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Saying No to Impunity in Zimbabwe

Transparency International Zimbabwe joined the world to commemorate International Anti-Corruption Day, which falls on 9 December every year. The festivities involved four flash mobs in four different locations around Harare. (A flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual act for a brief time and then quickly […]

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Semáforos en América: ¿Salvavidas o decoración urbana?

Imagina una escena en Buenos Aires, Caracas o cualquier otra capital en América: Son las 10:30 de la mañana y estás en tu coche corriendo a una cita a la que ya llegas tarde. El semáforo está en rojo, miras a la derecha, no viene ningún coche, miras a la izquierda, nada… Podrías saltarte el […]

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CPI 2013: Traffic lights in the Americas – lifesavers or urban decorations?

Imagine a scene in Buenos Aires, Caracas, or any other capital city in the Americas: It is 10:30am and you are in your car rushing to an appointment for which you are already late. You are at a red light. You look to the right, no cars coming, look to the left, no-one. You can […]

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CPI 2013: A glimmer of hope in Greece?

As the European political and economic crisis enters its fifth year, there are few signs of optimism. The results of the 2013 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for the region are no exception. The story in general is one of stagnation: there are more than 27 million unemployed in the EU – a figure that continues […]

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Elections in Honduras: is public security a priority for presidential candidates?

Honduras is one of the most insecure countries in the world with the highest murder rate per capita. According to the Observatory of Violence (Observatorio de la Violencia), 85.5 people per 100,000 were murdered in Honduras in 2012 – almost 20 per day. This high level of violence occurs in a country in which half […]

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Getting rich, paying the price: corruption in Brazil

On 13 November, after eight years, the Brazilian Supreme Court ordered the arrest of senior politicians convicted in the one of Brazil’s biggest corruption scandals, known as the Mensalão. Although this will not end the process – the defendants will have a new trial in 2014 – it is a step forward in changing the […]

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Spain’s new law on transparency a good first step

After a summer of corruption scandals in Spanish politics, the country’s Congress passed a new piece of legislation on transparency and access to information this September. Public tolerance for corruption had reached boiling point with companies, parties and even the royal family seemingly acting with impunity after graft allegations. The new legislation is now headed […]

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Lights, camera – was there G20 action?

So now that the G20 dust has settled and the media circus has dispersed, did the representatives of two-thirds of the global population make any meaningful decisions in St Petersburg? The final St Petersburg G20 Leaders Declaration has 11 paragraphs devoted to corruption efforts. This greater visibility is welcome progress from the two sentences included […]

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Land grab victims speak out

The World Bank singled out Georgia for praise last year for drastically reducing petty bribery: Georgia’s success destroys the myth that corruption is cultural and gives hope to reformers everywhere who aspire to clean up their public services.” I saw a different side to the story when I was in Georgia last month to give […]

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The legalisation debate: why allowing bribery won’t work

Imagine having to pay a bribe in order to register your marriage, get a passport, report a crime or even to claim on your medical insurance.  These are just a few examples taken from over 20,000 stories shared online on the Indian website, ipaidabribe.com.  Similar stories of petty bribery can be heard in Greece, Zimbabwe […]

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