By PAUL CONSTANCE

Yet despite all the hand wringing, relatively little is known about the experiences of governments and institutions that are successfully fighting this problem. To help fill this gap, the IDB recently hosted a seminar on transparency and development that focused on case studies and best practices gleaned from anti-corruption efforts in several countries.

The poor are corruption s biggest victims, says OAS Secretary Gaviria
(Photo: David Mangurian - IDB)

The three-day event, held at the IDB’s Washington, D.C., headquarters in May, gathered experts from across the region to discuss case studies of legal, institutional and technological strategies for increasing transparency and efficiency in public administration. Attendees included government officials from the Bank’s member countries, representatives from civil society, nongovernmental organizations and foundations, scholars, and private sector officials.

“The IDB is concerned about corruption because we see that it undermines people’s confidence in public institutions and in democracy as a whole,” IDB President Enrique V. Iglesias told the participants.

The Bank is working to fight corruption in an increasing number of areas, said Iglesias. The IDB’s own ethical guidelines are constantly being updated, and transparent accounting practices are demanded for Bank-financed projects. The IDB is also underwriting a wide array of reform projects in the areas of justice, tax administration, customs, and legislative institutions, among others. He stressed that corruption involves not only governments but also citizens and the private sector, and he emphasized the need for collaboration among all these groups in crafting possible solutions.

Iglesias praised the role of the Organization of American States in crafting and promoting the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption. During remarks at the conference, OAS Secretary General César Gaviria said his organization, in conjunction with the IDB, is working with 12 of the region’s countries to update their legislation as a step toward implementing the convention, which calls for criminalizing corruption domestically and for international cooperation to enforce relevant laws. “The fight against corruption is a fight for social justice,” he said, “because the poor continue to be corruption’s biggest victims.”

In addition to examining the status of the convention, panels at the conference focused on national and regional case studies in the areas of procurement, the legislative process, money laundering, financial management and so-called “integrity pacts.” The latter consist of written agreements between government institutions, civil society organizations and private companies to abstain from bribery and take specific transparency measures during the course of an individual public sector project or contract.

Rosa Inés Ospina, executive secretary of Transparencia Internacional Colombia, a nongovernmental organization, described how her group has helped to broker 51 such pacts in Colombia. Although they do not guarantee the absence of corruption, she said the agreements create a powerful incentive for probity among the participants and help make the financial aspects of procurement accessible to the general public.

Online option. At another panel, representatives from Mexico, Chile and Canada described how their governments are using the Internet to increase transparency of public procurement (See article "Lousy Deal" on this issue).
Antonio Schleske, head of procurement policy for Mexico’s federal government, said more than 3.5 million individuals have used the online Compranet service to purchase bidding documents, track procurements, look up contract awards and compare prices, only a few of the resources available on the site.

Representatives from Chile and Canada explained how their governments have opted to outsource their procurement websites to private companies who provide a fee-based intermediary service at no cost to the government.

The Internet has also emerged as a cost-effective way of increasing citizens’ access to the legislative process. Regina Celia Peres Borges, head of information management in the Brazilian Senate, reported on how INTERLEGIS, an online legislative information system partly financed by a $25 million IDB loan, has ended the former isolation of federal, provincial and municipal legislatures. In addition to increasing cooperation among legislators, the system has made it easier for ordinary citizens to reach their representatives and intervene in the lawmaking process.

Several panelists warned that technology on its own does not increase transparency and foster greater public confidence in government. Reforms on many fronts, including clear conflict-of-interest rules, stronger auditing bodies, and updated legislation in the areas of procurement and public finances, must go hand-in-hand with greater public access to information.

Copies of conference papers are available at www.iadb.org/leg/transparencia.asp.
For additional information contact Rosina de Souza at rosinads@iadb.org

PRESS & PUBLICATIONS       PRIVATE SECTOR      PROJECTS      RESEARCH & STATISTICS