Transparency International’s National Chapters in Cameroon, Indonesia and Venezuela have been appointed to the Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Strategic Advisory Group. The main task of this group is to oversee the strategic direction of the international PWYP campaign with more than 300 civil society organisations worldwide and the PWYP International Action Plan. The PWYP campaign holds governments accountable for the management of revenues from the oil, gas and mining industries by the citizens of resource-rich developing countries, and is one of the partners in Transparency International’s Revenue Transparency Project.

A Montenegrin poll published on 14 June showed that Vanja Calovic, the executive director of the Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS), Transparency International’s national chapter in Montenegro, has gained the ‘most trust’ among Montenegrin citizens. The survey on political public opinion was presented by the non-profit think tank Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (CEDEM). In the CEDEM poll, Calovic was given the average mark of 3.18. Prime Minister Zeljko Sturanovic placed second with 3.14 and the leader of the opposition party Movement for Changes (PZP) Nebojsa Medojevic placed third with a score of 3.10. These scores are based on a scale of 1 to 5.

In May 2007, Transparency International’s Chapter in the Czech Republic (TIC) presented a new study evaluating Public Private Partnerships (PPP) projects in the Czech Republic. The research shows that the parties submitting these projects such as ministries and cities are not sufficiently prepared for the successful realisation of complex projects of PPP projects.

TIC calls to slow down in implementing new projects and has issued a series recommendations on how to approach new PPP, including independent evaluation and monitoring mechanisms.

For more information, please see: www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases_nc/2007/2007_05_28_ti_czech_ppp

TI Venezuela’s project on Municipal Transparency is one of three winners of the 10th Changemakers Competition “Ending Corruption: Honesty Instituted”, chosen for their outstanding innovation, social impact and sustainability. The Project Municipios Transparentes (www.transparenciamunicipal.org.ve) aims at strengthening the capacities of the local governments and citizen and community organisations in fighting corruption. The core of the project is a System of Indicators of Municipal Transparency (SIMT), a group of instruments and procedures that measures the administration transparency (budget, contracts and permits) of the municipalities.

The other two winners are from the project of a Business Anti-Corruption Portal for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises operating in Emerging Markets counts, counting with the involvement of Jens Berthelsen, Chair of TI Denmark, and the NGO Global Integrity. For more information please go to: www.changemakers.net/en-us/competition/endcorruption

In May 2007, Transparency International’s National Chapter on the Fiji Islands TI Fiji, has made a submission to the Forum Technical Assessment Team preparing democratic elections in Fiji after the military coup in 2006. According to TI Fiji, the main areas to be examined are ensuring voter education, develop a Code of Conduct for Political Parties and a Leadership Code for Parliamentarians, as well as introducing regulations of political party funding. Implementing the latter, and in specific the funding and disclosure of by political parties of donations received, has been the reason for a separate public call on the interim Prime Minister. More information on: www.transparencyfiji.org

Forum Civil, Transparency International’s national chapter in Senegal, presented a report on Governance and Corruption in the Sector of Natural Resources in Senegal. The study was handed over in June to the members of the Republic’s Council of Economic and Social Affairs by Forum Civil’s coordinator Mouhamadou Mbodj. The report found that corruption in this sector occurs mainly by extorting natural resources through commissions, side arrangements and bypassing regulations. The report additionally provides analysis on the level of governance needed to provide sufficient conditions to exercise a regulation of resources.

For more information, please click here: www.forumcivil.sn/spip.php?article47

The AMAN Coalition for Accountability and Integrity, TI’s chapter in the Palestinian Authorities, announced the introduction of an integrity, transparency, and accountability university course in cooperation with Birzeit University to begin with the next academic year. The course is one of the outcomes of the Anti-corruption Training Programme which is implemented by AMAN in partnership with CHF International. As part of the programme, AMAN conducted a training seminar from 24-25 June with 15 university professors form West Bank Universities. While the first day concentrated on cases of countries plagued by corruption and ways to combat it, the second day focused on the Palestinian political system and context and its impact on corruption. The training also included Transparency International’s National Integrity System approach and its requirements on national, regional, and international levels to build such a system. For more information, see www.aman-palestine.org/English/activities/ACT/masaq.html

Transparency International has re-affirmed its work with the Uruguayan civil society organisation Uruguay Transparente and signed a national chapter contract to institutionalise their relationship. In the Dominican Republic, the organisation Participación Ciudadana (Citizen Participation) is a new national chapter in formation. For more information please see: www.pciudadana.org

Transparency International’s chapter in Switzerland organised a workshop on corruption in development cooperation with the civil society organisation “Brot Für Alle” in Bern, Switzerland. The workshop was aimed at participants from development organisations and followed up on a round table discussion in November 2006. Based on the conclusion of last year’s round table that only a zero tolerance approach towards corruption can lead to a sustainable solution, the workshop looked into solutions for internal procedures, as well as development programmes and advocacy.

Transparency International’s Working Paper on Corruption and Renewable Natural Resources was published in June. The paper looks at the impact of corruption on renewable natural resources, specifically corruption in forestry, industrial fishing and wildlife trade. It concludes that there is important evidence to suggest that corruption is a key contributing factor to the degradation of renewable natural resources, leading in extreme cases, facilitated by high-level political corruption, to the wide ranging extortion of a country's natural resource base.

Transparencia Mexicana, TI’s national chapter in Mexico, in a strategic alliance with the Telecomm Programme of CIDE (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Economicas), an economic research centre, launched the Observatory on Telecommunications Regulatory Framework, an online information platform to promote a better understanding of the regulatory process of telecommunications in Mexico. Conceived as a neutral, independent platform, this will be an opportunity for opening and clarifying the different interests and agendas in the construction of new legislation.

The project titled “Observatorio TELECOM” will be the basis of the first observatory for the regulations in Mexico’s telecommunications sector. The main purpose of this web platform is to inform the Mexican society about the laws in this industry and to promote a well-informed debate among the different actors involved in the telecommunication’s regulation process: from the federal Congress to the final consumer.