Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has partnered with the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) to develop a Global Port Integrity Index.
MACN, a global industry network comprising representatives of more than 110 companies, has teamed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of a worldwide drive to decrease maritime corruption. The proposed integrity index will draw on data collected through MACN’s Anonymous Incident Reporting Mechanism, which has accumulated 28,000 firsthand reports of port corruption since its inception.
MACN Executive Director Cecilia Müller Torbrand said: “Through the support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, MACN can take our world leading incident data to the next level and turn it into a powerful advocacy tool. This index will be instrumental in highlighting the need for further investments and initiatives addressing integrity challenges in ports to promote fair global trade.”
In addition to building the Global Port Integrity Index, the partnership between the two bodies will also see MACN expand its activities in Western Africa, with particular focus on the ports industry in Nigeria. MACN – which has to date provided anti-corruption training for more than 1,000 officials in the ports of Calabar, Lagos, Onne and Port-Harcourt – will collaborate with local government authorities, as well as local and international maritime industry stakeholders, to promote good business practice and anti-corruption regulation.
Soji Apampa, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Convention on Business Integrity, said: “Increasing transparency and ease of doing business in the port and maritime sector is a political priority of the Nigerian government; and a network like MACN has a key role to play in enabling change that is both business-friendly and that promotes integrity and business ethics. The members of MACN have significant commercial buying power when acting collectively. This is important for incentivising local stakeholder from both the public and private sector to engage with us and actively address corruption.”
