On June 11 and 12, 2024, the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, hosted the 14th meeting of the Steering Committee of the Forum of African State Audit Offices and Similar Institutions.

Several key issues related to the organization’s operations and development were on the agenda, including a review of the 2023 activity and financial reports of FIGE and IFIGE, and preparations for the 9th General Assembly and the 11th FIGE International Symposium, scheduled to take place in Luanda, Angola, from October 22 to 25, 2024.

The committee members unanimously adopted the theme for the upcoming symposium: “The Fight Against Corruption and Money Laundering: Investigation, Enforcement, and Cooperation.” This theme lies at the heart of current concerns on the African continent and is part of efforts to strengthen FIGE’s member Supreme Audit Institutions by exploring ways to improve procedures and practices for the control, prevention, and detection of corruption and money laundering, and to encourage cooperation among members.

The agenda for the 11th edition of this conference includes several sub-themes, including: the regulatory and normative framework for combating corruption and money laundering; law enforcement: the roles and scope of action of supreme audit institutions (SAIs); and corruption and money laundering: a regional and international perspective within the framework of national and international cooperation.

The Steering Committee has established two working groups, specifically to develop institutional and organizational standards for member institutions and an audit framework for members. These committees, composed of the Supreme Authority for State Audit and Anti-Corruption of Burkina Faso, the General State Inspectorates of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, and Mauritania, and the FIGE Executive Secretariat, will present their work at the extraordinary meeting of the Steering Committee, scheduled for October 22, 2024, in Luanda, Republic of Angola, for approval by the 9th General Assembly.

The State Comptroller General of the Congo and Chair of the Steering Committee, Mr. Germain Kiamba, emphasized the importance of the mission of the committees responsible for the various frameworks: “The value of our collaboration lies in collectively developing strategies to effectively combat harmful practices, thereby improving public management and supporting our governments in promoting good governance.”

In his opening remarks, the Executive Secretary and Inspector General of Djibouti, Mr. Hassan Issa Sultan, warmly thanked the Comptroller General of the Congo for having allocated significant resources to each event organized by FIGE under his presidency.

Mr. Hassan Issa went on to emphasize that “the Forum of African State Audit Institutions and Similar Institutions is our shared institution, and we have a responsibility to ensure the development of our organization ourselves so that it can fully achieve the objectives we have set for ourselves in accordance with our strategic plan. “The implementation of our activities must be supported primarily by FIGE resources,” he added, and further urged FIGE members to step up their efforts to promote and support the activities of FIGE and the FIGE Institute.

The Executive Secretary presented the main activities undertaken to strengthen cooperation ties with the forum’s partners and to seek new partners, including meetings organized with the World Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency, the African Development Bank, the European Anti-Fraud Office, and the project to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism in Eastern, Southern, and Central Africa and Yemen.

At the conclusion of the session, heartfelt thanks were extended to the President of the Republic of the Congo, His Excellency Mr. Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, and his government for their exceptional support in organizing this meeting of the FIGE Steering Committee in Brazzaville, as well as to the various delegations present for their active participation in the proceedings.