Irene Charalambides addressing the webinar on WednesdayVIENNA, 9 December 2021 – On the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Irene Charalambides (MP, Cyprus) called for greater transparency and accountability in all public matters, highlighting open data technology as an important mechanism in this respect.
New technologies can be used to facilitate the reporting of corruption, she said, as well as promote access to official information, monitor the efficiency and integrity of social services, and make financial data more transparent. All of this can help boost good governance and sound economic growth, she noted.
Charalambides, who serves as OSCE PA Vice-President and Special Representative on Fighting Corruption, was speaking at the OSCE’s event Wednesday entitled “Open Data in Action: Digital Tools and Platforms for Advancing the Anti-Corruption Agenda.” Bringing together government representatives and civil society organizations from the OSCE region as well as international organizations and international experts, the webinar offered an opportunity to discuss open data policies and initiatives that support transformational policies in areas where corruption risks are high.
“I am pleased to note that many governments have been launching timely e-government initiatives to enhance the efficiency and transparency of public administration and improve interaction with citizens,” Charalambides said. “Good governance in public spending can yield benefits for all while lowering the risks for corrupt behavior, thus increasing public trust in state institutions and, ultimately, in democracy.”
She noted that public procurement is one of the state activities most vulnerable to corruption and warned that COVID-19 has introduced additional challenges to transparency due to the need for emergency spending processes that required the circumvention of standard procurement controls. “The pressure to allocate money quickly has sometimes led to a loss of vital public resources, resulting in both the damaging and the weakening of public confidence towards governing institutions,” Charalambides said.
With this in mind, it is critical that citizens are provided with free and unhindered access to clear information on public contracts and tenders, she pointed out, and in this regard easy access to open data is essential.
Charalambides concluded that collective vigilance will be critical to ensure that upcoming socio-economic transformations and investments associated with the “green revolution” will effectively meet the needs of the real beneficiaries. Given the complexity of the fight against corruption, she said, everyone has an important role to play.
For more on the work of the OSCE PA Special Representative on Fighting Corruption, please click here.
