Mr. President of the Republic of Niger, Head of State, Excellency Bazoum Mohamed
The state of implementation of good governance and anti-corruption practices in Niger shows that the situation is serious. Indeed, several recent reports and developments clearly show that in Niger we are wading in pools of bad governance and corruption. Among others, we cite
The general report of public audits 2020 and 2021 of the Court of Accounts; http://www.courdescomptes.ne/index.php/publications/rapports-2/send/3-rapport-general-public/121-rapport-general-public-2021
The summary report of the compliance audit resulting from the audit of public contracts and public service delegations for the years 2020 and 2021 https://www.armp-niger.org/audits
HALCIA's press briefings on the state's internal revenue control operations for the period 2019-2020, https://halcia.ne/communiques-de-presse/
The so-called Ministry of Defense case (MDNGate) and Uranium Gate https://www.lesahel.org/point-de-presse-du-procureur-de-la-republique-et-du-secretaire-general-du-ministere-de-la-justice-mise-au-point-sur-la-situation-des-detenus-de-la-maison-centrale-de-haute-securite-de-koutoukale-et/
the so-called Ibou Karadjé case
the so-called CNTPS case http://www.anp.ne/article/transport-des-produits-strategiques-au-niger-pres-de-4-5-milliards-de-cfa-detournes-dans-la etc...
We would also like to draw your attention to the need to take strong actions to preserve Niger from a descent into the abyss. These actions will require 1/ coercive measures to be taken against individuals and/or legal entities in line with the law who have been singled out in the various reports and cases; 2/ corrective measures to address the various failures; 3/ preventive and proactive measures to anticipate and prevent unfortunate situations that undermine the establishment of good governance and that perpetuate the growth and expansion of corruption, 4/ the adoption of the draft anti-corruption law and 5/ Niger's membership in the Open Government Partnership.
As good and laudable as the intentions may be, they will remain professions of faith if the actions do not follow. A lack of strong and concrete actions will contribute to maintaining a climate of mistrust of the people towards the leaders, and to keeping the people that the leaders are supposed to serve in abject poverty while deteriorating their quality of life. Indeed, good governance remains an essential condition for the development of Niger and the tone must necessarily come from the leaders who must be exemplary. Indeed, are not frauds in exams and competitions a reflection of the image sent by the elites to the youth through bad governance characterized by, among other things, the execution of public contracts without respecting the legal rules in the matter, leading to overbilling, poor execution of work, non-delivery of goods and services paid for, and supply of defective products or products that do not respect standards, all actions that can be likened to organized and maintained fraud?
Some forms of corruption are so serious that they affect human life, human rights and human welfare that they should be considered crimes against humanity - the crime of high-level corruption.
Dear Mr. President
The Rule of Law and Exemplarity begin and must be guaranteed first at the top of the State. Democracy cannot be reduced to the cyclical organization of elections and declarations of political principles without concept or effect. Mr. President of the Republic of Niger, through the Consortium that we represent (the Niger Anti-Corruption Network RENAC, the Network of Organizations for Transparency and Budget Analysis ROTAB and Turn the Page TLP), the citizens of Niger and the citizens of the world express their outcry and condemn with the greatest energy the misappropriation of public funds, impunity, corruption and embezzlement and the recent report of the Court of Auditors dated April 21, 2022 sufficiently demonstrates the mismanagement of public funds in a country where more than 4 million people are living under food insecurity or an estimated 16.66% of the Nigerien population.
Mr. President, this petition is not an attack on you, but it does not exonerate you either. It is a democratic expression of Nigeriens, friends of Niger and all free citizens of the world, who have taken note of the facts and who recognize themselves in our approach. Our approach is provided for and guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human and Peoples' Rights, the United Nations Convention against Corruption and its review mechanism, the African Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption as well as by the Constitution of Niger, because we are talking here about about 500,000,000,000 of our Francs, that is to say 762,245,086 Euros.
The citizens of Niger and of the world have financed these funds through their donations, taxes and duties to help the most vulnerable and the development of our dear country. These embezzlements and financial misappropriations constitute a crime against humanity.
Mr. President, politics has not ceased since 1991 and still today, to be the means of enriching oneself on the patrimony and public funds in Niger, while being certain to enjoy the most total impunity in full view of all.
Your Excellency, it is time to put into practice what you said during your inauguration speech: "That is why I would like to make it clear that anyone who has a responsibility in the public administration will henceforth be solely and entirely responsible for his actions. His political party, his "base", his family, his community will not be of any help to him in case his behavior should require a coercive measure against him. For this reason, I will demand from all those in charge at the different levels of the administration that the executives be promoted on the basis of their technical competence and their morality.
The second major problem in our governance is the prevalence of bribery and corruption within the administration. Corruption takes various forms: bribes, over-invoicing, inappropriate expenses, fictitious orders, partially delivered orders, etc. Such practices occur despite all the administrative and legal mechanisms in place to prevent and punish them. That is why the best way to fight corruption is to crack down on those who are guilty of it. My credo will be to rely mainly on the pedagogy of the example by not tolerating in any way the principle of impunity. Thus, I will be implacable against delinquents because I am aware of the damage that corruption does to the development of the country. It is also a serious source of discredit for a regime and as such, it is a great factor of insecurity.
https://www.presidence.ne/discours-du-prsident/2021/4/2/c3v845lmha8vqpf0nnalmff0xfka9s."
The time is serious, the time is no longer for long speeches, the time is for saving actions for Niger and its people.
"It takes a great man to listen well to others. Calvin Coolidge, Lawyer, Governor, Statesman, Lawyer, Politician, President (1872 - 1933)
