Fighting Corruption In Public Services

This book chronicles the anti-corruption reforms in public services in Georgia since the Rose Revolution in late 2003. Through a series of case studies, the book draws out the how of these reforms and distills the key success factors.

Much of the devastation caused by the recent earthquake in Turkey was the result of widespread corruption between the construction industry and government officials. Corruption is part of everyday public life and we tend to take it for granted. However, preventing corruption helps to raise city revenues, improve service delivery, stimulate public confidence and participation, and win elections. This book is designed to help citizens and public officials diagnose, investigate and prevent various kinds of corrupt and illicit behaviour. It focuses on systematic corruption rather than the free-lance activity of a few law-breakers, and emphasises practical preventive measures rather than purely punitive or moralistic campaigns.

Anti-corruption measures have firmly taken centre stage in the development agenda of international organisations as well as in developed and developing countries. One area in which corruption manifests itself is in public procurement and, as a result, States have adopted various measures to prevent and curb corruption in public procurement. One such mechanism for dealing with procurement corruption is to debar or disqualify corrupt suppliers from bidding for or otherwise obtaining government contracts. This book examines the issues and challenges raised by the debarment or disqualification of corrupt suppliers from public contracts. Implementing a disqualification mechanism in public procurement raises serious practical and conceptual difficulties, which are not always considered by legislative provisions on disqualification. Some of the problems that may arise from the use of disqualifications include determining whether a conviction for corruption ought to be a pre-requisite to disqualification, bearing in mind that corruption thrives in secret, resulting in a dearth of convictions. Another issue is determining how to balance the tension between granting adequate procedural safeguards to a supplier in disqualification proceedings and not delaying the procurement process. A further issue is determining the scope of the disqualification in the sense of determining whether it applies to firms, natural persons, subcontractors, subsidiaries or other persons related to the corrupt firm and whether disqualification will lead to the termination of existing contracts. The book compares and contrasts the legal, practical and institutional approaches to the implementation of the disqualification mechanism in the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Republic of South Africa and the World Bank.

Since the Rose Revolution at the end of 2003, Georgia has had singular success in fighting corruption in a variety of public services. This book is an attempt to chronicle these efforts and to distil the 'how to' of these anti-corruption reforms. The reason corruption in public services had to be fought was clear. What had to be done was also obvious to many. But little has been written on 'how' the government made it happen. What were the salient features of Georgia's anti-corruption reforms? Can Georgia's success with cleaning up its public services be replicated elsewhere or is it unique? And are the achievements to date in Georgia sustainable? This book tries to answer these questions. It uses available data and interviews with current and former government officials to describe the challenges facing government, the decisions made, and the tradeoffs considered. It presents eight case studies covering anti-corruption reforms in the patrol police, taxes, customs, power supply, business deregulations, civil and public registries, university entrance exams, and municipal services. They also analyze the accountability framework between the government, public services providers and the users of the services. From these case studies, ten themes emerge that help explain Georgia's success story: having strong political will and vision; establishing credibility early; undertaking a frontal assault; attracting new staff; limiting the role of the state; adopting unconventional methods; coordinating closely; tailoring international experience to local conditions; harnessing technology; and using communications strategically. Many of these may seem obvious. What was special was the comprehensiveness, boldness, pace, and sequencing of these reforms. Much still remains to be done in Georgia, especially in strengthening the institutions that safeguard against a relapse of corruption, and in ensuring adequate checks and balances. And while each country is unique, many elements of Georgia's story can be replicated elsewhere. Georgia's success destroys the myth that 'corruption is culture' and gives hope to all those aspiring to clean up their public services.

This volume comprises papers presented at the OECD Global Forum on Governance: Fighting Corruption and Promoting Integrity in Public Procurement held in Paris in November 2004.

The OECD Public Integrity Handbook provides guidance to government, business and civil society on implementing the OECD Recommendation on Public Integrity. The Handbook clarifies what the Recommendation’s thirteen principles mean in practice and identifies challenges in implementing them.

This publication presents a framework for Commonwealth Principles on Promoting Good Governance and Combating Corruption. It was endorsed by Heads of Government at their Summit in Durban in 1999 as the basis for pursuing concerted strategies based on "zero tolerance" for all types of corruption at national and global levels. This publication includes the full report of the Expert Group. It examines the nature of corruption and its different dimensions as well as appropriate responses to the problems it poses. The book proposes actions at national and international levels which the Group sees as being necessary if countries are to successfully combat corruption and promote good governance.

Citizens Against Corruption: Report From The Front Line tells the story of how groups of courageous and dedicated citizens across the globe are taking direct action to root out corruption. It shows how people are no longer prepared to accept the predatory activities of dishonest officials and are challenging their scams. It draws on over 200 unique case studies that describe initiatives undertaken by 130 civil society organisations (CSOs) which engage directly with public agencies to stop the bribery and extortion that damages peoples’ lives and obstructs social and economic progress. This book challenges the notion that, at best, civil society can only have a marginal impact on reducing corruption and argues that aid donors need to radically rethink their assistance for governance reform.Part 1 analyses the role citizens can play in fighting corruption and promoting good governance and briefly tells the story of the Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF). Part 2 presents studies of India, Mongolia, Philippines, and Uganda – each with its unique history and distinctive circumstances – to illustrate activities undertaken by CSOs to root out corruption, including the tools and approaches that are being used to build pressure on corrupt public agencies to become transparent and accountable. Part 3 addresses key themes – strengthening the rule of law, putting in place effective national anti-corruption strategies and institutions, making public buying and selling honest, promoting grassroots monitoring of public expenditures and the provision of public services, mounting media campaigns to expose and defeat corruption, and empowering ordinary citizens to keep watch on what actually happens at the point of delivery of public services. Part 4 is a summary of lessons learnt and explores the potential, as well as the risks and limitations, of civic activism in a world where greed and dishonesty is the norm. Finally, the book explores the opportunities and dangers faced by aid donors in supporting local CSOs and charts a way forward. Citizens Against Corruption: Report From The Front Line will be of interest to staff working in CSOs and aid agencies, policy analysts and researchers concerned about corruption and poor governance.

"Presents a sector-by-sector analysis of corruption in developing countries written by experts that address nine sectors: education, agriculture, energy, environment, health, justice, private business, political parties and public finance. Concludes with policy-oriented suggestions for eliminating corruption. Written for students, researchers, and practitioners"--Provided by publisher.

This book is designed to help students, researchers, and practitioners understand public corruption and anti-corruption practices from an international perspective. It describes the problems governments face in dealing with public corruption, outlines strategies that have and have not been implemented by the government, and explains why some countries have achieved great success with handling corruption and why others still struggle to do so. It contains useful knowledge about public corruption and strategic approaches to preventing, reducing, and combating corruption.