crimes’, is but one
little step in the long journey to making each and every one of us take
ownership of the war against corruption.
We are all agreed that corruption undermines human
development and democracy; corruption reduces public revenue, often resulting
in lower levels of spending on education, healthcare, and other social services
that directly impact women more than other groups in the society.
According to a 2008 report by the
United Nations Development Fund
for Women, UNIFEM,
women are more vulnerable to the impact of corruption than men. This is
particularly true of corruption in public service delivery. As women form a
larger proportion of the poor and take primary responsibility for child care,
they are more reliant on freely provided public services. As a result,
corruption in public service delivery has a disproportionate impact on women.
These decreased
outlays predominantly affect the welfare of women and children who often rely
mostly on accessing the vital services provided by the state.
But
it also shows that women can play a critical role in the fight against
corruption, economic and financial crimes.
With
programmes like this, we hope to mainstream gender into anti-corruption
initiatives by taking into account the implications that planned and sustained interventions
have on women and men. Such considerations can lead to better designed and
targeted policies to combat corruption.
The
participation
of women in anti-corruption initiatives is an addition in the collective effort
to rid our society of corruption.
Programmes like this can create opportunities for women’s
organisations to become engaged and carry out more effective corruption monitoring,
which contributes to improvements in policy formulation.
The
zonal sensitization workshops for women’s civil society and community-based organisations
seek to articulate a structured national response to gender and corruption. It
will target female youths and students as well as relevant public and private
agencies and institutions.
At
the end of each zonal meeting, participants will form the core of a platform – Women
Anti-corruption Network – through which the Commission and stakeholders can
interface with the general public on the issue of gender and corruption.
It
is our firm conviction that a popular anti-corruption movement removed from the
strictures of politics and bureaucracy, led and substantially driven by women
can help establish critical grassroots involvement in the fight against
corruption. We hope that, along with
other stakeholders, you would join us in realising this dream.
I
wish you all very fruitful interactions and thank you for your kind attention.
· Ibrahim
Lamorde, Executive Chairman Economic & Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He gave this speech on Monday, August 11, 2014, at Newton Park Hotel &
Resorts, Abuja, Nigeria.
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