In honor of the UN’s International Anti-Corruption Day, Congress addressed the topic at an anti-corruption forum where Colombia’s Inspector General on Thursday spoke of the pervasive corruption that exists in Colombias private and public sectors.
“Never before in history has there been so much talk of transparency, never before have there been so many conventions, never before have there been so many national and international conferences, never before has there been so many officials provisioned to defining policies in the fight against corruption, yet there has never been so much drama or presence of it [corruption] that discredits our institutions,” Inspector General Alejandro Ordoñez stated Thursday, according to newspaper El Espectador.
Ordoñez, who also talked about the various existing laws that needed to be improved to avoid corruption and increase transparency, is ironically under scrutiny for “buying” his own election last week by giving jobs to family members of voting senate members.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, Prosecutor General and Colombia’s secretary of Anti-Corruption and Transparency, Carlos Fernando Galan, also attended the U.N. sponsored forum, reported weekly Semana.
The congressional forum was not only in line with the The United Nation’s December 9 Anti-Corruption Day, but also comes after Transparency International’s annual report on corruption, which was published on December 5. The report stated that Colombian’s perception of corruption in their country is higher this year than last.
“A comprehensive strategy is needed, not isolated actions. We have already created a corruption statute and it has served, but it is not enough,” Caracol Radio quoted Anti-Corruption Secretary Galan saying after the release of the report.