Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare Jean Kalilani has said corruption disproportionately affects the poor, particularly women.
Kalilani, who is also chairperson of the Bureau of the African Union Specialised Technical Committee on Gender and Women Empowerment, said this on Wednesday during the opening of 10th African Union (AU) Pre-Summit held at AU headquarters in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa.
She said: “Corruption excludes poor people from public services and perpetuates poverty by affecting public programmes meant to benefit the poor, especially women.”
In his remarks, Kenyan eloquent law professor Patrick Lumumba warned that Africa will not achieve Agenda 2063 if the continent fails to curb the prevailing corruption, particularly among politicians.
“As long as Africa does not combat corruption, the continent will never realise the dividends of Agenda 2063,” he said.
Director of All Africa Conference of Churches, Reverend Lydia Mwaniki, said Africa is corrupt and yet it is the most religious continent.
“That’s very sad disconnect and it raises questions about the quality of our faith,” she said.
Held under the theme ‘Winning the fight against corruption: A sustainable path to gender equality and women empowerment in Africa’, the summit has also attracted various international development partners such as the United Nations.
