CORRUPTION

Interview with Dr. Julio Bacio Terracino
International Affairs Forum
rights if countries do not ensure peoples’
enjoyment of human rights due to corruption.
What progress has been made in controlling
public procurement corruption?
There has definitely been progress in addressing
corruption in public procurement. As a minimum,
there is now widespread recognition of the risks
of corruption in public procurement. This was not
the case two decades ago. Yet, while awareness
of these issues has grown, much remains to be
done. It is key to apply integrity and transparency
policies and practices that will prevent corruption
in the whole procurement cycle, and not only in
the contract award/bidding phase. The pre and
post award phases remain the weakest points in
the process.
OECD’s recent publication, Financing
Democracy: Funding of Political Parties and
Election Campaigns and the Risk of Policy
Capture, found that political finance (public
and private) is in need of better regulation.
What can international groups such as OECD
do to steer positive change in countries’
political finance practices?
The financing of political parties and election
campaigns remains an area where much needs
to be done. It is extremely complex, and at
its core lays the fundamental right of people
to participate in democratic processes, as
well as support any party or candidate of their
choosing. But when money is used to capture
public policies, so the policies favor only those
that had the means to finance political parties
and election campaigns, then we face a major
failing of the political process. This is not new,
but the realization of the extent is, perhaps due
to the increase in inequality in most societies,
combined with a more vocal civil society. The
OECD is supporting countries that wish to reform
their political finance system with data and
policy lessons on effective measures. As always
there is no one solution. There are several tools
available, such as increasing public funding of
election campaigns, reducing private funding,
or strengthening the electoral body, to name a
few. A delicate balance of different regulations
and practices is needed to ensure that there is
no restriction of the right to participation in the
political life and the integrity and transparency of
the political finance system.
How can we ensure sustainable progress in
the fight against corruption?
It is time to step up the efforts and challenge
societal cultural issues around corruption.
Involving the whole of society is a necessary
condition to make progress. The anti-corruption
agenda has focused, perhaps too narrowly,
on the public and private sectors, and only
indirectly on individuals. Addressing the role that
individuals may play by directly participating in
corrupt acts, or simply tolerating it, has to be part
of the equation. Yes, this may require a change
of culture. The OECD is currently finalizing a
major undertaking in the area of anti-corruption
to develop a public integrity strategy based on
a cultural change. The process, which took two
years and involved all OECD member countries,
has resulted in a new OECD Recommendation
on Public Integrity which provides a strategic
approach to anti-corruption, and brings together
all pieces to provide a systemic response to
corruption.
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