Transparency International
Last week Transparency International (TI) released its 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Earlier this month, we told you about another corruption assessment, the 2010 Ibrahim Index.
According to the CPI, Botswana, Mauritius and Cape Verde are the three countries in Africa with the least amount of perceived corruption, while Chad, Sudan and Somalia take up the rear as the most corrupt in the region.
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Dr. Sipho Moyo, ONE’s Africa director, wrote this blog post for Transparency International (TI) to help illustrate how public sector corruption makes an impact on development. To view the original post, go to TI’s blog.
At ONE we are enhancing our aid advocacy work by highlighting attention on issues of good governance and transparency as being key elements to achieving sustainable development outcomes, including better service delivery across sectors like health, education, and better management of natural resource revenues, as well as more efficient investment in infrastructure for growth – energy, water, roads etc.
Our take at ONE is that transparency is a cornerstone of good governance as it allows citizens everywhere to hold institutions and governments accountable for their policies and performance, and thus fosters trust and helps to minimize corruption. That is why we support the emerging global governance initiatives which seek to partner with donor agencies, civil society, and governments for better development outcomes – such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST) and the Stolen Assets Recovery (StAR) initiative.
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China, South Africa Sign Deals To Deepen Ties In Resources, Energy — China and South Africa on Tuesday signed a raft of commercial deals in mining, finance, nuclear energy and other sectors. The deals were made during a visit to China by South African President Jacob Zuma. China is South Africa’s top trading partner, and South Africa’s economy–more developed than many others in the region–has been a focal point of a broader Chinese push into the continent aimed at securing resources and expanding China’s international clout. (Wall Street Journal)
At Least 33 People Killed in Attack on Somali Hotel — Somali insurgents disguised as police officers stormed a Mogadishu hotel on Tuesday morning and opened fire, killing at least 33 people, including 6 lawmakers, in one of the deadliest attacks in months, Somali officials said. The hotel attack seems to be part of a bigger offensive that insurgents opened on Monday against government forces and shows that the insurgents have figured out how to infiltrate nearly every inch of Mogadishu, even within the parts of the city that the government claims it firmly controls. (New York Times)
Transparency on extractive industries will help beat corruption — Frank Vogl of Transparency International writes that the requirement of oil, gas and mining companies to report their financial dealings with African governments, a new provision included in the recently passed U.S. financial legislation, may now lead to a quantum leap in fighting corruption and bringing needed transparency to such industries. (Financial Times, letter by Frank Vogl)
Billions of aid dollars buy U.S. little goodwill in Pakistan — The U.S. government has provided about $18 billion in civilian and military aid to Pakistan since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Yet according to a Pew Research Center survey released last month, half of Pakistanis believe the United States gives little to no assistance here. For Obama administration officials, that’s a source of deep anxiety — and frustration. U.S. officials say aid money is making a positive impact, if not always a widely noticed one. (Washington Post)
Aid agency warns of ‘double disaster’ for Niger — Niger has been hit by a double disaster as recent floods compound an existing food crisis, the UK aid agency Oxfam said this week. Aid workers are struggling to help thousands of people affected by the floods which have hit many areas of West and Central Africa. Oxfam says the situation is stretching resources to the limit as it also tries to respond to the food shortages. Nearly eight million people, or half the population, are already facing hunger because of failed harvests. (BBC News)
Rwandan Rebels Raped at Least 179 Women in Congo, Humanitarian Officials Say — A mob of Rwandan rebels raped at least 179 women last month during a weekend raid on a community of villages in eastern Congo, the United Nations said Monday. The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or F.D.L.R., was blamed for the attack. The F.D.L.R. is an ethnic Hutu rebel group that has been terrorizing the hills of eastern Congo for years, preying on villages in a quest for the natural resources beneath them. (New York Times)
News of a great development in Kenya ran on the BBC.com and in other media outlets earlier this week. On Wednesday, anti-corruption czar John Githongo returned to Kenya after four years of self-exile. During his tenure as Kenya’s secretary for ethics and governance, Githongo earned the reputation for being tough on corruption— in 2005, one of his investigations forced the resignation of several ministers over a scandal that involved state contracts worth more than $1 billion being secretly awarded to non-existent firms. After exposing the scam, Githongo fled to the UK because of threats to his life.
Githongo’s return is an important step forward for Kenya’s new coalition government, which was put in place after controversial elections set off two months of violence earlier this year. He is back for only two weeks, but his return (at the invitation of the new government) is hopefully a sign that Kenya’s new government is serious about tackling corruption and addressing some of the underlying issues that caused the election crisis. Speaking to the Kenya Human Rights Commission on Wednesday, Githongo submitted the controversial proposal of offering amnesty as a means of closing old corruption cases and moving Kenya forward.
Whistle-blowers like Githongo are vital to beating poverty in Africa and across the world. The fight against corruption and efforts to promote transparency and good governance help ensure that aid is spent well and channeled to the people who need it most. ONE is also proud to note that John Githongo currently sits on our Policy Advisory Board and serves as an important advisor on issues of accountability and governance.
Excerpt below, full piece here.
Addressing a public forum on fighting graft in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, Mr Githongo said economic crimes must be resolved quickly and transparently. “The temptation to subject economic crimes to prolonged processes and the deliberation of committees not only delays justice but makes ultimate accountability less likely,” he said. Mr Githongo noted that there was a myth that corruption does not really matter as long as the economy is growing. “If you have high economic growth [and] a high level of corruption… then corruption causes political contradictions that leads to the kind of difficulties we had in Kenya at the end of last year,” he said.
-Chris Scott
Embezzlement and kick-backs, bid-rigging and extortion, manipulated water policies and corrupted enforcement of rules against water pollution plague the provision of drinking water, irrigation and hydropower all around the world. This is the key message of “the Global Corruption Report 2008: Corruption in the Water Sector.”
With more than thirty experts and practitioners exploring corruption issues in all areas of the water sector, the report is a first of its kind and its central insight is as clear as it is alarming: Corruption in the water sector is a root cause and consequences of a global water crisis that leaves more than one billion people without access to safe drinking water and poses a major impediment to inclusive human development and environmental sustainability. Fixing the global water crisis requires fixing corruption in the sector. A wide array of case studies from all world regions shows how rampant and devastating corruption is in the water sector:
- In India, for example, corruption is estimated to inflate the costs for water infrastructures by 25 to 45%. In global context such a corruption burden means that achieving the Millennium Development Goals in water will be almost US$50 billion more expensive.
- In Kenya, 66% of households in a survey report that they have experienced corruption in water service provision.
- In Mexico the largest 20% of farmers reap more than 70% of irrigation subsidies.
- In China, Indonesia and Zambia, fraud and manipulation have plagued resettlement programs in big dam projects.
But there is hope. Taking action against corruption in the water sector is possible.
The Report also presents a large number of innovative initiatives that have had a demonstrable effect on tackling corruption in the sector. More transparency and citizen participation, more collective action and stronger accountability mechanisms are identified as the basic ingredients for rolling back corruption in the water sector and for making water governance work for sustainable human development.
-Dr. Dieter Zinnbauer Chief Editor – Global Corruption Report Policy and Research Department TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL
