A study by the Alliance for Integrity and the Strategic Partnership Digital Africa shows that digital solutions contribute to better governance and reduction of corruption risks in African countries. Areas of application include, for example, public procurement, business registers, payments and digital training measures. In this context, the Alliance for Integrity has worked with the GhIE to develop the virtual SBL tool which will be mandatory for all 7,000 GhIE members.
The process was initiated at a workshop of the Alliance for Integrity‘s Awareness Raising Working Group in Accra which included representatives from the Ghana Institution of Engineering. Engineers, for example in civil and electrical engineering, are expected to maintain high ethical standards. Integrity, honesty and ethical behavior are particularly relevant to public welfare and safety. These standards are about, among other things, preventing and avoiding illegal activities.
Based on these high ethical and professional standards, the SBL now provides engineers with relevant knowledge on business ethics, compliance and anti-corruption. It offers modules on national and international anti-corruption laws as well as risk awareness and practical examples of solutions on topics such as bribery, conflicts of interest, and collusion and contacts with public officials. In this way, the SBL is expected to further strengthen the professionalism and ethics of GhIE members and have a positive impact on the overall quality of infrastructure development in Ghana.
Currently, the SBL is also being adapted as a virtual training format on ethics, integrity and compliance for ECOWAS staff. In addition, in the future the tool will also be used in other areas, such as the health sector.
