Please see also:

• Press Release on Sir Bob Geldof's visit to TI
• Media Coverage
• In Focus on the G8 summit in Gleneagles: "The G-8 must act decisively: Africa's future hangs in the balance. A powerful attack on corruption will ensure that increases in aid being debated by the Group of Eight (G-8) reach people who are most in need."
• TI Press Releases on the UN Millenium Development Goals
• Related websites
• Media Contacts

Berlin, 13 February 2006 --- Transparency International and Sir Bob Geldof, a leader of the global fight against extreme poverty, met today in Berlin to strategise on how to hold the Group of Eight nations accountable for implementing their commitments - made at last year’s Gleneagles Summit – to ensure that development assistance reaches those in desperate need.

In a meeting today with the staff of Transparency International, Geldof announced that he would urge British Prime Minister Tony Blair to appoint Peter Eigen, founder and former Chair of Transparency International, to a small group of influential individuals who would take on the mantle of monitoring the G-8’s progress in fulfilling its commitments.

Eigen stated, “Today we have started a dialogue between a champion of the global fight against poverty and the worldwide organisation at the vanguard of the anti-corruption movement. This cooperation has the potential to save millions of lives and improve the quality of life for millions more.”

Blair’s 2005 Commission on Africa Report foresaw the creation of a committee of two influential figures to monitor the delivery of development assistance. Geldof and DATA, the civil society organisation founded by activist and pop singer Bono, advocate creation of an independent monitoring group with six or seven high-profile members, people “who cannot be bought”. It is now essential, Geldof said, to focus on the Gleneagles commitment to fighting poverty, stating, “It will not be possible to beat poverty without fighting corruption.”

Geldof said that the committee must “have an understanding of corruption and how it works”, and that if a massive rise in aid flows does occur, structures would need to be in place to ensure that assistance gets to those who need it. Eigen’s role on the committee will bring his considerable knowledge and decades of expertise in fighting corruption to this important task.

Cobus de Swardt, TI’s Director of Global Programmes, stated, “Corruption is a major obstacle in the reduction of poverty. In monitoring the Group of Eight’s follow-through on Gleneagles, this independent committee will hold them accountable for turning their words into actions.”

Also discussed was the important role of civil society and, in particular, TI’s national chapters in the wider processes of monitoring delivery of anti-corruption commitments.

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Transparency International is the global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption.

• Geldof moves to tackle corruption, BBC News, 14 February 2006

• Millennium Development Goals are unreachable without commitment to fighting corruption
  Corruption a key obstacle to development, undermining material well-being and social justice;
  Berlin, 14 September 2005
• Group of Eight: Dam the stream of foreign bribes to Africa
  Greater political accountability in Africa will make aid more effective
  Berlin, 08 July 2005
• Statement on the conclusions of the Group of Eight Economic Summit at Gleneagles, Scotland
  Berlin, 08 July 2005
• Danger zone: aid must take corruption into account
  Donor and recipient countries must work hand in hand
  Berlin, 06 July 2005
• Time for G-8 to step on the gas
  Bold actions will put a dent in poverty
  Berlin, 05 July 2005
• Fighting corruption increases aid effectivenes
  The Group of Eight can start by cleaning up their side of the street
  Berlin, 01 July 2005
• “Poverty can be halved if efforts are coupled with better governance, says TI”
  Transparency International calls on leading donor governments to respond positively to the UN Millennium Project report, and to conduct a major evaluation of the impact of aid
  Berlin, 19 January 2005

• Commission for Africa
• G8 summit 2006 in Saint Petersburg, Russia
• G8 Gleneagles statement
• G8 Gleneagles statement on Africa
• Live 8
• Hilary Benn’s speech “Political Governance, Corruption and the Role of Aid” (Secretary of State for International Development, UK)

Jesse Garcia
Sarah Tyler
Tel: +49-30-3438 2019/45
Fax: +49-30-3470 3912
press@transparency.org