Connected to corruption?

‘Our land is blessed with resources of all kinds but ordinary Sierra Leonians are not benefiting. With the help of the church in the UK we will be able to uncover the truth about how our wealth is being spent.’ – Pastor Edgar James Momoh, Evangelical Fellowship of Sierra Leone.

In 2008, Africa’s exports of oil, gas and minerals were worth nine times more than aid. On that same continent the cost of corruption has been estimated at US$148 billion annually. That’s the equivalent to a quarter of the continent’s income going missing every year – enough money to provide universal access to clean water and safe sanitation, transforming millions of people’s lives.

We are all unavoidably connected to this issue through the huge role that mining, oil and gas companies play in our everyday lives. However, as Christians and through our churches, we can play our part in confronting and exposing this secrecy and corruption. That’s why on the 9 December, International Anti-Corruption Day, Tearfund launched a new online action calling on Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to unearth the truth on corruption.

Together with EU Member States, MEPs have a vital role to play in passing new legislation requiring all EU listed and large non-listed extractive companies to publish what they pay to all governments for the first time – a key first step in tackling the secrecy which has too often led to corruption, violence and civil war.

With your help we can ensure that EU decision makers implement the most effective legislation to expose corruption and release billions of pounds to tackle poverty. Visit www.tearfund.org/unearth to take action, and please pray that:

• Members of the European Parliament, the Danish Presidency and EU Member States show leadership and ensure that extractive companies publish what they pay to all governments.

• Any new transparency legislation ensures that information is presented on a country-by-country and project-by-project basis, and is produced in an accessible and comparable format.

• God would give people North and South, young and old, and particularly within the church, the courage to hold their governments to account and speak out against corruption. 

One Voice

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