For outstanding fight against corruption: CONAC boss recognises Dr Roger Koranteng, Rose Seretse.

The two distinguished anti-corruption crusaders, whose works have had tremendous impact across the continent for years, were acknowledged on Monday May 4.

This was during the opening ceremony of the 16th Commonwealth Regional Conference of Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa.

The ceremony was presided over by the Minister Delegate at the Presidency of the Republic in charge of Supreme State Audit, Mbah Acha Rose Fomundam.

Minister Mba Acha chaired the event in her capacity as representative of the President of the Republic, Paul Biya. 

This year’s high-level confab is taking place under the theme: “Deploying Artificial Intelligence in the fight against corruption in Commonwealth Africa”. According to organisers, heads of anti-corruption agencies from 20 countries in Commonwealth Africa are in attendance.

“Happy to do this on the continent”

Dr Koranteng, it should be recalled, is the Head of Public Sector Governance at the Commonwealth Secretariat in the United Kingdom, UK.

He revealed that he is responsible for all anti-corruption governance issues around the Commonwealth in Africa, Asia, Pacific and other parts of the world.

According to the CONAC boss, Dr Koranteng was recognised for his indispensable role in creating the Association of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa, AAACoA, in 2011.

Dr Koranteng said he had a vision 16 years ago to bring all the African anti-corruption agencies together. He staged a maiden conference in Gaborone, Botswana, where the association was born.

He also had the vision of setting up an anti-corruption training centre in Botswana known as Commonwealth Africa Anti-Corruption Centre, CAACC, based in Gaborone.

Established in 2013, it acts as a regional one-stop-shop for professional development of anti-corruption practitioners.

“I am happy that something I thought 16 years ago has come to fruition and become big like this. The next vision is how do we make it bigger and deal with corruption which is affecting our continent. I am happy to do this on the continent,” Dr Koranteng said. 

“I feel so humbled, honoured”

Reacting to the recognition, Seretse, who is a founding member of the Association of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa, said she was “humbled and honoured”.

Rev Dr Massi Gams said Seretse was honoured for her “outstanding fight against corruption across the continent and globally.”

Reacting after the recognition, Seretse said: “I truly appreciate it. It was a pleasant surprise. I was not informed prior to it. Sometimes you do your work without realising that other people are recognising your effort and it is only after people recognise the good work that you have done that they honour it,” Seretse said.

“For me, it was such a humbling moment to realise that my fellow Africans, even the world, have recognised my role in the fight against corruption having established the Commonwealth anti-corruption association in Botswana in 2011 and the Commonwealth Africa anti-corruption centre in Botswana in 2013,” she added.

She stressed that the fight against corruption is a “collective responsibility”. According to Seretse, “it cannot be won by any single country or any single institution. It takes a concerted effort”.

She encouraged stakeholders to put all hands on deck to flush out corruption, and added that countries should prioritise networking, and sharing of information, which, she said “is very important in the fight against corruption”.

Seretse also added that anti-corruption officers are not immune to corruption, but also have to make sure they “keep up to date within themselves in terms of fighting corruption”. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3781 of Wednesday May 06, 2026