|
|
There is no one sure approach to eliminating or
reducing corruption. Over the years, many different types of
strategies have been implementedunder different conditions with
varying success. One conclusion that can be drawn from
these anti-corruption initiatives is that amulti-pronged and
sustained approach is essential. Four majorcomponents
of such a comprehensive strategy are presented below:enforcement,
prevention, institution building, and public awareness initiatives.
From general description of each strategy presented
below you can also go to pages on specific anti-corruption actions,
studies, and best practices.
 Strategies
to Fight Corruption
Reasons
for Failure in Anti-Corruption Strategies
Information
and Related Links
|
|
Strategies
to Fight Corruption
If
the basic concepts and foundations of an integrity system need
to be clearly understood, so too, do the resulting solutions need
to be grounded in reality and practicality. ...(Anti-corruption
strategies) deal not only with the enforcement of laws and bureaucratic
practice, but with the need for more broadly based reform. (They)
focus on ways in which public officials can be protected and civil
society - the private sector in particular - can be drawn into
the reform process. The authors believe that prevention matters
more than enforcement; prevention is better than a cure and compliance
gained through co-operation will always be more meaningful and
more enduring than compliance obtained through coercion. ... (The
following strategies provide some useful examples of how corrupt
practices can be reduced:)
- mechanisms supporting accountability
and transparency in the democratic process, such as the parliamentary
and election processes;
- building a creative partnership
between government and civil society organizations;
- administrative reform and countering
conflict of interest in the public service;
- administrative law, as a common
element in any system of probity, and the accountability of
decision-makers;
- appropriate mechanisms which
provide public officials with channels for reporting acts of
alleged corruption and also ensure independent monitoring of
procedures and systems;
- independence of the judiciary
and ensuring that legal procedures and remedies provide an effective
deterrence to corruption;
- an open, genuinely competitive
and transparent system of public procurement;
- private sector self-regulation
and the role of legal deterrence against corrupt practice;
- an alert press, free to discharge
its role as public watchdog and increase public awareness of
rights and responsibilities; and,
- independent anti-corruption
agencies and cooperation with other countries to assist in combating
international corruption.
In summary, it must
be noted that one of the most important tasks in any anti-corruption
effort is to ensure that progress is actually being made. Statistics
by themselves are no reliable indicator of progress. A better
form of measurement is the opinions of the people themselves.
The ordinary man and woman knows his or her community, and has
a pretty fair idea of what is going on. Corruption, particularly
petty corruption, if rife, directly affects their daily lives.
They have strongly held views on the question, especially its
impact on the services that they are entitled to receive. Perhaps
the best approach to date is simply to poll the public. If this
is done at regular intervals, and in a professional way, it should
be possible to monitor progress towards the eventual elimination
of corruption in all of its forms.
-- from the TI
Source Book, 2nd Edition, 1997
More
information
|
| Enforcement
Strategies |
| STRATEGY |
HOW
TO DO IT |
| Depoliticize
law enforcement |
Establish
independent mechanisms that perform professionally in a transparent
fashion and enforce the rule of law |
| Provide
adequate powers of investigation and prosecution |
Provide
access to all government documents, require financial disclosure
for public officials |
| Protect
"whistle blowers" |
Establish
procedures to protect those who register complaints against
the government, establish witness protection programmes, establish
telephone hot lines |
| Punish
guilty officials who have fled |
Consider
civil penalties and blacklisting |
| Make
senior officials more accessible to prosecution |
Make
the invoking of immunity more public |
|
Adapted from the "USAID Handbook for Fighting
Corruption" (October 1998).
More
information
|
| |
|
Prevention Strategies
|
|
| STRATEGY |
HOW
TO DO IT |
| Simplify
government programmes and procedures |
Eliminate
bureaucratic gatekeepers, reduce the number of approvals required,
minimize bureaucratic discretion, deregulate, establish simple
rules, publicize rules |
| Improve
departmental efficiency |
Regularly
review departmental procedures, investigate complaints |
| Demystify
government |
Publicize
citizen rights, publish procedures. |
| Depersonalize
government |
Reduce
face-to-face contact between citizens and officials |
| Increase
accountability |
Develop
supervisory checks on staff, initiate unscheduled performance
evaluations |
| Disclose
finances and gifts |
Monitor
the assets and incomes of officials, require the disclosure
of all gifts and donations |
| Speed
the privatization process |
Remove
government from business activities |
| Improve
ethical
standards |
Develop
a code of ethics for government officials |
| Change
incentives |
Pay
a livable wage, reward good behavior |
|
Adapted from the "USAID Handbook for Fighting
Corruption" (October 1998).
More
information
|
| Institutional
Building Strategies |
|
| STRATEGY |
HOW
TO DO IT |
|
Institute the role of Auditor-General
|
Ensure professional and independent oversight of government
operations by developing new positions
|
|
Institute an Ombudsman office to serve as an independent
agent to investigate complaints
|
Use the existing Law on Authorized Representatives for
Human Rights to establish a local Ombudsman office
|
|
Institute specialized Anti-Corruption Agency
|
Establish specialized Anti-Corruption Agency which would
be engaged in developing and promoting Anti-Corruption Strategies
and Action Plans
|
|
Institute public-private partnerships against corruption
|
Establish sustainable cooperation and coordination among
major stakeholder groups (government, private sector, and
civil society) to jointly address corruption issues
|
|
Institute modern financial management systems
|
Use financial management software, train personnel in accounting
procedures
|
|
Institute competitive procurements
|
Develop procedures for competitive bidding
|
|
Open the budgetary process
|
Hold open forums, encourage citizen participation to develop
local budgets
|
|
Promote judicial reform
|
Make the judiciary independent of the executive branch;
develop effective procedures to discipline corrupt judges;
revise procedures to appoint, assign and remove judges;
establish codes of conduct
|
|
Adapted
from the "USAID Handbook for Fighting Corruption"
(October 1998).
More
information
|
| Public
Awareness Strategies |
| STRATEGY |
HOW
TO DO IT |
|
Create public understanding of the causes and costs of
corruption
|
Engage the mass media, conduct public workshops, develop
programmes for the schools
|
|
Assess
baseline to measure progress
|
Conduct public surveys of the perception of corruption
|
|
Ensure the independence of the media and their ability
to access information
|
Pass freedom of information laws and reasonable libel laws,
promote investigative journalism, remove censorship laws,
encourage financial independence from government
|
|
Encourage public-private partnership
|
Develop open committees including government and civil
society groups to serve as watchdog units
|
|
Encourage the development of civic advocacy groups
|
Encourage public interest organizations that advocate integrity
in government and business transactions
|
| Adapted from
the "USAID Handbook for Fighting Corruption" (October
1998).
More
information
|
| The
Major Reasons for Failure in Corruption programmes |
- Lack of political will among decision makers
- Limited power and resources to accomplish reforms
- Overly ambitious and unrealistic promises
- Uncoordinated reforms
- Reforms that rely too much on law enforcement
- Reform strategies that target only low level officials
and not the senior levels
- Reform strategies that do not deliver "quick wins"
- Reforms that are not fully institutionalized
|
|
Adapted
from the "USAID Handbook for Fighting Corruption"
(October 1998).
More
information
|
|
|
|
