Accountability and transparency
Analysing anti-bribery legislation is important to identify weaknesses and areas of improvement in existing laws. In the third publication of WFD’s anti-bribery and integrity series, a comparative analysis is carried out of the UK Bribery Act (2010) and anti-corruption legislation in Ukraine, Indonesia and Kenya.
The first ever UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) against corruption will take place in New York from 2 to 4 June 2021. UNGASS 2021 represents a unique opportunity to strengthen our collective anti-corruption efforts. With that recognition, WFD has released a new policy brief on ‘Doing anti-corruption democratically’ that outlines the complementary reality of democracy and anti-corruption.
Corruption is an aspect of poor governance which negatively affects a country’s economic development as well as the effective provision of public services in society. As the awareness of the detrimental effects of corruption on development has grown, strategies to fight it are now a priority in international development and policy circles. To date, however, few successes have resulted from the investment. In fact, in some countries corruption even seems to have become more entrenched in step with the efforts to curb it.
Parliaments have a key role in responding to the clear, present danger posed by current rates of environmental decline and a warming climate through its legislative, representative and scrutiny functions. First, through scrutiny and enactment of appropriate legislation and regulatory frameworks and, second, in reviewing the implementation of those laws. Because, where legislation has been enacted, implementation has not always matched the legislative ambitions. Further, where legislation is in force, the ambitions may not match what the science demands.
Legislatures are central to modern democratic politics, holding governments to account, and scrutinising legislation in order to generate more effective public policy. Yet during moments of crisis, legislatures are often bypassed as presidents and prime ministers prioritise a rapid response. The concern that legislatures will be marginalised, with greater power concentrated in the hands of the executive, has been particularly significant during COVID-19, when eighty countries have witnessed democratic backsliding.
The government had to quickly adjust many decisions, including the state annual budget to address the problems and effects caused by the Covid-19 crisis. The budget of the health sector was increased to secure the necessary safeguards, medical staff, equipment and other related needs to cope with the situation not only in the hospitals dedicated to Covid-19, but also in the regional ones.