13th December, 2010
The Kuramo Conference 2010, a gathering of eminent scholars, policy makers and business professionals recently convened by the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola to promote good governance and new development policies, has called for the establishment of an international tribunal as part of efforts to recover stolen wealth stashed away in foreign banks by corrupt public officials.
This recommendation was contained in a 16-point communiqué dubbed, “The Kuramo Declaration and Agenda†released at the weekend by The Kuramo Foundation, an offspring of the recently held conference set up to promote advocacy initiatives around issues deliberated upon at the conference.
Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Olasupo Shasore and the Executive Director, The Kuramo Foundation, Mrs. Olajumoke Oduwole, who announced this in Lagos, South West Nigeria, said the proposition formed part of the 16-point declaration and affirmation made at the maiden edition of the two-day conference held from November 2-3 in Lagos.
Participants at the conference were unanimous in their view that an international tribunal to handle the recovery of stolen wealth stashed away in foreign banks by corrupt politicians had become needful.
According to them, “the proposed tribunal which will have representatives of States and Non-Government Organisations should be established by treaty or multilateral agreement to deal with corruption and the recovery of stolen wealth.â€
They further said in the alternative, the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court could be strengthened or an African court with criminal jurisdiction should be empowered to deal with cases of corruption and the recovery of stolen wealth, thereby giving legal teeth to international and regional instruments on corruption.
As a new model for tackling endemic looting of public treasury especially in the developing and under-developed countries, the experts said, “public prosecutors should embrace civil recovery methods as a compulsory adjunct to criminal justice strategy because the option of civil recovery provides additional access to effective remedies in tracing and recovering stolen wealth from foreign jurisdictions.â€
On the proceeds of crime, the conference participants urged the Nigerian National Assembly to activate the Proceeds of Crime Bill 2008 before it and pass same into law without further delay just as it appealed to other African countries with similar laws to follow suit.
Delegates also called for an increase in the budgetary allocation for education being a strategic driver for human development while they urged African leaders to put in place the necessary mechanism to ensure access to affordable drugs to combat deadly diseases.
“African countries should negotiate affordable prices for drugs with relevant international institutions and drug manufacturers,†they said.
Advocating adequate protection for the citizens against harmful practices, the experts said children in particular should be shielded from exposure to tobacco smoking and other related habit forming activities, even as they called for the imposition of fines on manufacturers of such products.
On housing and urban regeneration, the forum said the design of housing policy schemes aimed at ensuring access to affordable housing and urban regeneration should involve the contributions of key stakeholders which must include the general public.
The conference therefore proposed that: “Mortgage financing; cooperative housing schemes and housing associations should be encouraged by governments as an important strategic option to improve access to affordable housing; increasing housing stock and unlocking capital.â€
The Kuramo Conference 2010 was an international summit attended by over 2,000 delegates, 70 multi-disciplinary experts, resource persons and knowledge vendors drawn from business, finance, energy and the environment from 25 countries across four continents.
It is a collaborative effort between a number of leading professionals in various fields of the private sector and the Lagos State Government, and it was attended by persons interested in the confluence of policy, advocacy and development as it impacts the international community at large and the African continent in particular.
