by Brendan Halloran, International Budget Partnership— Sep 15, 2020
During the COVID-19 crisis, governments are taking the necessary steps to save lives and prevent families from falling into poverty and hardship in the short term, however, it is likely that funds meant to strengthen public health infrastructure and reach vulnerable groups will be mismanaged. This is an opportunity for public auditors to ensure that public money is well spent during and after the crisis.
by Warren Krafchik, executive director, IBP & Mark Robinson, executive director, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative— Jul 13, 2020
Resource-dependent countries face many obstacles in adhering to principles of good extractives governance, including corruption and mismanagement. Enhanced fiscal transparency is vital for addressing these challenges. It is a goal shared by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the International Budget Partnership (IBP).
Jamie Drummond, Global Strategist: The Global Goals and Co-Founder: ONE — May 12, 2020
As the world’s scientists race to find a vaccine for COVID-19, and governments scramble to fund emergency responses, we must apply openness to enable journalists, civil society, and citizens to “follow the money,” promote government financial accountability, improve service delivery and rebuild civic trust.
The present circumstances in Iran make it a cautionary tale for domestic and international stakeholders seeking to improve financial regulations, fiscal governance, and government accountability in developing economies.
Topics such as fiscal policy, accountability, and fiscal justice do not usually generate sweeping media coverage. Why? Because these topics are complicated, not easy to break down, and hard to visualize. Yet recent exposés such as the Panama Papers show that the media can still make powerful contributions to the greater fiscal transparency cause.
The power of transnational corporations and global economic and monetary institutions to influence national budgetary and financial decisions is overwhelming. Is it time for advocates to focus fiscal transparency and accountability efforts on the power of global capital?
by Didier Jacobs, Senior Policy Advisor, Oxfam America— Mar 06, 2019
Governments are engaged in a race to the bottom on corporate taxation. Tax rates are falling and tax incentives are multiplying. This is bad news when it comes to financing development. Citizens must demand transparency and accountability regarding tax incentives, and regional and global cooperation to set a floor under corporate tax rates.
by David Lewis, Executive Director, Corruption Watch— Jan 30, 2019
The relationship between declining democracy and burgeoning corruption, both the antithesis of fiscal accountability, raises some large and complex questions for the fiscal accountability community.
The past 20 years of international efforts to curb corruption through reducing the openings for the misuse of public funds have led to the establishment of best practices in transparency and accountability, and the widespread creation of anti-corruption agencies within governments. Still, the economic cost of corruption remains enormous. “Transparency, Anti-Corruption, and Sustainable Development: Is Progress Possible?,” a recent event hosted by the Brookings Institution, brought together experts from international finance institutions, civil society, and the private sector to discuss past and current challenges in transparency and anti-corruption work.
by Ryan Flynn for the International Budget Partnership— Apr 19, 2017
When Freedom Forum, a civil society organization based in Nepal, decided to use the country’s Right to Information (RTI) laws to investigate special funds allocated to parliamentarians, they uncovered a vast array of wasteful projects. Such nebulous spending was being channeled through Nepal’s Constituency Development Funds (CDFs), mechanisms for allocating money from the national coffers for parliamentarians to spend in their local constituencies. Using Nepal’s Right to Information law to investigate CDFs, Freedom Forum painstakingly traced how money was being spent and projects were supposed to be administered. They then worked with investigative journalists to piece together a series of exposés revealing the misuse of public money.
