KUALA LUMPUR: The Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said that the 52-member association would be in the forefront of innovative thinking and practical action in eliminating corruption at every level.
Speaking at the Transparency International-UK Anti-Corruption Lecture 2016 in London, she said that corruption is a scourge which holds in thrall millions of Commonwealth citizens; condemning them to servitude, poverty, disease, indignity and misery.
“Corruption steals ideals and subverts innovation. It undermines the inventive and intellectual drive that animates technological progress and cultural creativity, robbing scientists, engineers, artists and athletes of the rewards that are their due.
“I am determined that the Commonwealth will be in the forefront of innovative thinking and practical action to eliminate the scourge of corruption from institutions of governance and public life at every level, from sport, from trade, and from commerce,” she was quoted as saying at the event, in a statement.
Scotland also said that she would continue working with Transparency International, as she did over the years, as long as “corruption continues to spread its poison.”
The secretary-general was one of the architects of the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act, which is seen by many countries as a gold standard which goes further than the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in tackling the culture causes of corruption.
“My experience as Attorney General and as a practising barrister persuades me that the Commonwealth can bring something very special to international efforts against corruption,” she added.
Scotland said corruption takes toll on trade and commerce, international development and infrastructure projects, and on economic growth and social progress. — Bernama