November 2014

19-20 November 2014: In cooperation with the Central Authority for Corruption Prevention in the Kingdom of Morocco, UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Arab States organized high level regional consultations on future directions to support anti-corruption and integrity efforts in Arab countries,

The Consultations brought together more than 70 leading public officials, activists and specialists, including representatives of concerned agencies, ministries, civil society, the business community, donors and regional and international organizations.

The consultations aimed to enable participating stakeholders to explore the prospective for cooperation in the framework of the second phase of UNDP’s Regional Project on Anti-Corruption and Integrity in the Arab Countries (2015-2017), in light of the achievements made and the lessons learned during its first phase (2011-2014), while also taking into consideration the effects of the ongoing regional transformations.

The various sessions facilitated an in-depth exchange of comparative experiences and interactive discussions on priorities related to legislative and institutional reforms, in light of the UN Convention against Corruption. It also enabled participants to address effective approaches to reduce corruption risks in sectors that are critical for development, and to explore entry points to strengthen the capacities of specific groups of stakeholders that are likely to add value to related initiatives.

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15-17 November 2014: Earlier this year, UNDP’s Regional Project on Anti-Corruption and Integrity in the Arab Countries supported the piloting of a training course in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia – in partnership with leading business association in those countries – specifically designed to engage small and medium enterprises in the region against corruption and equip them with options and tools for playing a more active role in this regard. Building on the lessons learned from these pilots, UNDP-ACIAC is organizing in Casablanca on 15-17 November 2014 a regional workshop titled “Towards Disseminating the “Acting against Corruption” Training Course for Small and Medium Enterprises in the Arab countries”. The overall aim is to prepare for rolling out the course across the region in an effective and sustainable manner. This will be done through interactive sessions that seek to reinforce knowledge and ownership of the training materials; strengthen the trainers’ preparation and delivery skills and discuss practical ideas on how to expand the dissemination of the training materials. The course has been developed with the support of UNDP-ACIAC in collaboration with representatives of the business community in the Arab region and independent experts and in partnership with the Siemens Integrity Initiative. Participants are expected to include trainers who have helped to pilot the course; independent experts and representatives of partner business organizations, namely the Arab Institute of Business Managers in Tunisia, the General Confederation of Enterprises of Morocco, and the Egyptian Junior Business Association.

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12-14 Nov 2014: The Ministry of Public Service and Modernization of the Administration in the Kingdom of Morocco organized a training in Rabat on 12-14 November 2014.It was organized in partnership with UNDP’s Regional Project on “Anti-Corruption and Integrity in the Arab Countries,” in collaboration with the Arab Anti-Corruption and Integrity Network entitled “Towards a Comprehensive Mechanism for Monitoring and Evaluating the Anti-Corruption Strategy.”

The training included officials and experts representing ministries and public administrations, in addition to representatives of non-governmental organizations and the private sector. The aim of the training was to raise awareness on the importance of monitoring and evaluation systems for the success of anti-corruption efforts, as well as deepen participants’ understanding of anti-corruption measurements.

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26 Oct – 2 Nov 2014: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) completed a scoping mission to Jordan, undertaken by a team of experts provided through its Regional Programme, with the aim of exploring national needs and priorities in the area of anti-corruption and integrity, and discussing ways to strengthen cooperation at the country level in the period of 2015-2017.

The mission received wide media attention and lasted for a week starting on October 26th and ending on November 2nd. It included high-level meetings and in-depth working session with key concerned institutions, including the Anti-Corruption Commission, as well as others, namely the Ministry of Public Sector Development, the Ministry of Justice, the Judicial Council, the Audit Bureau, the Royal Committee of Evaluation and Follow up on the Implementation of the Executive Plan of Integrity Charter, the Civil Service Bureau, and the Ombudsman Bureau. Furthermore, the mission provided opportunities to meet with officials responsible for Jordan’s efforts in the framework of the Open Government Partnership, as well as with parliamentarians and representatives of civil society and the private sector. On Tuesday, October 28th, UNDP held a meeting with development partners in Jordan. It enabled the mission to present results achieved during past cooperation in Jordan as well as potential directions for the future. Interactive discussions allowed participants to exchange information on their respective efforts and explore initial ideas to strengthen related cooperation and coordination in with a view to enhancing development effectiveness.

The Mission demonstrated strong national interest in deepening related cooperation with the UNDP, and helped to crystallize a number of concrete proposals in this regard. Those will be reflected in a comprehensive project document that will be presented to all concerned parties prior to its endorsement and the commencement of implementation by the UNDP Country Office in cooperation with the Regional Center that will be established in Amman pursuant to the agreement that has been recently signed between the UNDP and the Government of Jordan represented by H.E. the Minister of Foreign Affairs.  Overall, priorities include strengthening the legal and institutional frameworks in order to enhance transparency and accountability, launching sectoral initiatives to reduce related corruption risks, and supporting a number of activities to expand the scope of stakeholders engaged in related national efforts, all with a view to supporting the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and the Execution Plan of the National Integrity Charter.

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Public procurement, which represents an average from 15% to 20% of GDP in developing countries, is one of the most corruption-prone areas. Irregularities in public procurement in Thailand resulting from collusion and conflict of interest are frequent, affecting the delivery of essential public services and exacerbating inequalities.

UNDP has developed well-tested methodologies to address inequalities by mitigating corruption risks in key services, in particular water, health and education.  In 2014, the UNDP piloted a procurement risk assessment in Thailand for the first time at a global level in Thailand, in cooperation with the Office of Public Sector Development Commission, the Comptroller General Department and the private-sector-led Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand.  The risk assessment, conducted through desk reviews, interviews and surveys with government, private sector and academia has produced a set of recommendations on how to reform the overall procurement system as well as a good practice checklist for public officials to mitigate corruption risks in the process.

The project has gained a lot of political momentum, with the Prime Minister, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, announcing the partnership with UNDP, in this area, in his TV speech on 3 October. The government is now considering the introduction of a procurement law as a result of the assessment as well as planning to use the Checklist for training officials on how to mitigate corruption risks.

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