|
 Corruption
is one of the principal threats to democracy, growth and equity
in the hemisphere. It distorts public services, deters investment,
discriminates against the poor, and destroys public confidence
in democratic governments. This was the starting point of
two days of discussion at The Carter Center by hemispheric
leaders, members of the private sector, journalists, and NGOs.
Representing the Council of Presidents and Prime Ministers,
a group of 32 former and current heads of government from
Latin America and the Caribbean, the leaders in this conference
concluded that progress toward transparency can be achieved
where civil society and governments work together to overcome
opposition from vested interests. Indeed, important progress
has been made already.
Participants
from two dozen countries discussed strategies, including implementation
of international conventions against corruption, the role
of civil society including media and the private sector in
promoting transparency, and measures to increase accountability
in government-business transactions. The group encountered
a diversity of opinion, driven by the very different social
and economic contexts in the region, and recognized that solutions
will necessarily need to be tailored to each country. Furthermore,
some sources of corruption are international, including multinational
corporations and narco-trafficking, and small countries may
be particularly vulnerable. Solutions must therefore reach
across borders. We are also aware that corruption is systemic,
affecting all aspects of society, and consequently there will
be no quick fix. The solutions, too, will need to be systemic,
engaging society broadly and tackling the problem from several
directions at once.
Rich discussions
yielded creative ideas about practical first steps. Here are
some of our conclusions:
First,
we recognize that although corruption is an ethical issue,
it is also a policy problem, meaning it can be remedied by
setting and enforcing rules that encourage people to do the
right thing. It is a crime of calculation. Where the benefits
outweigh the penalties for illicit behavior, systems can provide
incentives for corruption. A shorthand description is Corruption
= Monopoly + Discretion – Accountability. The task is
to remove the opportunities provided by monopolies and discretionary
decision-making power, and increase the costs of corruption
through detection and enforcement of a nation’s laws.
The good
news is that there are solutions, and improvements can begin
immediately. But it takes civic courage and commitment from
leaders, international lenders and other organizations, coalitions
of businesses and NGOS in civil society, to illuminate previously
dark corners of government transactions. The antidote to corruption
is information, committed leadership, collective action and
clear rules.
Second,
it is time to move from denunciations to diagnosis. Hard data
is necessary to combat the problem, and it is now possible
to get it. New diagnostic tools, including analyses and interviews
of businesses, citizens and public officials, are now available
from the World Bank and others to provide a map of the nature
and location of corruption in public and private organizations.
This information that can be used to devise national action
plans for every segment of the society. We encourage governments
to carry out these diagnoses and made them public, and then
to challenge every branch of the government and civil society
to create action plans to resolve their specific problems.
Third,
as democracy has begun to consolidate more broadly in the
hemisphere, one dilemma it has introduced is how to finance
campaigns and political parties without leaving elected leaders
obligated to special interest groups, narco-traffickers, or
tainted money, or without spending vast quantities of money
that is desperately needed for development. The interdependence
of the public and private sector is highlighted by businesses
dependent on public contracts for their livelihood, and political
parties dependent on private contributions. Opening up those
transactions through specific disclosure mechanisms will begin
to level the playing field. We recommend:
- Enforcing
existing laws and strengthening regulation, oversight
institutions and audit capacity.
- Regulation
and disclosure requirements for income and expenditures
of parties and candidates;
- Reducing
campaign expenses by limiting the campaign period, and
fostering free media time on TV and radio under equal
conditions;
- Financial
disclosure requirements for public officials, elected
or appointed, to avoid conflict of interest and illicit
enrichment, with periodic monitoring by a special office.
- National
laws prohibiting bribery, which might be developed via
a model statute process.
- Business
codes of conducts and compliance programs as a prerequisite
to bid on World Bank and IDB-financed projects, or to
appear on national registers of approved contractors.
- Streamlining
of public procurement laws and broad deregulation.
Fourth,
transparency is the first step in combating corruption, but
it requires a media and civil society capable of accessing
information and then using it to demand accountability from
their governments. We recommend:
- Laws
be enacted that require governments to open up and provide
documentation about their budgeting and spending procedures
so that citizens and journalists can have the information
they need to understand and evaluate what their governments
are doing;
- Training
NGOs to use new technologies, including the internet,
and to monitor privatization and public contracting;
- Publication
of public contract awards, dates of delivery of goods,
schedules of payments, and the bidding process in privatizations;
- Quarterly
report cards on the service delivery quality in certain
sectors, such as health, as well as on efforts to reduce
corruption via the national action plans;
- Databases
about civil servant credentials in order to prevent nepotism
and patronage;
- Public
hearings to provide opportunities for citizens to give
input on priorities for public works projects and bid
requirements within budgetary limitations
- Formation
of regional informational networks and databases so that
the media and NGOs can learn about access to information
and successful strategies to combat corruption.
Fifth,
we wish to emphasize the importance of a free press in promoting
transparency and democracy. The status of press freedom in
the hemisphere is sometimes discouraging. The Inter-American
Press Association recently found that fourteen countries have
press laws that place regulations on freedom of the press.
Seventeen countries have so-called insult laws that can result
in imprisonment for journalists convicted of criticizing government
officials. Eight countries have laws requiring licensing of
journalists or mandatory membership in associations. In the
last decade, 203 journalists have been killed in the Americas,
a human rights situation so deplorable that the region’s
presidents and prime ministers asked the OAS last year to
establish a special office for preventing such incidents,
which the OAS has done. Only six countries in the hemisphere
have laws dealing with the right of access to information
that are considered effective.
To support
professionalism in the media, and avoid unsupported denunciations
that make headlines and sell papers but undercut the media’s
credibility, we recommend:
- Development
of laws that will secure access to information by making
official documents open to public inspection without undue
delay or burdensome paperwork.
- Expansion
of programs to train the press to conduct solid investigations
based on evidence.
- Development
of networks through which citizens can share information
and strategies for fighting corruption.
- Strengthening
of the judicial system’s capacity to investigate
and prosecute corruption where the evidence indicates
it is merited, such that no one is tried in the press
and innocent citizens have an opportunity to defend their
good names in a just court.
Sixth,
we are convinced that recent treaties, including the OECD
Convention Against Bribery and the Inter-American Convention
Against Corruption are important steps in bringing a common
approach to solving both the demand and supply side of bribery.
But they will only be effective when fully implemented by
signatory countries. We urge member states of the OAS at their
June 1999 General Assembly to call for:
- Prompt
ratification by all OAS member states as per their commitments
in the Plan of Action of the Santiago Summit of the Americas;
- Creation
of a peer review mechanism that will promote consistent
and effective implementation of criminal laws and preventive
measures, and which will share best practices and model
laws;
- Provision
by the IDB and World Bank of all necessary technical assistance
for capacity building in order to enable and support full
implementation of the Inter-American Convention.
The corruption
issue is one of concern to all nations, and should receive
attention at the highest levels. Here we want to commend U.S.Vice
President Al Gore for his global forum last February. In closing,
we want to emphasize the need for ethical values not only
in government but in businesses, journalism, banking and indeed
every walk of life. Perhaps most important are the messages
we convey to our children through education in schools and
churches, as it is they who will pay the price if we fail
to act now to stem this ill. We are commited to carrying our
transparency work further, and we hope you will join us in
this important endeavor.
Jamil
Mahuad Witt, President of Ecuador
Said Musa,
Prime Minister of Belize
Arthur
Robinson, President of Trinidad and Tobago
Nicolas
Ardito-Barletta, Former President of Panama
Rodrigo
Carazo, Former President de Costa Rica
Jimmy
Carter, Former President of US
Osvaldo
Hurtado, Former President of Ecuador
Alfonso
Lopez Michelsen, Former President of Colombia
Gonzalo
Sánchez de Lozada, Former President of Bolivia
Juan Carlos
Wasmosy, Former President of Paraguay
Ambassador
Richard Bernal, representing Prime Minister of Jamaica P.J.
Patterson
Daniel
Romero, representing Former President of Venezuela Carlos
Andres Perez
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