34th AU Summit: New African Union Advisory Board on Corruption appointed

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February 10, 2021

Six (6) new Board Members of the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption have been appointed following their election by the African Union Executive Council ministerial meeting on the 4th of February 2021. The Council, by delegated authority, automatically and simultaneously appointed the members after election.

The Advisory Board on Corruption is composed of eleven (11) members elected by the Executive Council from among a list of experts of the highest integrity, impartiality, and recognized competence in matters relating to preventing and combating corruption and related offences, proposed by the State Parties. Board Members serve for a term of two (2) years renewable only once.

The election of the six board members was based on equitable regional representation, gender parity as follows: Mr. Jean Louis Andriamifidy (Madagascar), representing the Eastern Region, and Ms. Agness Kayobo Ng’andu (Zambia), representing the Southern region, were re-elected for a second term. The other newly elected members were:

- Mr. Jean Claude BIZIMANA (Burundi), Central Region;

- Ms. Seynabou Ndiaye DIAKHATE (Senegal), Western Region;

- Mr. Pascoal Antonio JOAQUIM (Angola), Southern Region; and

- Mr. Francis Ben KAIFALA (Sierra Leone), Western Region.

The six will take over from the outgoing members whose two-year term lapsed following their election in February 2019. They are:
- Mr. Pascal Bamouni (Burkina Faso).

- Mr. Miarom Begoto (Chad).

- Ms. Elisabeth Afiavi Gnansounou (Benin).

- Mr. Sefako Aaron Seema (Lesotho).

The new Board members will join currently serving Board members whose term will lapse in July 2020 and February 2022. These are:
- Mr. Samuel Kimeu (Kenya).

- Ms. Sabina Seja (Tanzania).

- Ms. Anne Marie Rose Mougemba (Congo Brazaville).

- Ms. Amal Mahmoud Amar Khalifa (Egypt).

- Mr. Hocine Ait Chalal (Algeria).

The Advisory Board on Corruption is an organ of the African Union tasked with the unique responsibility to advice on and address corruption and related themes on the continent. The Board is also mandated to rally for the ratification and implementation by member states, the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC). The Convention was adopted in Maputo, Mozambique on 11 July 2003 and came into force in 2006. To date, the Convention has been ratified by 44 Member States of the African Union. Since adoption of the Convention, African states have made significant strides in the fight against corruption including the enactment of national laws and the creation of anti-corruption agencies.

The Board has also been instrumental in steering the development of the Common African Position on Asset Recovery. The document underlines the process of Asset recovery process for AU member states in cases where the proceeds of corruption and related offences/crimes are identified, recovered and returned to the country of origin. It is therefore an important aspect of the anti-corruption chain as it ensures that stolen assets are seized and return to their legitimate owners.