good governance practices for the protection of human rights

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E. Municipal reform to combat corruption and improve the delivery of services – Bolivia Issue In the mid-1980s, corruption was rampant in all areas of municipal government in Bolivia’s capital city, La Paz, from delivering services to carrying out public works, policing the public markets, and issuing permits and licences. The widespread corruption resulted in such institutional decay that municipal authority had virtually collapsed. The prevalence of corruption was exacerbated by the fact that Bolivia was going through a severe economic crisis and that the finances of cities deteriorated as economic assistance from the national Government was cut and city revenues dried up. In the midst of the economic crisis, the salaries of La Paz city employees eroded significantly owing to hyperinflation of 26,000 per cent. The city was on the verge of financial ruin as its monthly payroll exceeded monthly revenues by 20 per cent. The decline of municipal institutions and the corrupt management of public resources compromised the municipality’s ability to guarantee human rights, including the right to health, adequate housing, access to food and quality education. Response The comprehensive effort to combat corruption in La Paz was launched with the goal of improving the delivery of municipal services. The deficiencies in service delivery, in the completion of public works and in the collection of revenues were almost always associated with corruption. Corruption was a systemic problem rather than one of corrupt individuals. Corruption was deeply ingrained in the political culture of the city. It was therefore important to carry out a comprehensive reform and to enlist municipal employees in this effort. Furthermore, following decades of authoritarian government, a weak civil society and low public demand for anti-corruption efforts posed challenges to the reform movement. The municipal leadership elected in 1985 embarked on a comprehensive reform process, which addressed several aspects of municipal affairs: corruption in the police force, in the public works and construction service of the municipality, in procurement, in taxation, and in the issuing of licences and permits. Design In 1985, the inhabitants of La Paz elected for the first time in 40 years their municipal government. Mayor Ronald MacLean-Abaroa was elected on the promise to improve the delivery of municipal services. One of the first steps of the municipal government’s anti-corruption policy was to involve municipal employees. Municipal officials participated in workshops and discussions in an effort to diagnose the nature and extent of corruption. First, a case study of a successful anti-corruption campaign in another country was presented in workshops. Then the par- 71
ticipants discussed an abstract framework regarding the causes and manifestation of corruption. These two steps were designed to encourage the participants to analyse the problem of corruption dispassionately. Finally, participants engaged in self-diagnosis and self-prescription. The workshops drew on the knowledge and expertise of the employees to identify systemic problems. Employees often shared information about corrupt practices even in cases where their intimate knowledge of the facts was incriminating. An effort was also made to rely on public input to determine the extent of corruption. For example, polls were conducted to identify citizens’ priorities for public works. The polls found significant differences between the public’s priorities and the recommendations of municipal staff. Often, the staff suggested public works in sparsely populated areas, which would facilitate the construction of new buildings rather than provide services to existing neighbourhoods. Thus, it became evident that municipal personnel had their own agenda motivated by the interests of private construction and development companies. Similar polls were conducted on a number of other municipal policies. Following the above diagnostic work and public input, the municipality also sought to secure international funding to be able to raise the salaries of employees and to invest in development projects. Implementation The anti-corruption efforts of La Paz’s municipal leadership included several areas of municipal government. First, the process of issuing construction permits and licences was deregulated. Also, the system through which citizens applied for permits was reformed. A single registry was set up for all applications for permits and licences. It was staffed by employees who were not involved in granting permits and licences. Furthermore, to increase transparency, a manual was printed and widely distributed to inform the public about how much building permits cost, how to request services, which agency was responsible for what service and how long it would take to deliver the service. Second, an effort was made to reduce corruption in the municipality’s office of public works, which employed 4,000 workers and from which machinery, spare parts and petrol were routinely stolen. The responsibility of this office was changed to carrying out emergency repairs, but not major construction projects. Major public works were contracted out under an incentive-based process that linked payments to targets and the satisfactory completion of projects. The office of public works was reformed into a regulator which operated under this incentive-based process. Third, a number of anti-corruption initiatives helped to simplify the tax code, cutting the number of taxes from 126 to 7, to restrict opportunities for collusion between tax collectors and property owners, to hire young Bolivians in municipal service and to raise salaries through international assistance. Also, throughout this effort, the municipal leadership reported to the public on progress made in reducing corruption. 72
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH C
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Note The designations employed and
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IV. COMBATING CORRUPTION 59 A. Gove
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elies on a conducive and enabling e
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• • The International Covenant
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In Ecuador, transparency in the bud
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STRENGTHENING DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIO
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I. STRENGTHENING DEMOCRATIC INSTITU
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Regarding development policy, the A
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Design WATC was established in 1992
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C. The role of the media in buildin
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In other cases, the media responded
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Implementation A national programme
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elevant information to the Chamber
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One example of the significant prog
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The question of land rights was not
Page 34: Brazil Material submitted to OHCHR/
Page 37 and 38: IMPROVING SERVICE DELIVERY
Page 39 and 40: • Creating multi-agency partnersh
Page 41 and 42: The programme has run without inter
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Page 45 and 46: Response An Ecuadorian multi-agency
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Page 51 and 52: Implementation RMI combines the rig
Page 53 and 54: France Jonah D. Levy, “Vice into
Page 55 and 56: THE RULE OF LAW
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Page 59 and 60: Impact on human rights and challeng
Page 61 and 62: interviewed in 14 languages. Korean
Page 63 and 64: quently led to physical and psychol
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Page 69 and 70: “CHILE, transition at the crossro
Page 71 and 72: COMBATING CORRUPTION
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Page 79 and 80: adequate food, clothing and housing
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Page 83: cause of the shortage of such servi
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Page 89 and 90: ibery have been. Thirty ECAs from 2
Page 91 and 92: Transparency International, Corrupt
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