African Regional Conference on the
Right of Access to Information
Panel 1: Does Transparency
Matter?
Akere Muna, Vice Chair
Transparency International
Accra, Ghana, February 7-9, 2010
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The National Integrity System Model
RULE
OF
LAW
INTERNATIONAL ACTORS
MEDIA
INTEGRITY
PUBLIC SERVICE
OMBUDSMAN
AUDITOR GENERAL
NATIONAL
QUALITY
OF
LIFE
PRIVATE SECTOR
SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
PUBLIC AWARENESS
S O C I E T Y’ S V A L U E S
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PUBLIC SERVICE
OMBUDSMAN
AUDITOR GENERAL
A Crumbling Integrity System
PUBLIC AWARENESS
S O C I E T Y’ S V A L U E S
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Transparency does Matter,
because…
No Transparency means:
1.Lack of information
2.No Accountability
3.Corruption
4.Loss of Resources
5.Poverty
Accra, Ghana, February 7-9, 2010
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TI 2009 Global Corruption Barometer (1)
The Barometer asked more than 73,000 individuals around the world the
extent to which they perceive 6 key sectors and institutions to be corrupt.
TI 2009 Global Corruption Barometer (2)
Petty Bribery by Service
TI examples
TI Zambia “Show me the Money” (2007) report
- people do not know about public finances
or that they had a right to see the auditor
general’s report
1. Opacity allows corruption to flourish
TI estimates over the past 20 years African leaders have
siphoned off $140bn of illegal assets
2. Resource Curse exacerbated by lack of
transparency (see EITI later)
The 2008 Promoting Revenue Transparency report on oil
and gas industry showed that:
• most companies do not disclose their revenues
(evaluated 42 companies in 21 countries out of which 5
in Africa)
• citizens can only hold governments to account if they
have access to information
Accra, Ghana, February 7-9, 2010
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Budget/Expenditure Tracking (1)
 Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys
(PETS)
 Efforts by Civil Society Organisations
 Budget tracking is possible only insofar as:
1. budgetary information is available and
2. sub-national institutions grant access to their
records
Budget/Expenditure Tracking (2)
 Freedom of information laws and a
transparency-ready civil service are
necessary for budget tracking to work.
 Implementing a budget tracking programme
is a good occasion to put freedom of
information laws at a test and to start bring
about a culture of transparency.
 Recognising this potential, Transparency
International has developed programmes like
“Africa Education Watch” (AEW).
TI Africa Education Watch Programme (AEW)
AEW progamme in 7 African countries showed that:
• most parents do not know that school fees are illegal
• book keeping and sound financial management lack dearly
both at school and district level
• 85 % of schools surveyed across all countries had either
deficient accounting systems or none at all
The AEW report (to be launched on 23.02.2010) highlights:
• lack of access to information (e.g. to budgets of schools)
• lack of citizen oversight and
• identifies certain corrupt practices common in primary
schools throughout the seven surveyed countries (e.g.
abusive collection of school fees, embezzlement of school
books and other resources).
Accra, Ghana, February 7-9, 2010
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EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY TRANSPARENCY
INITIATIVE
Three and half billion people live in countries
rich in oil and gas and minerals. With good
governance, exploitation of these resources, can
generate revenues to foster economic growth
and reduce poverty. However when governance
is weak, such resources may result in poverty,
corruption and conflict. The Extractive Industry
Transparency Initiative seeks to strengthen
governance by improving transparency and
accountability in the Extractives sector
Accra, Ghana, February 7-9, 2010
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EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE
A country that has fully and to the satisfaction of the EITI Board met
with the four sign up indicators becomes a candidate country.
•Issue unequivocal public statement of its intention to implement EITI
•Commit to work with CSO and companies on EITI implementation;
•Appoint a senior individual to lead EITI implementation efforts;
•Publish a work plan (whose cost has been estimated) with
measurable targets and an implementation timetable that has been
agreed to by key stakeholders.
Once country has obtained the Candidate status it has 2 years to be
validated as a compliant country.
African Candidate countries: Angola, Burkina Faso Cameroon,
Central African Republic, Cote D’Ivoire, DRC, Equatorial Guinea,
Gabon, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger,
Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Republic of Congo, Sao Tome and Principe,
Tanzania, Zambia, Other Candidate countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz
Republic, Mongolia, Norway, Peru Timor-Leste, Yemen
Total Number of Complaint countries: Liberia, Kazakhstan
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Transparency does matter,
but…
Transparency alone is not enough!
Accra, Ghana, February 7-9, 2010
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Strategies for success
• Learn from experience
• Form coalitions with like-minded groups
• Inform citizens about the benefit of transparency
• Work at grass-roots level
• Involve private-sector: multi-nationals should be held
accountable
• An existing Access to Information law is good, using it and
monitoring it is even better
Accra, Ghana, February 7-9, 2010
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Accountable really to no one, its finances "off the
books" -------- provided an unprecedented opportunity
for fraud, waste, and corruption involving---------, and
many others. In its short life, more than $23 billion
would pass through its hands. And that didn't include
potentially billions more in ------------ shipments the ---------- neglected to meter. At stake was an ocean of
cash that would evaporate whenever the---------- did.
All parties understood that there was a sell-by date,
and that it was everyone for himself.
--------- hospital administrator told The Guardian of
England that, when he arrived to sign a contract, ------officer representing the------- had crossed out the
original price and doubled it. ………… officer
explained that the increase (more than $1 million) was
“his retirement package.“ ---------lawyer for whistleblowers who have worked for ----------, says simply that
during that---------- first year under the----------- the
country was turned into "a free-fraud zone."
Accountable really to no one, its finances "off the
books" for U.S. government purposes, the Coalition
Provisional Authority (C.P.A.) provided an
unprecedented opportunity for fraud, waste, and
corruption involving American government officials,
American contractors, renegade Iraqis, and many
others. In its short life more than $23 billion would
pass through its hands. And that didn't include
potentially billions more in oil shipments the C.P.A.
neglected to meter. At stake was an ocean of cash
that would evaporate whenever the C.P.A. did. All
parties understood that there was a sell-by date,
and that it was everyone for himself.
An Iraqi hospital administrator told The
Guardian of England that, when he arrived to
sign a contract, the army officer representing
the C.P.A. had crossed out the original price
and doubled it. The American officer explained
that the increase (more than $1 million) was
“his retirement package." Alan Grayson, a
Washington, D.C., lawyer for whistle-blowers
who have worked for American contractors in
Iraq, says simply that during that first year
under the C.P.A. the country was turned into
"a free-fraud zone."
(Billions over Bagdad, Vanity Fair Oct,2007)
“We must be the change we wish to see in the World”
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Thank you for your attention!
Akere Muna: amuna@transparenc.org
Transparency International
Accra, Ghana, February 7-9, 2010
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