No defence for corruption in defence procurement

15 May 2013 in Defence and Security, Politics and government, Private sector

On 15 May Transparency International India invited senior figures in the defence establishment, including Defence Minister A.K. Antony, senior oversight officers from both state-owned and private defence companies, and experts from civil society to discuss the issue of corruption in defence procurement. There have been too many scandals in procurement – the AgustaWestland helicopter mess […]

Read full story Comments { 0 }

Anti-corruption heroes: an interview with Gregory Ngbwa Mintsa

15 May 2013 in Africa and Middle East, Politics and government, Region

In December 2008, Gabonese citizen Gregory Ngbwa Mintsa took a brave stand against corruption. Together with Transparency International France, he filed a legal complaint denouncing the alleged embezzlement of public funds in Gabon. This was part of the Biens Mal Acquis case, an investigation into several African presidents suspected of stealing public assets on a […]

Read full story Comments { 0 }

Time to wake up Trinidad & Tobago: the Jack Warner affair

14 May 2013 in Americas, Miscellaneous, Politics and government, Sport

Jack Warner is a big name in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) and in world football. He has been in politics and government for the past five years, most recently as Minister of National Security, and served on the executive committee of FIFA (world football’s governing body) and as head of the Americas football federation (known as […]

Read full story Comments { 9 }

Too little transparency in new Czech law on political party financing

10 May 2013 in Europe and Central Asia, Politics and government, Region

The Czech parliament is currently considering a new law to increase transparency in how political parties are funded. This should have been a reason to celebrate, given that Transparency International Czech Republic and other non-governmental organisations have been working on this for the past two years. But the law could and should have been so […]

Read full story Comments { 0 }

Is Brazil taking a “U-turn”?

8 May 2013 in Politics and government

In Brazil, some members of the legislature are actively lobbying for a constitutional amendment that would make certain rulings by the Supreme Court subject to congressional approval. Not surprisingly, the current proposal by the Commission on the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship was put forward by members of the Workers’ Party, the main political group affected […]

Read full story Comments { 2 }

How to fight corruption with online tools: best practice from Morocco

8 May 2013 in Africa and Middle East, Technology

There was a general feeling of excitement and optimism about the new role of technology to promote transparency and accountability at the Transparency International SpeakUp! event which I attended in March 2013. There was quite a buzz about online denunciation tools in particular, and different Transparency International chapters are looking into ways to embrace new […]

Read full story Comments { 5 }

Whistleblowing in Greece: an alternative to silence

8 May 2013 in Europe and Central Asia, Whistleblowing

In September 2012, the US Internal Revenue Service awarded Bradley Birkefeld with US$104 million, as he provided prosecutors with detailed information about the “consultating services” that UBS AG offered to rich clients, thus enabling tax evasion. Within two months, new legislation on whistleblowers’ protection for federal employees came up by the US President Barack Obama. […]

Read full story Comments { 0 }

No one has all the answers: the positive role of civil society in Russia

6 May 2013 in Civil society, Europe and Central Asia, Politics and government

Last week the Moscow City Prosecutor’s Office sent to Transparency International Russia an official warning to register as a foreign agent. This came because the Prosecutor said TI Russia was shaping public opinion about government policies in the field of law enforcement and had an impact on the adoption by State institutions of laws and […]

Read full story Comments { 0 }

Ushahidi: An Introduction to Anti-Corruption Mapping

2 May 2013 in Technology

This blog post is the first of a blog series on anti-corruption and transparency mapping by Ushahidi’s Heather Leson. The series will discuss best practices and feature some of the strategies to connect policy and action with online savvy. Ushahidi’s community strategy is aimed to connect topical mappers to build and learn together. Resources and […]

Read full story Comments { 1 }

Changing accountability mindsets: From workshops and reports to professors and imams

1 May 2013 in Accountability, Education

Working on accountability in difficult contexts, it does not take long to realise the key shortcomings of established approaches to these issues – expensive workshops are held, lengthy papers are written and complex logframes are completed, but little changes on the ground. Some donors and NGOs are now much more creative – using new social […]

Read full story Comments { 1 }
← Older posts Newer posts →