It is with immense shock and sadness that Transparency International (TI) has learned of the sudden death of the Chair of TI Zambia, Professor Alfred Chanda, in a road accident in Zambia on 7 January 2007.

Professor Chanda has been Chair of TI’s chapter in Zambia since its inception. In addition to playing an important part in the development of the chapter, he has been a leading figure in the fight against corruption in Zambia and beyond. TI Chair Huguette Labelle paid tribute to ‘a highly respected scholar and prominent advocate of integrity and good governance who contributed tremendously to TI’s endeavours in Africa.’ Enjoying a worldwide reputation as an international human rights law expert, Professor Chanda was deeply committed to the anti-corruption movement and TI’s vision. The author of several books, and well-known in Zambia through regular public statements and media appearances, he acted as its representative at the international level on many occasions, and has been a source of inspiration to anti-corruption activists across Africa.

Professor Chanda will be greatly missed by TI. Our thoughts are with his wife, children and other family members, as well as the staff and members of TI Zambia.

Transparency International (TI) Papua New Guinea (PNG) recently launched a series of Provincial electoral awareness seminars ahead of the national elections in early 2007. The seminars are designed to teach voters and candidates running for office about elections and good governance. TI PNG together with the PNG Electoral Commission and Ombudsman Commission of PNG will visit provinces to introduce the Limited Preferential Voting (LPV) system and teach how it can be used in electing good leaders. The seminars, funded by the Australian Government agency responsible for managing Australia's overseas aid program (AusAID), feature mock elections representing the LPV and other awareness material such as posters animated with cartoons, election information kits and leadership code handbooks for candidates.

In late 2006, TI’s chapter in Trinidad and Tobago joined several professional associations to publicly call on the government to put the development of a rapid rail transportation system on hold. The petitioning associations allege that the government decided to proceed with the US $1-2 billion project without an adequate feasibility study and was about to award a contract using a flawed procurement process. The associations ask for the delay of the project until a regulatory framework for mass transit is established and it is determined whether a rail system should play in an integrated solution to the country’s serious traffic problems. The government’s initial response was that the petitioners were misinformed and it would not delay the process.

In November 2006, Mr Bououni Achour, member of the Algerian Association for Fighting Corruption (AACC) was held in detention for several days. At the AACC’s annual conference, a few days before his arrest, he had denounced the mismanagement of public funds at the National Group for Aerial Navigation (ENNA). He has since been released. The Transparency International secretariat and national chapters in Morocco, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Niger, among others, have expressed solidarity with Mr Achour in Algeria, as well as all those who denounce corruption only to face systematic reprisals and other forms of intimidation.

Please find a detailed report about the event at: www.transparency.org/content/download/12434/119358/file/AACC_communiqué_09-12-06-EN.pdf

Transparency International (TI) Bangladesh organised the first Anti-Corruption Concert for Youth in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 29 December 2006. With the theme "The Invincible Youth will surely Resist Corruption", the eight-hour concert was intended to sensitise the nation’s students to issues surrounding corruption to ensure that the spirit and values of the anti-corruption movement are instilled in Bangaldesh’s future leaders.
Renowned national artists and musical groups performed on a complimentary basis, while prominent civil society leaders, including Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus of the Grameen Bank, delivered inspirational addresses. Prof Yunus told the crowd that corruption was a huge giant - the biggest impediment to Bangladesh's development. He emphasised the importance of a collective social movement to combat corruption, and specifically, the necessity of active involvement of young people.

More than 25,000 students attended the concert, having received free entry cards on first-come-first-served basis. The concert was broadcast live on television and online and was featured as a leading news item by many news channels. More than 7,500 online viewers sent impromptu feedback - the highest record to date for any such transmission in Bangladesh.

"The greatest achievement of the Bengali nation is our independence. Our commitment to the immortal heroes of our struggle for national independence and democracy - We shall protect our independence and sovereignty at any cost. Our commitment today: we shall resist corruption at every stage of our lives individually and collectively. In solidarity with the social movement against corruption, we know that we never gave in to evil forces, We promise today - we shall not give in to the evil force of corruption. My confident pronouncement to my youth - The Invincible Youth shall Surely Resist Corruption".

To see live coverage of the concert, go to: www.ti-bangladesh.org/concert/

TI Canada celebrates the proclamation of the provincial government of Newfoundland’s new Transparency and Accountability Act. The Act, proclaimed on 15 December, 2006, requires the public release of information in the following areas: strategic planning, annual reports, financial forecasts, public entity borrowing, and performance-based contracts for senior government officials. This legislation will ensure greater public scrutiny and accountability of government departments.

Transparency International Zimbabwe (TI Z), celebrates 10 years of work to fight corruption and foster good governance in civil society, the private and the public sector. Looking back, one of the most important events have been the chapter’s contribution to crafting anti-corruption legislation and the establishment of a policy framework on the suppression of money laundering in Zimbabwe. In 2001, TI Z hosted a regional conference for TI’s African chapters in Nyanga culminating in the Nyanga Declaration on the Recovery and Repatriation of Africa’s Wealth. TI Z also facilitated the re-launch of the local chapter of the African Parliamentary Network against Corruption in 2004, and since 2005 has been leading a Regional TI Advocacy Desk. TI Z also has been focusing on a number of strategic partnerships to link corruption with topics such as gender, HIV/AIDS and youth. Currently, the chapter is implementing a National Integrity Systems Study on Zimbabwe and five other countries in the SADC region. To learn more about the chapter’s work, please go to: www.kubatana.net/tiz

On 14 December 2006, Transparency International co-hosted a high profile seminar for experts, scholars and representatives from the “’top five’ state-owned construction companies, as well as 30 representatives of the public sector and civil society in China interested in fighting corruption in the construction sector. Located at Tsinghua University in Beijing, together with China Supervision Institution (CSI), Anti-Corruption and Governance Research Centre (ACGRC) and Engineering Management Research Institute (EMRI), the seminar highlighted TI tools such as the Integrity Pact and the Business Principles for Countering Bribery.

This seminar is the first phase of a project promoted by TI’s contact group in China, entitled: Promoting Transparent Procurement and strengthening Corporate Responsibility, funded by the United Kingdom’s Embassy in Beijing.

On 24 October the Administrative Cases Department of the Supreme Court Senate of Latvia ruled to uphold a petition submitted by TI Latvia regarding a construction permit issued in November 2003. TI Latvia argued that the permit issued by the Construction Board to an owner who undertook construction of the “Ainas” property was unlawful since it violated the law on protected zones of sand dunes on the Baltic Sea. TI Latvia’s aim was not to attack the specific individual who owned the property and who was permitted to begin construction work. Rather, the petition was filed to set a legal precedent as to how individuals should protect their rights vis-a-vis local officials. Following the 24 October ruling, the owner of “Ainas” must go to court to demand compensation from the local government for the losses endured as a result of TI Latvia’s petition.

Transparency International presented recommendations at the Meeting of the Experts Committee of the Follow-up Mechanism of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption to strengthen the Mechanism. The meeting took place December 11 to 15, 2006 in Washington D.C. The recommendations can be consulted here: www.transparency.org/regional_pages/americas/convention. It is part of the second round of review as follow-up to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (IACAC). Between 2006 and 2008 new and important anti-corruption measures will be reviewed, such as procurement of goods and services, acts of corruption and whistle blower protection. The extent to which each of the countries has implemented the recommendations issued in the first round also will be evaluated. The first reports of the following countries have been approved during the meeting: Argentina, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Uruguay, Ecuador and Honduras.

In December 2006, Transparency International and the Centre for Social Development released a National Integrity System (NIS) study of Cambodia. The study showed that although the government demonstrates some signs of political will against corruption, after a decade of cautious political peace and billions of US dollars in aid, the systems in place to promote integrity and prevent corruption are still weak and lacking in capacity. Recommendations from this study can be downloaded here: www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases/2006/2006_12_19_nis_cambodia

The NIS Study of Cambodia is part of a regional project to analyse the integrity systems in East and South East Asia, including studies of China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Transparencia Paraguay, TI’s national chapter in Paraguay, recently released its Index of Performance and Integrity in Public Contracting, which evaluates the evolution of public contracting in Paraguay at the level of each individual institution. The index examines the first two years (2004-2005) of the implementation of a new law (2051/03) that establishes the Central Normative and Technical Unit as the only institution authorized to monitor and administer the government’s public contracting system.

Using information obtained from the governmental website www.contratacionesparaguay.gov.py, the index was able to confirm that in 2004/2005 the number of public contracts non-conform with normal procedures has increased. Additionally, it found that an important part of all public contracts are concentrated in the hands of a fistful of companies. The index received broad attention from the national press.

TI Greece welcomes it new Board of Directors, elected at their Annual Members Meeting on 6 December 2006. The new Chair, Mr Constantinos Bacouris, brings a wealth of diverse experience from the private sector to the chapter, having previously worked for and served on the board of many companies in Greece and abroad. TI Greece offers its thanks and appreciation to Mrs Virgina Tsouderou, its founding Chair of the Board, for her dedication to the chapter and to the fight against corruption in Greece. Mrs. Tsouderou will remain a member of the TI International Advisory Council.