Bangladesh - Belgium

Effectiveness
At local level the Making Waves project has the following achievements (Knox and Yasmin,
2007):
• 36 CCCs working in 34 districts across all six Divisions of Bangladesh.
• 1819 members of CCCs. YES and Citizens for Transparency Groups (Swajon)
• 36 Advice and Information Desks at CCCs and 209 satellite desks. These provide
resources to the public on corruption issues and referral service for people with
corruption issues
• 35,467 users of AI Desks (in CCC offices and satellite), although with a concern that
the main users are men
• Many civic engagement activities such as concerts, debates, workshops, dialogues,
‘face the public‘ meetings with local government, mothers gatherings and School
Management Committees (around primary education) and essay competitions
• 62 report cards published (22 Primary education, 21 health and 19 on Local
Government).
The volunteer youth (YES) groups are particularly active in reaching young people and
schoolchildren through theatre and satellite AI work. These volunteers are largely drawn
from a pool of middle class university students and are highly committed to breaking what
they see as a culture of corruption . This sense of responsibility derives from their selfperception
as leaders and professionals of the future. The volunteers that we talked to in a
focus group discussion in Khulna work with schoolchildren in poor surrounding villages but
also stress the importance of reaching middle class schoolchildren, again because they are
seen as the makers and shapers of a post-corruption institutional culture in the next
generation.
At macro level, the research and advocacy programme is strong and influential. The
Parliament Watch TIB monitors activities of parliament, in particular the parliamentary
committees. This particular activity has changed in nature during the CTG. The corruption
database is regularly updated and half yearly reports are shared in round table conferences
and are well covered in the national press.
TIB also conducts corruption surveys at household level which track actual experiences of
corruption rather than perceptions. The latest of a series of four (since 1997) of these is due
to be published soon.
TIB lobbied extensively for reform of the Bureau of Anti-Corruption, put forward the draft law
for establishment of the Anti Corruption Commission and made recommendations for the
Election Commission and Public Service Commission.
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