“(1) In its resolution 55/61 of 4 December 2000, the General Assembly recognized that an effective international legal instrument against corruption, independent of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (resolution 55/25, annex I) was desirable and decided to establish an ad hoc committee for the negotiation of such an instrument in Vienna at the headquarters of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The text of the United Nations Convention against Corruption was negotiated during seven sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of the Convention against Corruption, held between 21 January 2002 and 1 October 2003. The Convention approved by the Ad Hoc Committee was adopted by the General Assembly by resolution 58/4 of 31 October 2003. The General Assembly, in its resolution 57/169 of 18 December 2002, accepted the offer of the Government of Mexico to host a high-level political signing conference in Merida for the purpose of signing the United Nations Convention against Corruption. In accordance with article 68 (1) of resolution 58/4, the United Nations Convention against Corruption entered into force on 14 December 2005. A Conference of the States Parties is established to review implementation and facilitate activities required by the Convention.
(2) First International Forum on Tax and Crime ∙ Oslo ∙ 21-23 March 2011. Issues related to greater inter-agency co-operation were discussed by more than 150 delegates from 54 delegations who participated in the first tax and crime forum on 21-23 March 2011 in Oslo hosted by the Norwegian government. The conference brought together representatives from a range of OECD and non-OECD governmental agencies, including Tax Administrations, Finance and Justice Ministries, Financial Intelligence Units, Central Banks, FATF, International Organisations, as well as business and NGOs. Second International Forum on Tax and Crime ∙ Rome ∙ 14-15 June 2012. This Forum brought together senior policy makers from different government agencies including the tax, anti-money laundering and anti-corruption communities, as well as private sector representatives, NGOs and other interested stakeholders. Participants examined best practice approaches to closer inter-agency co-operation at the domestic level and explore how to improve international cooperation. The conference also showcased specific key risks in the tax and crime area, allowing countries to target resources and learn from the experience of others. Building on previous events in Oslo and Rome, the Third Forum on Tax and Crime provided an opportunity for senior government officials from tax and customs administrations, anti-money laundering and anti‑corruption authorities, police and law enforcement, public prosecutors, financial regulators and government Ministries, as well as international organisations and NGOs, to discuss current issues and country experiences on key policy and operational topics in combating all forms of financial crime.
(3) The 4th Joint African Union Commission/United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (AUC/ECA) Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development was held in 2011. This Conference mandated ECA to establish the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa. Illicit financial flows out of Africa have become a matter of major concern because of the scale and negative impact of such flows on Africa’s development and governance agenda. By some estimates, illicit flows from Africa could be as much as US $50 billion per annum. This is approximately double the official development assistance (ODA) that Africa receives and, indeed, the estimate may well be short of reality as accurate data does not exist for all transactions and for all African countries.
Fronting means a deliberate circumvention or attempted circumvention of the South African B-BBEE Act and the Codes. Fronting commonly involves reliance on data or claims of compliance based on misrepresentations of facts, whether made by the party claiming compliance or by any other person. Verification agencies, and /or procurement officers and relevant decision-makers may come across fronting indicators through their interactions with measured entities. The B-BBEE Commission may also approach a court of law to restrain any breach or for any appropriate remedial relief, which may include setting aside the transaction or initiative. The B-BBEE Commission will not discuss the merit or the details of its investigative process, but the findings will be published as required in the B-BBEE Act.
24.01.2014 Categories: Aviation, Corporate Governance, Policy, Law, CEO Tags: G20, OECD, Davos, World Economic Forum, Share:
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WEF community of global CEOs set up to fight corruption
WEF community of global CEOs set up to fight corruption
Pictured: Elaine K Dezenski, senior director and head of PACI at the World Economic Forum Related Articles
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PACI Vanguard, a community of 20 global CEOs committed fighting corruption, has been launched by the World Economic Forum (WEF) at its Davos annual meeting.
The WEF’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI), which has been in operation for the last 10 years, currently has more 100 member companies signed up to the PACI Principles for Countering Corruption. The WEF said the new PACI Vanguard is committed to being the premier global business voice advocating for a more robust anti-corruption agenda.
It said the group will work towards establishing a harmonised legal framework that can address corruption consistently and lead to more effective enforcement. Through a collaboration with the OECD, Vanguard CEOs will work to support the implementation of the OECD Convention on Combatting Bribery with G20 countries and others.
We need a global legal framework and an effective enforcement mechanism to win the fight against corruption,” said OECD secretary-general Angel Gurría. “It is exciting that the OECD and the PACI Vanguard community of CEOs will work together to expand the adoption of the OECD Convention on Combatting Bribery. This is the kind of partnership between business and government that can achieve real impact and level the playing field in some of the most important growth markets in the world.”
Elaine K Dezenski, senior director and head of PACI at the World Economic Forum, said corruption is a massive obstacle for inclusive growth, competitiveness and social upward mobility. “It is also a major business risk for CEOs and their companies around the world,” she said. “We need strong partnerships across industries and with governments and civil society to create a level playing field for all and to design corruption out of the system.”
As a first step towards collective action, business leaders from the aviation and travel industry have pledged to a mutually developed agenda to fight corruption. Their aim is to establish industry practices that are open, accountable and responsible at the global and regional level. This year-long project conducted by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Deloitte, focused on the complex corruption challenges faced in the value chains of the aviation and travel sector. Its findings are presented in a new report: Safeguarding Aviation and Travel Value Chains Against Corruption.
Among the priorities for the industry in addressing corruption concerns are facilitation payments and customs and border administration for aviation, real estate and hotel licensing processes, and aerospace government procurement processes.
“The industry can set a firm stance on keeping any form of corruption and misconduct out of the system and use its competences to influence the global value chains and other stakeholders to embrace this fundamental principle,” said Frederico Curado, president and chief executive officer, Embraer and co-chair of the Safeguarding Aviation and Travel Value Chains Against Corruption project.
Building on the outcomes of the project, PACI is expected to launch a series of similar industry-focused, anti-corruption collective action projects in the ICT, infrastructure and real estate industries.
Grainne Rothery | Categories: Aviation, Corporate Governance, Policy, Law, CEO Tags: G20, OECD, Davos, World Economic Forum, Share:
MANILA, Philippines In the age of internet and social media, information technology can also be used in fighting corruption, a senior director of the World Economic Forum (WEF) said.
Corruption can really be a very difficult thing to quantify, and also difficult to get hard data around it precisely because of what it is which is activity that happens in a grey zone or in a black market that is outside of a normal process, Senior Director Elaine Dezenski, Head of Partnering Against Corruption Initiative of WEF, said in an exclusive interview with INQUIRER.net on Tuesday. In future i must custom essay writing and this certainly benefit
On the issue of transparency, this is where technology really plays a role through its tools for social media that give a more transparent and inclusive voice to the public, she said.
Dezenski pointed to the corruption reporting website www.IPaidABribe.com in India as a prime example of how the public can hit back against corruption even on the lowest levels of government.
The website has received more than 26,000 reports of bribes across 671 cities throughout India as of May 20, 2014.
The government agency with the highest reported bribes paid is with the police at 5,900 reports.
The website encourages the public to report bribe and even specific details such as nature, number, pattern, types, location, frequency and values of actual corrupt acts.
Your reports will, perhaps for the first time, provide a snapshot of bribes occurring across your city. We will use them to argue for improving governance systems and procedures, tightening law enforcement and regulation and thereby reduce the scope for corruption in obtaining services from the government, it said in their website.
The website also allows the public to report the government officials who refused receiving bribes so they can be whitelisted.
It's very interesting to see social media being used as a way to track not only bad behavior of public officials but also good behavior. Blacklisting certain officials but also whitelisting people who are doing the right thing, Dezenski said.
I think in terms of providing a voice [to the public] we are already seeing the effects of that on political processes on government institutions and it's quite exciting to see that, she said.
Dezenski noted a good example of the fight against corruption in Mongolia where the president encouraged businesses to join government's efforts to counter corruption.
It's interesting to look at Mongolia where the president has been very forceful in his desire to take corruption out of the process. He invited the WEF to help him set up a local network of companies which signed on to the principles for countering corruption, Dezenski said.
We have about 168 companies in Mongolia who signed onto the same principles that many global companies follow and the idea is to begin that reform process within the private sector but with the support of the public sector because you really need to have both in place. It goes a lot further if the private sector sees that the government is committed and vice versa, she said.
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Action plan’s top priorities include beneficial ownership, public procurement reform, strengthening anti-corruption enforcement, harmonizing legal frameworks and initiating more collective action
Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 22 January 2015 – The World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) is to expand the work of its PACI Vanguard community of global chief executive officers in 2015, to help implement the action plan created by the B20 Working Group on Anti-Corruption. Top priorities of the action plan include critical issues such as beneficial ownership, public procurement reform, strengthening anti-corruption enforcement, harmonizing legal frameworks and initiating more collective action.
Business leaders as well as key international organizations and NGOs have contributed to developing this plan, including the OECD, UNODC, Transparency International, the Basel Institute on Governance and other leaders in the anti-corruption arena.
“Since 2011, members of the B20 working groups have consolidated the priorities of business leadership into a compelling and far-reaching anti-corruption agenda, but there is a need to move from recommendations to implementation,” said David Seaton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fluor Corporation and Chair of the PACI Vanguard. “It is our hope that a global challenge initiative focused on the implementation of these recommendations creates the enabling environment for key stakeholders to drive action and impact on a much broader scale.”
The PACI Vanguard comprises a group of CEOs from the more than 100 leading companies that are PACI members. Since its inception in 2014, the Vanguard has been moving toward the implementation of a global anti-corruption agenda largely informed by the B20 and G20 anti-corruption dialogues. Convening for its second year at this week’s Annual Meeting 2015 in Davos, the group will begin charting the course for the action plan.
“A key pillar of the action plan will be to leverage the convening platform of the Forum to create alignment and synchronization across global implementation efforts,” said Elaine Dezenski, Head of the Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative. “We have deep expertise and connection points within our PACI community of companies, together with partners in government and civil society. Our goal is to help bring all of this expertise to bear to address some very challenging problems.”
The Vanguard meeting also highlights the past year’s progress on the anti-corruption agenda, including a report on collective action efforts already being made by business leaders from the infrastructure, real estate, engineering and construction industries. The report identifies corruption risks and highlights an industry survey of 50 leading companies that led to a set of specific recommendations on how to level the playing field. Closer interaction between business and government, higher transparency in public procurement and permitting and licensing will be the focus of the implementation phase in 2015.
The project is the second of its kind from the World Economic Forum and PACI, which last year gathered business leaders from the aviation and travel industry to address the same issue. These projects are part of a series of industry-focused, collective action initiatives that demonstrate how traditional industry competitors can come together to combat corruption.
The Co-Chairs of the Annual Meeting 2015 are: Hari S. Bhartia, Co-Chairman and Founder, Jubilant Bhartia Group, India; Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director, Oxfam International, United Kingdom; Katherine Garrett-Cox, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer, Alliance Trust, United Kingdom; Young Global Leader Alumnus; Jim Yong Kim, President, The World Bank, Washington DC; Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google, USA; and Roberto Egydio Setubal, Chief Executive Officer and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, Itaú Unibanco, Brazil.
The World Economic Forum is an international institution committed to improving the state of the world through public-private cooperation in the spirit of global citizenship. It engages with business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
Incorporated as a not-for-profit foundation in 1971 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the Forum is independent, impartial and not tied to any interests. It cooperates closely with all leading international organizations (www.weforum.org).
The Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) is a WEF collective of more than 100 companies across a number of industries, who collaborate and give voice to the demands for a more open and transparent global business environment. The PACI Vanguard, a subgroup of 20 CEOs lead the implementation. Find out more about PACI here.
Leaders today, regardless of whether they work in the public or private sector, face no shortage of challenges. We are told often, and with great certainty, that the consequences for ignoring any one challenge are dire. Among the issues to deal with are wobbling economies, growing terrorism, spreading pandemics, a warming planet and online attacks against confidential information. We can’t possibly devote equal attention to all of these, but we can figure out how they are connected. Understanding how and why problems are related helps us devise solutions that will have the greatest impact.
One place to start is to take a closer look at corruption. The damage it wreaks on our economy and institutions is well documented. It distorts markets by removing any notion of a level playing field, it undermines the rule of law, and it allows crony capitalists and the otherwise undeserving to hoard economic and political power.
The fraud and corruption schemes uncovered by investigators at the World Bank are linked to many other global challenges. Last year, more than 60% of the complaints we received relating to projects in fragile and conflict-affected situations involved corruption and embezzlement. When the collapse of a bridge or building leads to preventable deaths, it’s worth digging around to see if bribes were paid. We see a consistent pattern, of companies cutting corners on safety and quality in order to recoup the cost of the bribes they pay government officials to win contracts. Even something as mundane as waste removal, which does indeed have an impact on the environment, can be distorted by corruption. The problem with fraud and corruption is that they prevent good solutions and sound policies from reaching their full potential.
This summer I contacted 25 anti-corruption leaders and asked them what had been the biggest change in the anti-corruption movement in the past 15 years. Most of them pointed to the shift in thinking that placed fighting corruption on the global agenda, along with the work of international bodies and NGOs to raise awareness about corruption. Indeed, the past few decades have seen a rise in international anti-corruption legislation, such as the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), the OECD’s Anti-Bribery Convention, as well as regional and national laws. International civil society – such as Transparency International, Global Witness, Global Financial Integrity and more recently the Volcker Alliance – have all had a great influence. However, many also cautioned that while increased international attention has helped move the anti-corruption agenda forward, globalization is responsible for an increasingly sophisticated form of corruption. We have to ask whether corruption-fighting solutions have kept pace with the integration of financial systems, global supply chains and multi-jurisdictional entities.
The World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Transparency and Anti-Corruption tries to get to the heart of these issues, to identify and advance the core levers of change. Nineteen of us believe that we can design corruption out of the system at the industry, regional and global levels. By focusing on the nexus between the private the public sector – both the problems and the solutions – we are far more likely to be effective.
Council members have identified a number of entry points to build upon. Isabel Saint Malo de Alvarado, the vice-president of Panama, pointed out that contracting and public works is where the real corruption occurs, which Mark Pieth, professor and former chairmanof the OECD Working Group on Bribery, believes can be addressed through expanded use of high-level reporting mechanisms. Cobus de Swardt from Transparency International is mindful of the need to keep the anti-corruption agenda front and centre, advocating a strong push to make fighting corruption a part of the post-2015 development goals. Bringing a private-sector perspective, Lee Tashjian from Fluor Corporation rightly reminded us to be more involved in reviewing and monitoring the implementation of the B20 recommendations.
Above all, this Global Agenda Council’s work is about restoring faith in leaders and institutions. Watch this space for ideas and change.
All opinions expressed are those of the author. The World Economic Forum Blog is an independent and neutral platform dedicated to generating debate around the key topics that shape global, regional and industry agendas.
Deloitte selected to The World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative Vanguard CEO Community- Statement by Steve Almond, Chairman of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited’s Global Board of Directors.
Davos, Switzerland, 23 January 2014 – Corruption is recognized as one of the most significant obstacles to economic and social development with serious implications for nearly all sectors and industries. Addressing this issue through CEO-level leadership and collaboration across industries can bring much needed transformation; and working closely with partners in government and civil society is a critical step towards combating the global phenomenon of corruption.
The Vanguard community of more than 20 CEOs identified major “drivers” of change needed to direct corruption out of the system. One of the most important elements is creating a harmonized legal and regulatory framework. We will team with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to extend the adoption and implementation of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery as a means for creating a stronger legal basis for a true level playing field.
In our interconnected world it is critical now, more than ever, for leaders in business, government and civil society to collaborate, share views, and jointly find solutions in the anti-corruption agenda that may ultimately improve industry competitiveness, promote economic growth, and stimulate investment and development.
About Deloitte
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Please see www.deloitte.com/aboutfor a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited and its member firms.
Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries. With a globally connected network of member firms in more than 150 countries, Deloitte brings world-class capabilities and high-quality service to clients, delivering the insights they need to address their most complex business challenges. Deloitte has in the region of 200,000 professionals, all committed to becoming the standard of excellence.
In many parts of the world, paying bribes to win business contracts is unfortunately both accepted and expected. However, Fluor will not tolerate bribery of any form, with any third party, public or private, whether done directly or indirectly through third parties, even if we lose business or encounter delays because of our refusal to do so.
Corruption is the single greatest obstacle to economic and social development. It costs more than 5 percent of the world's gross domestic product, or approximately US$3 trillion annually, according to the World Bank. Corruption robs local populations, particularly in developing countries, of critically needed resources and curbing economic growth and sustainable development.
World Economic Forum (WEF) Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) While governmental and non-governmental (NGO) anti-corruption initiatives have made progress, international business must play a decisive role in the fight against global corruption.
Fluor is a founding member of PACI, the only global business-driven, multi-industry anti-corruption initiative.
PACI commits companies to action by implementing zero-tolerance policies toward bribery and corruption and maintaining broad-based anti-corruption programs to guide the behavior of their employees. Launched in 2004, PACI has more than 80 signatory companies from multiple sectors and global locations representing revenues of more than US$500 billion and reaching more than 1.4 million employees worldwide. PACI offers a risk-mitigation platform to help companies implement effective policies and systems to prevent, detect, and address corruption.
Fluor served on the Advisory Committee to rewrite the PACI Principles and contributed to the development and launch of the PACI Good Practice Guidelines on Conducting Third-Party Due Diligence.
Fluor remains active serving on the Board and as Board Delegates of PACI.
In 2014, the World Economic Forum launched PACI Vanguard, a community of global CEOs committed to advocating for a stronger anti-corruption agenda. Through collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the PACI Vanguard CEOs will work to support the implementation of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery with G20 countries and others.
David T. Seaton, Chairman and CEO of Fluor Corporation, serves as the chairman of the PACI Vanguard initiative.
United Nation’s Global Compact’s 10th Principle on Anti-Corruption Fluor is a signatory to the United Nation's Global Compact.
B20 Task Force on Transparency and Anti-Corruption David Seaton, Chairman and CEO of Fluor, has been the co-chair since inception in 2011, of the B20 Task Force on Improving Transparency and Anti-Corruption. The task force focuses on the creation of greater levels of transparency surrounding government procurements; anti-corruption training for small-medium enterprises (SMEs) and public officials; and encouraging the utilization of collective action strategies. David Seaton has also chaired the work stream on collective action, with the mission of fostering use of collective action strategies as a key mechanism for fighting corruption in each G20 country. In collaboration with the Basel Institute, the United Nations Global Compact and other partners, it created a global B20 Collective Action Hub to serve as a central repository of best practices in collective action worldwide and as a reference to groups that desire to employ collective action strategies in the fight against corruption.
Transparency International Fluor has a long relationship with Transparency International (TI), which also sits on the PACI Board.
Most recently, Fluor provided the private-sector perspective for the introduction of Transparency International's Assurance Framework for Corporate Anti-Bribery programs and is serving as a pilot company for the framework testing.
Fluor was the only company to rank an “A” on the 2012 Defence Companies Anti-Corruption Index by Transparency International UK, analyzing the public anti-corruption information of 129 defence companies.
Transparency International-USA recognized Fluor's leadership by awarding Fluor the coveted Corporate Leadership Award in 2013.
Industry Anti-Corruption Collective Action Efforts Fluor has collaborated with several industry-focused initiatives to develop codes of conduct for small-medium enterprises in the engineering and construction industry, as well as training and other projects to improve ethics and compliance in our industry throughout the world.
India Fluor partnered with the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), U.S. Department of Commerce, and the American Chamber of Commerce of India to develop and roll out an industry code of conduct, “The New Delhi Principles for Voluntary Codes of Conduct for the Engineering and Construction Sector,” and related training to small-medium-enterprises in India.
Asia Pacific Fluor worked with the U.S. Department of Commerce to foster business ethics in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region. This includes co-chairing the development of an industry code of conduct, “The Hanoi Principles for Voluntary Codes of Business Ethics in the Construction and Engineering Sector,” developing a business ethics training curriculum based on the Hanoi Principles, and assisting in implementation of the curriculum to small-medium-enterprise industry representatives throughout the Asia Pacific region and beyond.
Africa Fluor has worked with the U.S. Department of Commerce on, and participated in, the 2013 U.S.-sub-Saharan African Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, commonly known as the AGOA Forum, including serving on a panel discussing “Business Ethics and the Construction/Engineering Sector: The Benefits of U.S.-African Public Private Partnerships,” along with the Angolan Minister of Commerce and others. Fluor continues to work with the U.S. Department of Commerce to identify region or countries in Africa where to roll out an engineering and construction industry code of conduct for small-medium enterprises, and offer our assistance.
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) - Anti-Corruption Education & Training Global (ACET) Project Fluor partnered with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in the development of ETHICANATM, a training video dramatizing the devastating effects of corruption in engineering and construction industry intended for corporate training and university teaching. It is subtitled in 28 languages and available with a comprehensive set of training materials. Fluor Foundation provided the lead gift of $100,000 to help underwrite the video and develop accompanying training materials.
ETHICANA was awarded the 2012 Gold Award, in “The Power to Make a World” category, by the American Society of Association Executives.
29 March – 1 April, 2015 l Hilton Park Lane Hotel l London, UK
SCCE's European Compliance and Ethics Institute provides an invaluable opportunity to learn the latest practices for effectively addressing challenges facing the European compliance and ethics community. Learn directly from experienced compliance and ethics professionals through both formal presentations and informal networking events. Help improve your compliance and ethics programme and develop your expertise, in this growing and evolving profession.
Register for the conference before January 7 and save up to $575.
See which ethicists will be presenting at the ECEI.
Remember to get your credits toward accreditation.
We are excited to celebrate our 3rd annual ECEI. We are excited to see compliance professionals interacting with each other from many countries. The most rewarding aspect of this conference has been to see the excitement on the faces of attendees who have found their professional home and see them spend time with people who actually understand challenges they are going through.
A collaborative effort led by the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, with support from Transparency International, the Accountability Lab, and the International Student Festival in Trondheim.
“We have to do what our parents’ generation did not do…so that when they die, the corruption dies with them,” says Divine Anderson. Anderson is the young director of the Accountability Film School, which empowers Liberians to make documentaries about integrity issues in their communities and show these films to government officials at local video clubs and national film festivals. This helps them raise their voice, increase awareness, and generate demand for reform.
Across the world, the millennial generation is finding new tools to make people in power more responsible to citizens. New leaders like Anderson are fighting corruption in ways that are fundamentally changing societies that, in many places, have been deeply hierarchical, frustratingly opaque and unequal for hundreds of years.
Corrupt officials are worried – and they should be. Young people are proving themselves to be hugely committed to working towards greater transparency, accountability and integrity in their countries. Here are five reasons why corruption is no match for the millennial generation:
Strength in numbers. Over half of the people on the planet are now under the age of 35. In South-East Asia, this number rises to two-thirds of the population. In Africa, the median age is now less than 20. This is a constituency that is large, vocal and cannot be ignored. It is also bringing with it votes for a new cadre of young leaders who understand how to fight corruption. Think of the youthful Joko Widodo in Indonesia, for example, respected for his integrity; or President Benigno Aquino, who won the youth vote by vowing to crack down on corruption in the Philippines.
Global perspective. It is no secret that today’s youth are better connected than ever before, through tools that allow them to chat, share and collaborate. Almost 70% of the world’s internet users are on Facebook. This provides an unprecedented comparative perspective across societies and replication of good ideas from place to place online and offline. The I Paid a Bribe platform, for example, started in India but now has local versions – led largely by young people – in 14 countries. The Global Youth Anti-Corruption Network (GYAC) has more than 45 chapters around the world. It is easier than ever for youth to come together and build coalitions for change.
Civic-minded. Young people today are less entrenched in patronage networks than their parents and grandparents, and less interested in perpetuating these ties than any generation before them. The Citizenship Forum in Morocco, for example, is building a network of civic clubs in schools across the country to help youth understand their rights and responsibilities. In Papua New Guinea, Transparency International’s Integrity Camp has supported hundreds of young leaders on issues related to the rule of law and accountability. Our conversations with millennials indicate that their aim is not to become part of a corrupt system but to change it. They desperately want to create a new generation of citizens who value meritocracy over partiality and honesty over duplicity.
Innate creativity. Millennials are less bound by traditional ways of thinking and more able to work outside conventional mechanisms for change in their societies. Social enterprise – business that does good – is increasingly popular among young people. In the US alone, social business is now worth over $500 billion a year. This movement is spilling over into the anti-corruption realm. In Prague, Corrupt Tour.com, for example, is running paid tours that highlight where graft has taken place in the city, with demand for at least four tours a month. In Thailand, the for-profit Refuse to Be Corrupt cafés at universities provide a space where young people can discuss how to tackle corruption. For the younger generation, building integrity can also mean making money.
Tech-savvy. Computer programming and tech literacy are second nature to many millennials, even in places where internet access is still limited. In fact, poor equipment and connections precipitate innovative technology ideas to stamp out corruption. In Nepal, for example, a tool called Nalibeli allows young people to crowdsource information on public services online. This allows citizens to better navigate government and avoid paying bribes. In places with greater online populations, like China, young people have been playing a popular new anti-corruption video game. In Colombia, a site called Congreso Visible provides information on elected officials, including their attendance in parliament and key votes. Transparent information online is allowing millennials to hold decision-makers more accountable.
Back in Liberia, Anderson and his team are working on a film festival to show films that focus on the corruption that they perceive to be contributing to the Ebola epidemic. “Our people are dying,” he says. “Corruption is killing us. Young people have to be responsible for building an honest future, or we won’t have one at all.”
The results of the survey, The Impact of Corruption: Perspectives from Millennial Voices, are available here.
Author: Blair Glencorse is Executive Director, Accountability Lab, an organization which empowers young people to build creative tools for integrity and anti-corruption
Image: A man holds out bolivar notes as he offers to exchange currency at the border between Colombia and Venezuela at Simon Bolivar international bridge in San Antonio in the Venezuelan state of Tachira July 23, 2010. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
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Ronald Harper, 61, a senior member of the Royal Household staff, was accused of taking bribes from building, heating and energy firms in exchange for mechanical and electrical work at Buckingham Palace and other ...
The United States should put combating corruption at the center of its development and diplomacy agendas. While good governance and anticorruption have been a feature of U.S. development policy for decades, the time is right to return to this issue. For practical and political reasons, the United States should lead the charge in a renewed fight to improve governance, increase transparency, and reduce corruption around the world. The U.S. should seek to make common cause with leading companies and business communities to achieve these goals. The World Economic Forum is holding its Annual Meeting in Davos this week, and there is no doubt that fighting corruption will be an important topic of discussion.
First and foremost, fighting corruption while promoting transparency and accountability is good for prosperity. Robert Klitgaard supplied a famous definition for corruption, noting that “corruption is a term of many meanings” but, “at the broadest level, corruption is the misuse of office for unofficial ends.” Around the world, corruption serves as a massive tax on the private sector and holds back global growth. There are various estimates on the absolute cost of corruption, but clearly the scale of the challenge is enormous.
A commonly cited World Bank estimate from 2005 places the total cost of corruption around $1 trillion annually. Transparency International estimates that in developing countries alone, corrupt officials receive up to $40 billion in bribes each year, and nearly 40 percent of all business executives report that they have been asked to pay a bribe when dealing with a public institution in the past. Some estimates place the total cost of corruption at more than 5 percent of global GDP each year- this amounts to $2.6 trillion, or 19 times larger than the $134.8 billion spent globally on official development assistance (ODA) in 2013. At my day job, we produced a report using World Banks data in February 2014 that estimated private sector corruption alone accounts for $515 billion or more annually. The point is, it’s hard to nail down the real cost of corruption, but we do know is that it is massive.
Corruption has riled citizens ire from Beijing to Washington, and everywhere in between
Reducing corruption while promulgating transparent governance and open information not only enable progress on social challenges and institutional development, but plays a significant role in driving foreign investment and commercial engagement. The WEF estimates that moving a business from a country with low corruption to one with medium or high corruption constitutes a 20 percent tax increase for that business. For a given country, reducing this cost will have direct and substantial effects on national economic wellbeing.
The most compelling reason to target anticorruption as a development priority is the broad and intense public support confronting corruption enjoys around the world, and especially in developing countries. Public polling conducted by the WEF shows that societal corruption is a top three issue in 67 countries. In this sense, anticorruption efforts are a “demand side” phenomenon – citizens themselves are driving the push for clean and accountable governance. The reasons for this push are clear. Lack of transparency, crony arrangements, bribes, and misuse of public funds cause significant damage to a country’s social and institutional fabric.
The United States was an early leader of the anticorruption movement – Rod Hills, who recently passed away, pioneered this work beginning in the 1970s (I previously wrote about Rod’s work). Due to the visionary efforts of Rod Hills, and people like him, the United States was the global leader on anticorruption for 40 years. These efforts were met with a great deal of success. Today we have a clear understanding of the pernicious costs of corruption, and have been able to drive reform in dozens of countries and thousands of companies. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a strong supporter of the anticorruption movement, and the World Economic Forum (WEF) has honed in on the issue through its Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI). Business groups such as CREATe (Center for Responsible Enterprise and Trade), I should note this group funded my professional work on corruption, also have a role to play. Anticorruption language is now standard feature of most trade and investment agreements. In the four decades since the anticorruption torch was taken up, we’ve made great progress, but significant challenges remain.
In the wake of the financial crisis, and the perceived cronyism that precipitated the collapse, some feel that the United States has lost a degree of legitimacy in the fight against corruption around the world. The next U.S. President will have the opportunity to remake the development and diplomacy agenda, and whether it’s Hillary Clinton or a Republican candidate who takes the White House in 2016, fighting corruption needs to be a renewed priority. While the United States is not perfect when it comes to the issues of transparent and accountable government, we do have a critical role in helping reduce global corruption. Citizens around the globe want clean and transparent governments, and the United States should help them get it.
The World Economic Forum has urged governments to measure minimum wages, trade union membership, investment in public services and corruption as part of an action plan for tackling rising inequality.
Ahead of the start of its annual meeting in Davos on Tuesday, the WEF published 14 measures of inclusive growth as it responded to criticism that the gathering of 2,500 business leaders, academic and policymakers has become an exercise in hand-wringing about the gap between rich and poor.
Between 2012 and 2014 growing inequality was identified by WEF members as the most likely threat to the global economy and the concerns have led to WEF staff drawing up ways of measuring policies that affect inclusiveness, including business ethics, social safety nets and the quality of basic infrastructure.
“Since the onset of the financial crisis, the question of how to unlock new sources of productive employment and strengthen the contribution of economic growth to progress in broad living standards has become an increasingly important concern for political and business leaders in developed and developing countries alike. These challenges have been at the top of the World Economic Forum Global Risks Report survey in recent years”, the paper said.
“But while there is widespread international consensus on the need to develop new and improved growth and development models in this respect, little in the way of concrete policy guidance has emerged. There is a growing need for analytical frameworks and evidence-based solutions suited to this purpose.”
Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the IMF, Pope Francis, Jim Kim, the president of the World Bank and Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, are among those who have stressed the need to ensure that the fruits of economic progress are shared more equally. Carney will be taking part in a panel in Davos this week titled: “A richer world but for whom”.
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Rick Samans, a member of the WEF board and a former economic adviser to Bill Clinton, said: “There is almost universal agreement about the direction that countries need to go in. It has almost become a mantra. We are coming up with concrete policy guidance.”
The WEF paper says governments should assess 14 yardsticks of progress under six pillars: education and skills; employment and labour compensation; asset building and business investment; corruption and rents; fiscal transfers; and basic services and infrastructure. Using the tool would allow policy makers to have a clearer sense of how well they were exploiting “available policy space across the full spectrum of levers”.
Samans said the intitial work by the WEF covered 96 rich, middle income and low income countries, and would be refined over the next months. “We are attempting to provide a tool - a rigorous and dispassionate one”, he added.
In countries such as the UK, real incomes have been squeezed since the deep recession of 2008-09, with living standards lower than they were at the time of the 2010 election. The WEF said governments should assess whether a “rising tide lifts all boats” by looking at labour’s share of national incomes, whether pay is linked to productivity, minimum wages, trade union density, the scope of collective bargaining and labour-employer cooperation.
The WEF study said: “However one defines it, there is no policy challenge that preoccupies political leaders around the world more than that of how to expand social participation in the process and benefits of economic growth and integration. The recent financial crisis has taught no more fundamental lesson than the need to rebalance the relative emphasis placed by economists and policymakers on efficiency-enhancing measures and top-line economic performance (growth in GDP/capita), on the one hand, and institutional frameworks and incentives that strongly influence bottom-line economic performance (i.e., sustainable, broad-based progress in living standards), on the other.
“In rich and poor countries alike, it has become increasingly clear that the former is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the satisfaction of societal expectations of national economic performance.”
Industry Agenda in collaboration with Deloitte Prepared by the Project Task Force of the Infrastructure & Urban Development Industries in collaboration wit…
This World Economic Forum report argues that the unique anti-corruption challenges of the infrastructure and real estate industries, attributed to issues such as complex procurement and supply-chain processes. The report is based on a survey among 50 of the world’s leading real estate, constructing and engineering companies, and provides recommendations to the various identified industry-specific corruption risks.
This World Economic Forum report argues that the unique anti-corruption challenges of the infrastructure and real estate industries, attributed to issues such as complex procurement and supply-chain processes. The report is based on a survey among 50 of the world’s leading real estate, constructing and engineering companies, and provides recommendations to the various identified industry-specific corruption risks.
A group of world’s top business leaders — named the PACI Vanguard — was formed on Thursday in the World Economic Forum to act as “the premier global business voice advocating for a more robust anti-corruption agenda,” according to a press statement by the WEF.
At the launch of the Vanguard, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said: “We need a global legal framework and an effective enforcement mechanism to win the fight against corruption.
It is exciting that the OECD and the PACI Vanguard community of CEOs will work together to expand the adoption of the OECD Convention on Combatting Bribery.
This is the kind of partnership between business and government that can achieve real impact and level the playing field in some of the most important growth markets in the world.”
“Corruption is a massive obstacle for inclusive growth, competitiveness and social upward mobility. It is also a major business risk for CEOs and their companies around the world.
We need strong partnerships across industries and with governments and civil society to create a level playing field for all and to design corruption out of the system,” added Elaine K. Dezenski, Senior Director and Head of PACI at the World Economic Forum.
As a first step towards collective action, business leaders from the aviation and travel industry have pledged to a mutually developed agenda to fight corruption.
Their aim is to establish industry practices that are open, accountable and responsible at the global and regional level, according to the WEF statement.
This year-long project conducted by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Deloitte, focused on the corruption challenges faced in the value chains of the aviation and travel sector.
Among the priorities for the industry in addressing corruption concerns are facilitation payments and customs and border administration for aviation, real estate and hotel licensing processes, and aerospace government procurement processes.
“The industry can set a firm stance on keeping any form of corruption and misconduct out of the system and use its competences to influence the global value chains and other stakeholders to embrace this fundamental principle,” said Frederico Curado, President and Chief Executive Officer, Embraer and Co-Chair of the Safeguarding Aviation and Travel Value Chains Against Corruption project.
The project is believed to be a first of its kind, demonstrating how traditional competitors of an industry can come together on the key issue of corporate citizenship and social responsibility, and positively influencing the practices of billion-dollar businesses and having market-shifting impact.
Building on the outcomes of the project, PACI is expected to launch a series of similar industry-focused, anti-corruption collective action projects in the ICT, infrastructure and real estate industries.
Over the past ten years, PACI has become the leading global business voice on anti-corruption and transparency. Comprising nearly 100 active companies, PACI is one of the strongest cross-industry collaborative efforts at the Forum. The initiative creates a more visible, dynamic and agenda-setting platform, working with committed business leaders, international organizations and governments to address corruption, transparency and emerging-market risks.
The community has recently been expanding its work under the PACI Vanguard CEO leadership and moving towards the implementation of a global anti-corruption agenda. This agenda is largely informed by the action plans of the G20 and B20 Anti-Corruption dialogues.
Select PACI Projects and Initiatives Driven by identified needs and interests of PACI Member companies, PACI undertakes initiatives to address industry, regional, country or global issues in anti-corruption and compliance. Examples include:
Global Anti-corruption Agenda –The Forum is launching a Global Challenge Partnership to support the Action Plan created by the B20 Working Group on Anti-Corruption. This effort connects to the Vanguard community of CEOs, together with leaders from government and civil society around a specific, action-oriented global agenda, supporting the G20/B20 process.
Regional Initiatives – High-level business-government-civil society meetings are held across emerging and high-growth markets on the key drivers of corruption and emerging trends that support the fight against corruption. In 2014, strategic dialogues on anti-corruption were held in the Philippines and Nigeria; and a special session at the India Economic Summit linked to the PACI Vanguard agenda.
Industry Projects – Collective Action in the Infrastructure and Real Estate Industries: An in-depth review of corruption and transparency challenges in the infrastructure and real estate industries through a dialogue series and supporting risk analysis. The objective of the project is to achieve CEO-level commitment to a mutually developed framework for collective action on sector-specific priorities.
PACI Public Awareness Campaign – The UN’s MY World 2014 addressed transparency and corruption as a top priority for people under the age of 34.
To further explore the view of this demographic (specifically millennials, aged 18-34) on this topic, a survey was distributed to millennial networks of the organizations involved in a project led by the World Economic Forum and UNODC, in collaboration with Transparency International, Accountability Lab, and the International Student Festival in Trondheim.
With this initial group of respondents, this survey provides a starting point to understanding the full scope of this generation’s perspectives on this issue. It is our hope that it encourages more millennials to engage in the subject of corruption, helps them to understand the scale of the problem, and encourages them to play a role in helping create an environment where corruption cannot flourish.
Objectives
The aims of the initiative are to:
Support corporate citizenship and set the global agenda through the PACI Vanguard, a CEO-driven anti-corruption community of purpose
Form targeted industry/regional/country initiatives and collective action projects supported by the PACI Community and the PACI Task Force
Support large-scale transformation in the transparency and anti-corruption arena by identifying and advancing the core levers of transformation, such as B20 collective action hubs, harmonizing legal frameworks, and designing efforts to increase public awareness on corruption.
Contact
For more information about becoming a member of PACI please refer to the PACI Membership application form that can be found here or contact a member of the PACI team at paci@weforum.org
We do not need to look further than today’s news to see that corruption is a far-reaching issue throughout the world – from a recent survey in Turkey that estimates corruption increases costs by 10%, to Hong Kong, where the guilty verdict against a billionaire property developer is highlighting citizen anger at the city’s elite, to countless local US corruption charges in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania – and that is just the tip of the iceberg.
We know that bribery and corruption exist across all industries, but the engineering, construction and real estate sectors are ...
As the world looks to chart a course for ending poverty and ensuring sustainable development by 2030, one thing is certain: stopping corruption must be at the top of the agenda.
In 2000, global leaders made eight development promises to be reached by 2015, known as the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). With a year left, only four of the MDG targets have been achieved globally. Findings from Transparency International show that high levels of corruption and low levels of governance are to blame for this.
If we really want to end poverty by 2030, good governance and ...
Countries are not corrupt, nor are their governments or the businesses that reside there. Individuals are. The financiers who exploit illegal tax loopholes for their own benefit, the procurement director whose promise of a bribe will secure a contract that should have gone to a rival, the elected (or unelected) official abusing their power to line their own pockets.
It is an unfortunate consequence that such individual actions – and scores of others like them – can bring down governments, destroy businesses and ruin corporate reputations. The crime may be committed by one but the ...
Bribery and corruption exist across all industries, but the engineering, construction and real estate sectors are particularly at risk, given the size, complexity and strategic importance of infrastructure-related initiatives in both advanced and emerging economies.
Building Foundations Against Corruption – Recommendations on Anti-Corruption in the Infrastructure & Urban Development Industries provides practical advice on how corruption in infrastructure and related sectors can be addressed through collective action.
Young people are some of the most important agents of change in the fight against corruption. Often overlooked, they offer a chance to reshape norms. In the Philippines, where over half the population is under the age of 24, there is a substantial opportunity to create a new culture against corruption.
The UN’s “My World” survey, which aims to inform the post-2015 international development agenda, shows the importance 16-30 year olds place on transparency and accountability: “An honest and responsive government” was one of their top concerns, ranking above other issues you might ...
The Impact of Corruption: Perspectives from Millennial Voices
A collaborative effort led by the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, with support from Transparency International, the Accountability Lab, and the International Student Festival in Trondheim (ISFiT 2015).
Corruption is a key impediment to development, competitiveness and stability in both emerging and developed economies. The UN’s MY World 2014 survey also identified transparency and corruption as a top priority for people under the age of 34.
To further explore the view of this demographic (specifically "millennials" – those aged 18-34) on this topic, a survey was distributed to millennial networks of each organization involved in this project.
The survey suggests that the two issues regarded as most important by those millennials in the survey are the impact corruption will have on growth and what other impacts it will have on the future, including voting and the public sector as a career choice.
As the generation that will live with the consequences of today’s corruption the longest, it is important that its voice is heard, and its concerns acted on.
With this initial group of respondents, this survey provides a starting point to understanding the full scope of this generation’s perspectives on this issue. It is our hope it encourages more millennials to engage in the subject of corruption, helps them understand the scale of the problem, and encourages them to play a role in helping create an environment where it cannot flourish.
Survey Results
1. Corruption is… (choose all that apply)
When asked to describe the impact of corruption, the vast majority of those we surveyed believe corruption is holding their country back, and depriving their generation of opportunity.
Corruption is holding my country back
Corruption is causing lost opportunities for my generation
Corruption is a necessary part of functioning in society
Corruption is jeopardizing the job, family or physical security of me or someone I know
2. In your country, do you think corruption is a problem in the following sectors? (choose all that apply)
The judicial system and law enforcement are ranked the top two sectors of concern among our respondents – highlighting a trust deficit in governance and public institutions.
3. In your country, do you think corruption is a problem in the following scenarios? (choose all that apply)
Corruption across a variety of scenarios received equal—and high—billings from nearly all respondents, from voting and police forces, to legal procedures and career growth, showing the issue is seen as permeating throughout key societal functions.
Elections and voting
Obtaining legal documents and permits
Workplace advancement
Avoiding problems with the police
None of the above
4. Would you be more likely to consider a career in the public service in your home country if there was less corruption in the public sector?
The public sector stands to lose in recruiting this group of young talent to its ranks. Nearly two-thirds of our respondents indicated they would be more likely to consider a career in public service if corruption was less widespread.
5. To what extent do you feel you and your friends have the tools you need to fight corruption in your community?
There is a sense of lost hope among this group, with less than half of our respondents feeling they have the tools to fight corruption.
6. To what extent do you think the international community should pay more attention to the effects of corruption and to its prevention and control?
More than two-thirds of respondents agree that the international community should pay a great deal more attention to the effects of corruption and to its prevention and control.
Results by Region
Use the interactive map below to explore the responses to our survey by region.
As this survey was distributed to specific millennial networks, each with a different regional presence, it is important to distinguish that results do not translate to a country-by-country index, with proportional response rates in each. Rather, response distributions reflect geographies where surveyed networks are most active and results for some regions might be disproportionally influenced by the responses of specific countries. The detailed results with country breakdown are available here.
The Power of Millennials in Combating Corruption
Click the images below to read more from some of the leading voices in the fight against corruption, and find out why they think millennials are key to addressing this issue.
Watch these videos to learn more about how you can get involved in the fight against corruption.
Visit these links to learn more about how you can get involved in the fight against corruption.
www
World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative
www
International Anti-Corruption Day
www
UNODC's Action against Corruption and Economic Crime
www
UNODC's Tools and Resources for Anti-Corruption Knowledge
www
The Accountability Lab
www
The 2015 International Student Festival in Trondheim
www
Transparency International Anti-Corruption Kit for Young Activists
Methodology
The survey, developed in collaboration with APCO Worldwide, was conducted between 18 September 2014 and 22 October 2014. It was distributed to millennial networks of each organization involved in this project, via their social networks, email mailing lists and websites. The respondents were selected based on age (18-34) and full and accurate completion of the survey questions. In total, 1,089 people from 102 countries participated in the survey. The data set was then edited to exclude respondents outside the age bracket, those whose country of residence or age could not be determined, or those who had an entry error in other survey questions. In total, 814 valid responses were retained for inclusion in the analysis.
The sample statistics and the results with country breakdown are available here.
The Impact of Corruption: Perspectives from Millennial Voices
A collaborative effort led by the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, with support from Transparency International, the Accountability Lab, and the International Student Festival in Trondheim (ISFiT 2015).
Corruption is a key impediment to development, competitiveness and stability in both emerging and developed economies. The UN’s MY World 2014 survey also identified transparency and corruption as a top priority for people under the age of 34.
To further explore the view of this demographic (specifically "millennials" – those aged 18-34) on this topic, a survey was distributed to millennial networks of each organization involved in this project.
The survey suggests that the two issues regarded as most important by those millennials in the survey are the impact corruption will have on growth and what other impacts it will have on the future, including voting and the public sector as a career choice.
As the generation that will live with the consequences of today’s corruption the longest, it is important that its voice is heard, and its concerns acted on.
With this initial group of respondents, this survey provides a starting point to understanding the full scope of this generation’s perspectives on this issue. It is our hope it encourages more millennials to engage in the subject of corruption, helps them understand the scale of the problem, and encourages them to play a role in helping create an environment where it cannot flourish.
Survey Results
1. Corruption is… (choose all that apply)
When asked to describe the impact of corruption, the vast majority of those we surveyed believe corruption is holding their country back, and depriving their generation of opportunity.
Corruption is holding my country back
Corruption is causing lost opportunities for my generation
Corruption is a necessary part of functioning in society
Corruption is jeopardizing the job, family or physical security of me or someone I know
2. In your country, do you think corruption is a problem in the following sectors? (choose all that apply)
The judicial system and law enforcement are ranked the top two sectors of concern among our respondents – highlighting a trust deficit in governance and public institutions.
3. In your country, do you think corruption is a problem in the following scenarios? (choose all that apply)
Corruption across a variety of scenarios received equal—and high—billings from nearly all respondents, from voting and police forces, to legal procedures and career growth, showing the issue is seen as permeating throughout key societal functions.
Elections and voting
Obtaining legal documents and permits
Workplace advancement
Avoiding problems with the police
None of the above
4. Would you be more likely to consider a career in the public service in your home country if there was less corruption in the public sector?
The public sector stands to lose in recruiting this group of young talent to its ranks. Nearly two-thirds of our respondents indicated they would be more likely to consider a career in public service if corruption was less widespread.
5. To what extent do you feel you and your friends have the tools you need to fight corruption in your community?
There is a sense of lost hope among this group, with less than half of our respondents feeling they have the tools to fight corruption.
6. To what extent do you think the international community should pay more attention to the effects of corruption and to its prevention and control?
More than two-thirds of respondents agree that the international community should pay a great deal more attention to the effects of corruption and to its prevention and control.
Results by Region
Use the interactive map below to explore the responses to our survey by region.
As this survey was distributed to specific millennial networks, each with a different regional presence, it is important to distinguish that results do not translate to a country-by-country index, with proportional response rates in each. Rather, response distributions reflect geographies where surveyed networks are most active and results for some regions might be disproportionally influenced by the responses of specific countries. The detailed results with country breakdown are available here.
The Power of Millennials in Combating Corruption
Click the images below to read more from some of the leading voices in the fight against corruption, and find out why they think millennials are key to addressing this issue.
Watch these videos to learn more about how you can get involved in the fight against corruption.
Visit these links to learn more about how you can get involved in the fight against corruption.
www
World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative
www
International Anti-Corruption Day
www
UNODC's Action against Corruption and Economic Crime
www
UNODC's Tools and Resources for Anti-Corruption Knowledge
www
The Accountability Lab
www
The 2015 International Student Festival in Trondheim
www
Transparency International Anti-Corruption Kit for Young Activists
Methodology
The survey, developed in collaboration with APCO Worldwide, was conducted between 18 September 2014 and 22 October 2014. It was distributed to millennial networks of each organization involved in this project, via their social networks, email mailing lists and websites. The respondents were selected based on age (18-34) and full and accurate completion of the survey questions. In total, 1,089 people from 102 countries participated in the survey. The data set was then edited to exclude respondents outside the age bracket, those whose country of residence or age could not be determined, or those who had an entry error in other survey questions. In total, 814 valid responses were retained for inclusion in the analysis.
The sample statistics and the results with country breakdown are available here.
Dr. Carlos Lopes, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA),was the Keynote Speaker at the Third Tana High-Level F...
Analysis Curbing illicit financial flows in Africa is imperative
05 Feb 2015 00:00 Sarah Evans
The African Union may not have the clout to lobby for the reforms required to prevent vast sums of money leaving the continent. Africa has lost more in illicit financial outflows in 50 years than it has gained in development aid and the AU may be not have enough power to lobby for reform. (AFP)
A recent report detailing how Africa lost $US1-trillion in the last 50 years through illicit financial flows of money has raised questions about it’s abilities to curb fraud evasion and other means of corporate profit hiding. It has also sparked interest in holding multinational corporates, which are mainly responsible for the capital outflow, accountable for their actions.
Last week, a panel led by Thabo Mbeki presented the report to the African Union summit.
Read: Corporations and countries complicit in ripping off Africa
The report called for lobbying at the United Nations by African countries for a declaration on illicit financial flows.
Research shows how these flows rob developing countries of income taxes that rightfully belong to the host countries where companies operate, particularly in the extractives sector.
Africa has lost more in illicit outflows in 50 years than it has gained in development aid, according to the report. In sub-Saharan Africa, up to 5.5% of gross domestic product is lost this way every year.
Questions have also been raised about whether the African Union (AU) has the necessary clout internationally to lobby for the necessary reforms. These would have to involve more corporate transparency, as well as tax reforms in offshore tax havens where illicit outflows inevitably end up.
The European Commission announced on Tuesday that it was investigating a number of corporate tax evasion schemes, including a Belgian system that allows companies to reduce their tax bills.
The commission is also looking into possible tax schemes involving Amazon, Italian car-maker Fiat in Luxembourg, Apple in Ireland and Starbucks in the Netherlands – all tax havens.
David Lewis, director of Corruption Watch in South Africa, says there are a range of measures that can be put in place by the private and public sectors to stop illicit flows.
There are also a number of voluntary initiatives that corporates can endorse that would not require further legislation, according to Lewis.
One example is the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (Eiti) that aims to promote transparency in companies involved in resource extraction, such as oil or mining.
South Africa is not a signatory to the Eiti and companies can take the lead by introducing country-by-country reporting.
“Most private sector reports of listed companies are aggregated so it’s not possible to tell the flows out of each country,” Lewis says.
Transparency International runs a campaign called Unmask the Corrupt, and Corruption Watch is a partner.
One of the demands of the campaign is that there should be a public register of the beneficial ownership of companies, for example, information on who really owns nominal shares.
Lewis says companies who do not disclose beneficial ownership publicly should not be admitted to public tender.
He believes the South African government could do a lot more to curb illicit flows by implementing mechanisms already in place. For example, vendors of luxury goods like real estate, jewellery or luxury vehicles, are required to report suspicious transactions.
“This should be enforced more rigorously,” he says.
The Mbeki report also pointed a finger at the banking sector, which is also required to report suspicious transactions but in some instances has helped its clients to move large amounts of money across borders, without the authorities’ knowledge.
The benefits of voluntary disclosure Phil Bloomer, executive director of the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, says schemes to avoid paying corporate tax deprive developing countries of the resources necessary to deliver basic human rights to their citizens.
“Some companies have shown leadership in this area by voluntarily disclosing total tax and royalty payments, and pushing government to close loopholes and eliminate tax havens.
“However, much more needs to be done as many companies still use sophisticated methods to avoid paying taxes. This is documented by numerous civil society groups. Companies must recognise that these short-term profit gains are far out-weighed by the benefits of operating with educated, healthy and happy communities and workforces,” Bloomer said.
Peter Vale, professor of humanities at the University of Johannesburg, says it is unlikely that the AU would have the necessary clout to force real change at the UN. But it is also unlikely that the matter would ever reach the UN Security Council.
False promises and the Greek question The only way the practice could potentially be curbed is if it reaches the attention of the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund, he says.
Vale says the exploitation of Africa in this way often takes place within the context of promises of job creation and foreign investment, which are often false.
More broadly, the growing resistance to illicit financial flows is part of a growing backlash against the neoliberal economic system.
“Greece shows you the extent of the disarray that the financial system is in,” says Vale.
“For example, much of the conversation at the World Economic Forum in Davos was around whether Greece was going to be squeezed out of the European Union. It was really about the establishment trying to reassert itself.”
“The Greek question is another example of the way international finance rallies against dissonant voices. Greece is also an interesting test – all of these examples are like buoys bobbing in a very turbulent sea and each of them sends out a red flag that the system itself is in crisis.” he said.
Some civil society groups in and outside Africa have hailed the presentation of the Thabo Mbeki High Level Panel report on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa.
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