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URBAN GOVERNANCE | Transparency
& Corruption
The promotion of accountability
and transparency illustrated here include anti-bribery and
corruption schemes, and innovative practices in ‘ethical’
governance, transparent procurement and contracting.
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local level
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Gonzalez de Asis, Maria (2000) -
Reducing Corruption at the Local Level - World
Bank [pdf]
The objective of this paper is to provide both a conceptual
and a practical framework, as well as an international perspective
with concrete examples, to address the contexts that create
perverse incentives for corruption to exist.
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UNDP (2002) - "Corruption and the urban poor"
- Urban Voices, No 38 August 2002 - UNDP / TUGI
[pdf]
The urban poor live lives that are often extra-legal -their
living and working conditions being often negotiated in
regions that are not covered by the law, nor contained within
the bounds of what is illegal. This has meant their cotinued
victimization by clandestine mechanisms. Of these, corruption
is the most prolific, occurring in various interactions.
The following article provides an easy, step-by-step description
of how these issues were addressed within three towns in
Indonesia.
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city level
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Balala, Najieb (1999) - Ethical Local Government: The
Mombasa Experience - 9th International Anti-Corruption
Conference (IACC), 10-15 October, 1999, Durban, South Africa
[pdf]
Kenya - I was elected Mayor of Mombasa
in early 1998 and I resigned on a matter of principle from
office in early 1999. Notwithstanding the short duration
of being a Mayor I believe I had amassed substantial experience
on urban governance from my active involvement in the Management
of the Local Authority. Within this short period of introducing
responsible transparent and accountable management I was
able to light the candle of hope and the sense of pride
amongst the residents of Mombasa whom had but given up.
In return for all my efforts and sacrifice I was hounded
out of office because of my steadfast refusal to be compromised.
Initially I was patient and diplomatic and believed in my
self and in my vision to transform and effect changes at
the local level. However as time progressed, frustration
and character assassination continued un-abated, the message
was quite clear “the System” was not ready for
responsive governance. I concluded that patience is passive,
resignation is active and I therefore called it a day.
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Campaign for Good Governance (Sierra Leone) (2000) -
Corruption, Local Government & Decentralization
- Report on Southern & Eastern Provinces Workshops,
Kenema, Decembe, CGG [pdf]
Participants were drawn from each chiefdom in the 4 districts
of the southern province and from Kenema and Kailahun districts
in the eastern province. The participants were frank and
they provided accurate assessments of the conditions in
their communities vis-à-vis the themes of the workshops.
Many thanks to them, for some, for making the long and difficult
journey to the respective venues, to
share ideas and experiences of the challenges they face
in the course of activism in their localities.
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Dhungal, Ramesh (1999) - Bhaktapur – Integrity
Pact Case Study - 9th International Anti-Corruption
Conference (IACC), 10-15 October, 1999, Durban, South Africa
[pdf]
Nepal - a. Corruption is a common problem
of the country. It is a common practice in all government
and civil bodies at the local level to pay some extra for
the services rendered. However, Bhaktapur Municipality has
made efforts in fighting corruption for a considerable time.
It has hence been selected not as the worst case but as
relatively better and easy place as a model.
b. A successful campaign against corruption at the local
level can be the introduction of participatory mechanism
for fighting corruption. The Integrity Pact is the best
mechanism for good governance at
the local level.
c. The best way is to motivate the local authority for adopting
the Integrity Pact for their own good. It can give them
political mileage specially during election. Once a municipality
or a village council agrees to enter into such Integrity
Pact, other similar bodies especially in its neighbourhood
feel publicly pressurised to follow its suit.
An agreement was concluded between Bhaktapur municipality
and Transparency International Nepal in February 26, 1999
for its implementation of Integrity Pact. With this joint
effort Transparency International Nepal and Bhaktapur Municipality
hope to demonstrate firmly that corruption is a scourge
that can be defeated with political commitment, increased
pubic awareness and co-operation among like-minded groups
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Galabov, Antony (2000) - Curbing Corruption and Improving
Transparency in municipal Council Work in Bulgaria
- Transparency International [pdf]
Bulgaria - Realising the need to promote
a culture of transparency and accountability at the local
level – at the level where the everyday life of the
community is organised and a large portion of citizens’
significant interaction with administration takes place,
Transparency
International, Bulgaria, focused its efforts on researching
the degree of transparency and accountability in the operation
of a local government authority, the municipal council.
The results of social studies indicating a low level of
social competence and a lack of
understanding the mechanics of local governance determined
the topic area and methodology of the project - Curbing
Corruption and Improving Transparency in Municipal Council
Affairs in Bulgaria.
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Goh, Kun (1999) - A Systematic Approach To Anti-Corruption:
The Case of The Seoul Metropolitan Government - 9th
International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC), 10-15 October,
1999, Durban, South Africa [pdf]
South Korea - Through my three decades
of public service, I have been a firm believer in the old
saying: "You must clean a staircase from the top."
When I was appointed as mayor of Seoul in 1988, I promised
city officials that I would fend off any external pressure
from political circles. In return I asked them to stand
stern against all temptations for compromise. I kept my
word at great cost. The presidential office urged me to
grant unlawfully a private contractor the right to develop
a large housing estate. I refused to yield to the end and
was eventually forced to resign. This developer almost had
his way after my resignation. The unlawfulness of the grant
was soon exposed, however, and a number of people were prosecuted
in the midst of the so called "west Watergate scandal."
But not a single official of the Seoul Metropolitan Government
was implicated. I am proud of my conduct then and of the
resolute city officials. In July of last year, I returned
to my old office through winning a popular vote. I told
the city officials upon assuming my duty: "The promises
we made eight years ago remain valid. Let us wage our final
battle to root out corruption once and for all."
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Gole, Juliet S. (1999) - The Role of Civil Society in
Containing Corruption at the Municipal Level -The Regional
Conference of Transparency International Representatives
/ OSI April 29–30, 1999, Bratislava, Slovakia [pdf]
As the countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the
former Soviet Union have proceeded in their transitions
to the market economy and decentralized, democratic, responsive
government, corruption has become an enormous impediment
to the transformation and to the improvement in living standards.
Thus far the international anticorruption movement, which
Transparency International has
spearheaded, has tended to focus on the international and
national levels. Yet as subnational levels of government
have gained increased powers and responsibilities, local-level
corruption has come to have a growing impact on the lives
of citizens in the transitional countries.
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Lippe, Michael (1999) - Corruption and Environment at
the Local Level - Transparency International [pdf]
Corruption can have a devastating impact on the environment.
This paper will examine two instances of corruption in cities.
It will describe how urbanization has created serious pressure
on the ability of local governments to achieve their fundamental
objectives. Finally, it will discuss new thinking on environmental
management at the local level and integrity in urban governance.
Local governments,
using these systems, can reduce corruption, more effectively
manage local environmental issues, and better respond to
the challenges of urbanization.
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Paul, Karen (1999) - The Miami Process - 9th International
Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC), 10-15 October, 1999,
Durban, South Africa [pdf]
USA - The anti-corruption movement in
Miami, Florida (USA) seems to me to date from the period
just after Hurricane Andrew swept through the county in
August, 1992, creating about $13b in
damages. Much of the damage was due to shoddy construction
and lax standards by building inspectors. A Pulitzer Prize
was awarded to The Miami Herald for its investigative reporting
on this issue. This exposure to the costs of corruption
at the household level, I hypothesise, sensitised the entire
population to the damages associated with this type of wrongdoing.
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Steets, Julia (2001) - Argentina: Transparent Contracting
- Transparency International [pdf]
Argentina - As part of a more comprehensive
Integrity System for Local Governments, TI Argentina (Poder
Ciudadano) has developed a mechanism for rendering public
procurement more transparent. Based on the analysis that
most problems in public procurement stem from the fact that
public officials have large powers of discretion in designing
and awarding public contracts and that other interested
parties lack access to crucial information, Poder Ciudadano
proposes a programme with two main components: Public Hearings
and Integrity Pacts.
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Steets, Julia (2001) - Serbia: Budgeting and Public
Procurement - Transparency International [pdf]
Serbia - In order to increase the efficiency
and quality of municipal services, to improve the communications
and relations between the municipal administration and citizens
and to establish a more efficient and transparent budgeting
and public procurement system that
would help to curb corruption and attract investment, TI
Serbia (before the establishment of a TI Chapter, the European
Movement in Serbia/EMS) developed the programme Towards
More Transparent Budgeting and Public Procurement in Municipalities
in Serbia
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Transparency International-Kenya (n.d) - Corruption
in Kenya: The Kenya Urban Bribery Index - TI Kenya
[pdf]
This report presents preliminary analysis of a study by
on the magnitude of bribery in Kenya. Based on a survey
in which ordinary Kenyans report their daily encounters
with corruption - who they bribe, how much, and for what,
the study is part of TI-Kenya’s effort to inform the
anti-corruption effort in with objective, rigorous research.
This study seeks to go beyond perceptions of corruption
to provide benchmarks of integrity based on the actual incidence
of corruption. The survey conducted in March and April 2001
in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Nyeri and Machakos
and responded to by 1164 individuals, has been used to estimate
the magnitude, incidence and direct financial cost of bribery
and produce the Kenya Urban Bribery Index (KUBI) - a league
table of the incidence of bribery.
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UN-HABITAT (2002) - Best Practice - Effective and Efficient
Services to the Public, Addis Ababa [pdf]
Ethiopia - An effective and efficient
acts and documents registration service, promotes development
by protecting persons and their property, allowing peaceful
resolution of disputes, facilitating economic exchange and
fostering the system of justice. The Addis Ababa City Government
Acts and Documents Registration Office was a lead institution
in translating the Government's policies and civil reform
programmes of providing effective and efficient civil services
to the public.
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UN-HABITAT (2002) -Best Practice - Bogota, How are we
doing? [pdf]
Colombia - The main purpose of "Bogota,
How Are We Doing?" is to carry out a continuous evaluation
of changes that are taking place regarding the quality of
life in the city. It intends to contribute to the collective
creation of a vision of the city of Bogota regarding the
concept of quality of life. With this intention it: promotes
effectiveness and transparency of government; makes the
citizens more informed and involved and promotes the alliance
between experts and research institutions.
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international level
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UN-HABITAT (2000) - Global Campaign for Good Urban Governance
[pdf]
The development goal of the Global Campaign for Good Urban
Governance is to contribute to the eradication of poverty
through improved urban governance. The campaign aims to
increase the capacity of local governments and other stakeholders
to practice good urban governance and to raise awareness
of and advocate for good urban governance around the world.
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websites |
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United Nations
General Assembly Resolution on Corruption (1997)
[pdf]
Declaration of the 8th International
Conference Against Corruption held in Lima, Peru 1997
[pdf]
WE, over 1000 citizens drawn from
93 countries, coming from all the continents and from countries
large and small, in every stage of development, rich and
poor, and from varied backgrounds in government, the private
sector, and civil society, AFTER a searching discussion
of the means to contain corruption in all its manifestations
around the globe and united in our vision of an era of international
and national co-operation in the twenty-first century in
which the evil of corruption is suppressed, NOW JOIN TOGETHER
in this Declaration of the 8th International Conference
Against
Corruption held in Lima, Peru from 7 - 11 September 1997.
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Documents highlighting DFID's published
work in support of transparency, and anti-corruption
measures in urban areas.
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"Report Cards on Urban Services", India
Bangalore" - Wakely, Patrick; Nicholas You (2001)
– Implementing the Habitat Agenda: In Search
of Urban Sustainability - DPU [pdf]
A report card on urban public services is
an innovative monitoring and evaluation device, which
can systematically gather feedback from users on the performance
of a city's service providers. This experiment as the
first of its kind undertaken in India, demonstrates how
citizens can demand greater accountability and improved
performance from public institutions through the formation
of information sharing and learning mechanisms and networks.
"Bridging Judicial Reform in Line with Environmental
Concerns" - Allen, Adriana; Nicholas You (2002)
– Sustainable Urbanisation: Bridging the
Green and Brown Agendas – DPU [pdf]
Since 1993, Bolivia has been pursuing a comprehensive
reform of its judicial system, to make it more independent,
transparent, accessible and efficient. The Lawyers
Committee for Human Rights, an American-based NGO,
has initiated a review of this process, selecting
environmental law as its entry point, for a number
of reasons.
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