Full Coverage: Corruption & transparency

23.10.2009 The massive scale of global corruption resulting from bribery, price-fixing cartels and undue influence on public policy is costing billions and obstructing the path towards sustainable economic growth, says a report by Transparency International.

05.10.2009 The International Monetary Fund should withdraw its plan for a multi-million-dollar loan to Angola unless there are "stringent conditions" that require the opening up of the country's oil industry to public scrutiny, an anti-corruption watchdog said ahead of the IMF's annual meeting in Turkey.

27.09.2009 It's no use making laws against corruption if there is no capacity to identify abuses and prosecute. Zambia still has a long way to go. Zambian Economist

26.01.2009 Would global poverty feature in the new president's inauguration speech? Yes it did, but let's hope that Barack Obama adopts rather less biblical language when it comes to real policy.

03.11.2008 A visit to my local hospital reminds me that we might be branded as hypocrites in the UK if we criticize countries like Nigeria for corruption.

30.04.2008 Transparency International’s new report calls on leading oil and gas companies for greater transparency in payments made to governments of resource-rich countries. Host governments need to enforce and enact regulations for an equitable exploitation of their oil and gas wealth to help fight poverty, the report adds.

28.03.2008 Zambia has been forced to reallocate resources intended for poverty alleviation to pay a "vulture fund," a company that scammed the impoverished nation to make millions off its cancellation of a 1999 debt, writes an organization promoting African development.

24.03.2008 Tata Consultancy Services has designed a special software to prevent the misuse of funds meant for rural poor under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). Over Rs 10 million have been recovered from local politicians and government officials in a village in southern India through the online system.

14.03.2008 The Right to Information Act represents a historic breakthrough in promoting transparency in governance in India. Three years down the line amidst the success stories, there are failures as well. Transparency Review by the Centre for Media Studies highlights the lacunae in the Act and suggests ways to make it more effective.

30.01.2008 UNITED NATIONS, Jan 29 (OneWorld) - Hundreds of international officials, business leaders, and civil society activists have gathered in Indonesia this week for a major UN conference on corruption. At the same time, a week-long period of mourning began in the country to honor a political leader deemed to be one of the most corrupt in world history.

07.01.2008 UNITED NATIONS, Jan 7 (OneWorld) - Amid fears that ongoing violence could take many more human lives in Kenya, rights activists are calling for the government in Nairobi to allow an independent investigation of the presidential poll results.

27.11.2007 A group of women is fighting social ills in Banda, one of the poorest, caste-ridden and chauvinistic societies in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Dressed in pink saris, these women fear not to wield sticks on the corrupt when need be.

01.11.2007 Bangladesh's emergency government has stepped up its efforts to cleanse its politics of corruption. Special anti-corruption taskforces have been set up all over the country, with more in line.

27.10.2007 A small Indian village in the western state of Gujarat discovers the power of the Right to Information (RTI). After four years of complaints on the lack of health care services, a few straight questions to the Public Information Officer make things move.

22.10.2007 WASHINGTON, Oct 22 (OneWorld) - A Colombian senator pushing for justice and peace has been honored in the United States for his human rights activism, accepting a prestigious award alongside co-honorees from the United States challenging the war in Iraq and Washington, DC's "taxation without representation."

19.10.2007 As the Indian state of Orissa reels under poverty and chronic hunger, five billion Indian rupees from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme have been siphoned off by corrupt state officials. Parshuram Rai, Director, Centre for Environment and Food Security, exposes the rot in the state bureaucracy.

08.10.2007 Monien muiden valtioiden ohella myös Pakistan on implementoinut useita informaatiojärjestelmiä paikallishallintojen seurantaan ja tukemiseen. Hankkeen puhemiehen Daniyal Azizin mukaan järjestelmä on tehokas työkalu hyvän hallinnon edistämiseen sekä tiedon hankkimiseen paikallishallintojen toiminnasta.

22.08.2007 Rural Development Policy Institute and the Practical Action South Asia have hosted a panel discussion on “Disaster Watch” in Pakistan. The speakers stated that the dismal state of governance in Pakistan was largely due to the lack of freedom of information and stressed on the timely access to reliable and authentic information for good governance.

10.08.2007 An Indian government organization - The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS) – has recently completed a research which finds that almost 86 per cent of India’s working population lives on less than Rs 20 per day and do not have access to a social cover.

08.08.2007 A new report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) shows that the poor in Asia are lagging behind in development. The rich are growing richer faster than the poor which is also threatening the growth process in one of the most dynamic region's of the world.