All sectors – whether governmental, voluntary or corporate – have a lot to learn about true accountability: they must acknowledge the need for transparency and they should make fighting corruption a priority.
The accountability debate has so far focused mainly on holding multinational companies to greater account – the feeling among campaigners and national governments alike is that they are out of control. So the One World Trust study is especially interesting as it turns the spotlight on to the government and charity sectors too.
Actually, companies have governance structures that are stronger and a lot clearer than most NGOs and arguably plenty of undemocratic governments too – a list of owners, annual elections to appoint the board, tough performance criteria for managers, clear objectives and so forth. The perception that they are out of control stems from the fact that companies, uniquely, are single cross-border organisations. Governments by definition stop at national boundaries and are notoriously incapable of working together (through for instance the UN, WTO etc). Even the big brand charities covered in this study (like WWF International and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) are actually confederations – independent national organisations working together.
The key point going forward is for all sectors to recognise they have much to learn about true accountability: for companies that means looking beyond governance structures to softer accountability through local dialogue and multi-stakeholder engagement. And for everyone to recognise that accountability is all about openness and clarity – so called transparency. And that will also help address corruption, that most damaging activity for the economy and society as a whole, which can only thrive in the shadows.
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Out of the shadows
True accountability is about transparency. After all, corruption can only thrive in the shadows.
Global corruption barometer
The business sector, political parties, and the police are perceived as the most corrupt institutions according to the Global Corruption Barometer 2006, released by the Berlin-based anti-corruption think tank, Transparency International, on December 7.
The index found that NGOs and religious bodies do better but that even their scores are not as high as expected. The barometer also found that business life is greatly affected by corruption – more so than family life. However, overall, political life is still the most affected. The public services are also not ignored, with bribery for access to services found globally.
The Global Corruption Barometer explores how corruption affects the lives of ordinary people and it is one of Transparency International’s key tools for measuring corruption. It is a poll of 60,000 people in 62 countries carried out by Gallup International on behalf of Transparency International as part of TI’s Voice of the People Survey. Contact Transparency International 00 49 30 34 38 200 www.transparency.org
‘Unaccountable’ NGOs blamed for soaring metal prices
Peter Munk, chairman of Barrick Gold, has accused NGOs of not being accountable enough and thereby partly to blame for the boom in metal prices. He believes that new mines need to be found and put into production and campaigners are hindering this development.
He said of the NGOs: “They haven’t got an address. They incite people, mobilise volunteers and make outrageous statements.” Munk was speaking as he received the Mines and Money Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mining Journal on November 22. Contact Barrick Gold 00 1 416 861 9911 www.barrick.com
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