Shame on you: citizens move to keep Brazil clean-up on course

22 February 2013 in Americas, People power, Politics and government

When the Supreme Court in Brazil convicted and sentenced senior politicians for having their hand in the cookie jar – a case universally known as the Mensalão – diverting public resources for their own benefit, we had a notion that now Brazil had functioning institutions. The courts were for almost the first time seen as […]

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Horse meat scandal: food transparency in focus

21 February 2013 in Access to information, Accountability, Europe and Central Asia, Politics and government, Private sector

In January, Irish food inspectors revealed they had found horse DNA in products labeled as beef being sold by British supermarkets in the country. The revelation quickly led to more discoveries around Europe, with some products that claimed to be cow meat actually found to be 100 per cent horse. There has been a rash […]

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Salvadoran Parliament wastes public funds

18 February 2013 in ALAC, Americas, Politics and government

This post was authored by Alejandra Guzmán Galván, Communications counselor of the ALAC-El Salvador and Xenia Hernández Castro, Lawyer of the ALAC-El Salvador. Para leer la versión en español haga click aquí.    On 10 January 2013 citizens contacted our Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre (ALAC) in El Salvador to report an inappropriate expenditure of public funds, […]

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Despilfarro en Congreso salvadoreño

18 February 2013 in ALAC, Americas, Politics and government

Las autoras de este post son Alejandra Guzmán Galván, Asesora de comunicaciones del ALAC-El Salvador, y Xenia Hernández Castro, abogada del ALAC-El Salvador. To view the English version click here.    El 10 de enero de 2013, el Centro de Asistencia Legal Anticorrupción (ALAC) El Salvador comenzó a recibir denuncias ciudadanas sobre gastos realizados por la Asamblea […]

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Fighting corruption in Italy is an uphill struggle

18 February 2013 in Access to information, Financial Markets, Politics and government, Private sector, Whistleblowing

The current scandal of Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), Italy’s third biggest bank, is a good illustration of how a lack of transparency negatively affects the fight against corruption in Italy. In general, ordinary citizens have little means to monitor and evaluate what goes on in either the public or private sectors. This is […]

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Zimbabwe: Women make easy prey for corrupt politicians

15 February 2013 in Africa and Middle East, Human rights, People power, Politics and government, Poverty and development

Politicians in Zimbabwe are taking advantage of the fact women face existing legal limitations. Research shows that women, who often have lower incomes, have limited access to basic public services because they are less likely to pay bribes to get the services. This makes it difficult for them to acquire registration documents like a mining […]

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Hungry for results: A new crusade in Mexico and its need for transparency and accountability

15 February 2013 in Access to information, Americas, Politics and government, Poverty and development

This blog post was written by Paola Palacios, Programme Coordinator of the Initiative for the Institutional Strengthening of Social Programmes (IPRO) and Monserrat Hernández, Project Consultant for IPRO at Transparencia Mexicana, the National Chapter of Transparency International in Mexico. Mexico is the second biggest economy in Latin America and growing steadily. Yet, despite its economic […]

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They took lavish foreign “research” trips: whistleblowing in Japan

12 February 2013 in Whistleblowing

Hello, my name is Aki Wakabayashi from Japan.  I am a journalist, whistleblower and Executive Director of TI Japan. Let me tell you the story about how I blew a whistle on the waste of tax money by public servants in Japan. Before turning to journalism, I spent 10 years working for a government-supported labor […]

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History matters II – what stone carvings and magic lanterns have to do with fighting corruption

8 February 2013 in Accountability, Measurement and Research, Politics and government

Some time ago I argued on this blog that looking back into history provides a very promising source for inspiration and innovation in the fight against corruption. Many things we consider new to modern government, such as measures managing conflicts of interest and insulating decision-making from policy capture were foreshadowed by and startlingly resemble many […]

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A year of corruption-busting in South Africa

7 February 2013 in Africa and Middle East, Anti-corruption movement, Politics and government, Whistleblowing, Young people

Exactly a year ago, in the clinical hall which once housed an infamous women’s prison, South Africa’s Corruption Watch was born. The imposing space was packed to capacity with political heavyweights, anti-apartheid luminaries, journalists and human rights activists who had come to welcome the launch of the first civil society watchdog of its kind in […]

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