2021 Anti-corruption Champions Award: The US State Department of State has named 12 new Anti-corruption Champions who have demonstrated leadership, courage and impact in preventing, exposing, and combating corruption. The names were announced on the eve of International Anticorruption Day and the Summit for Democracy.
The central theme of Summit for Democracy convened by US President Joe Biden was combating corruption. The Summit seeks to bring together nations to learn from each other about what works best in fighting corruption and how to address the shortcomings.
This is the second group of International Anticorruption Champions. The International Anti-Corruption Champions Award was constituted in February 2021 when an Indian Social Activist Anjali Bharadwaj was named among the first group of 12 courageous individuals.
Anti-Corruption Champions Award Significance
US President Joe Biden had announced the new International Anti-Corruption Champions Award to recognise individuals who have worked tirelessly, in the face of adversity, to defend transparency, combat corruption and ensure accountability in their own countries.
The US state department's statement read, "Often when speaking of massive, complex challenges like corruption, we lose sight of the fact that our ability to make meaningful progress and change people’s lives for the better comes down to the work of individuals – people who through sheer tenacity, creativity, and bravery, show us that even the most daunting problems are surmountable."
2021 Anti-corruption Champions Award winners
The latest Anti-corruption Champions Award honorees include-
1. Dorothy Bradley - Belize
2. Nikolay Staykov - Bulgaria
3. Alexandra Attalides - Cyprus
4. Carlos Giovanni Ruano Pineda- Guatemala
5. Gabriela Alejandra Castellanos - Honduras
6. Jamiliya Maricheva - Kazakhstan
7. Juris Juriss - Latvia
8. Riad Kobeissi - Lebanon
9. Martha Chizuma - Malawi
10. Denise Namburete - Mozambique
11. Dr. Torplus Yomnak - Thailand
12. Carlos Paparoni - Venezuela.
Martha Chizuma named Anti-corruption Champion
Malawi's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director Martha Chizuma was named one of the 12 new Anticorruption Champions. She was chosen for the award for demonstrating leadership, courage and impact in preventing, exposing and combating corruption. The US Embassy said in a statement, “Making progress in this work requires tremendous courage. To fight corruption, we need leaders from every part of our societies to step up. Thank you Martha Chizuma for showing us how it’s done.”
Chizuma had exposed abuse of office, illegalities in public appointments and other corrupt acts while she was in office.
International Anti-corruption Day
The International Anticorruption Day is observed every year on December 9th to raise public awareness regarding anti-corruption. The day has been observed every day since the passage of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption on October 31, 2003.
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