By Georg Neumann

On 21 January TI (France) sent out short questionnaires to the candidates in all 38 cities with populations above 100,000 inhabitants. The questionnaire contained seven recommendations for improving transparency and preventing corruption risks in city administration. The recommendations addressed issues of elective mandates after corruption convictions, conflicts of interest, public procurement using TI’s Integrity Pacts, decisions on town-planning, asset declarations by elected officials, and whistle blowing mechanisms, including whistle blowers protection. The questionnaire also included an open section for the candidates’ own comments and initiatives.

TI (France) is confident that the majority of elected representatives in France fulfil their mandates with integrity and accountability, and make decisions in everyone’s interest. However, current anti-corruption mechanisms can be improved and the project is an opportunity for the candidates to sign up for integrity and transparency. Citizens’ expectations on these issues, often left out of electoral campaigns, are usually high; according to TI’s 2007 Global Corruption Barometer, the French perceive political parties as the sector most affected by corruption in France. Visit the new TI (France) website at: http://www.transparence-france.org for further information and to see the questionnaire and the candidates’ responses.

By Georg Neumann

The majority of complaints concern the work of the Czech courts, the alleged manipulation of public and state property, public contracting, and possible corruption in the private sector. Many complaints centre on land planning and construction proceedings, where local and regional representatives and civil servants are allegedly under pressure from construction and development companies. This is apparently very evident in municipalities where the decisions made by local authorities are generally not supervised.

The law on free access to information is key to dealing with the cases. However, according to TIC director David Ondracka, the law is problematic since it does not set any fine for officers or companies that refuse to provide information. More information can be found at: http://www.transparency.cz/index.php?lan=uk&id=2804.

By Georg Neumann

In recent years, many organisations have focused on creating governance and corruption measurement tools that can meet the demand for diagnostic data on the issues. The report takes stock of such tools in Sub-Saharan Africa, an area that presents considerable challenges in terms of governance and data gathering. Yet developing countries are among those most in need of these tools, since they can provide essential information about how a country is governed and how well the public sector is fulfilling its role, often in difficult circumstances. The availability of empirical research and diagnostic data in the region is very heterogeneous in nature. Some countries do not have dedicated or tailored measurement tools yet, except from those developed by international organisations, such as the World Bank, while others have implemented several governance and corruption measurement exercises.

The success of governance and corruption measurement tools depend greatly on who commissions the measurement exercise, which type of instrument is used and who uses the information collected. Impact also depends on the frequency with which a tool is implemented. Tools that track changes over time such as the Kenya Bribery Index, carried out by TI’s chapter in Kenya, or the report Etat de la corruption au Burkina Faso (State of corruption in Burkina Faso) are helpful sources of information for authorities to use in order to improve their policy and reform efforts more effectively.

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