IDB and Norway renew fund to promote transparency

BRASILIA, Brazil – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Norwegian government today renewed a fund for anti-corruption activities with a $2.4 million contribution, with the possibility of increasing funding for 2013-2015.

The announcement was made during the 15^th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) in Brasilia. The initiative is part of the IDB's support for the efforts by Latin America and the Caribbean to increase transparency and accountability.

The new Transparency Fund follows the previous Anti-Corruption Activities Trust Fund (AAF) and willfinance projects through non-refundable technical cooperations, or grants.

The agreement with the government of Norway was signed in Brazil by Arvinn Gadgil, secretary of state for international development of that country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Ana María Rodríguez, manager of the Bank’s Institutions for Development Department.

Gadgil, praised the cooperation with IDB. “We are very impressed by what has been achieved with the Anti-corruption Activities Trust Fund,” he said. “The new Transparency Trust Fund should further demonstrate to the citizens of the Latin America and the Caribbean region that their common resources can be well governed and well spent, for the benefit of all. Transparency will build accountability and trust.”

The AAF, now re-named the Transparency Fund, is a multidonor instrument created in 2007 with an initial $5 million contribution from the government of Norway and $1 million from the IDB. The fund supports initiatives to strengthen the institutional capacity of IDB borrowing member countries to prevent and control corruption, improve management of natural resources in the mining sector, encourage financial transparency, and strengthen the audit process and public oversight.

"The Fund is based in the principles of targeted transparency," Rodriguez said."We seek to promote policies on access to information that encourage public and private agencies to disseminate timely, useful, and understandable information to citizens." 

The AAF's resources have provided technical assistance to 11 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean for projects ranging from helping Guatemala prevent money laundering to improvements in monitoring public spending in Brazil and promoting greater fiscal transparency in Belize, among others.