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Web Scout
Government Transparency: A Key to Strengthening Democracy
By Marcia Koth de Paredes

Public service ethics and trust in government are indispensable to establishing real, long-term economic growth, security and consolidation of democracy. The concept of transparency has many definitions and one related to ethics and trust given by the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary is appropriate here: “The quality of being clear and readily understood; free from pretense or deceit; easily detected or seen through.”

A reasonable expectation is that efforts by governments to foster a culture of openness rather than secrecy and to improve information systems will promote responsibility and accountability. Citizen participation is also required to insist on access to information with protection of individual rights to privacy, to monitor government actions for efficiency, to expose corruption, to advocate policy and programs and to partner for the provision of quality services in the communities where they work.

National agendas in Peru, the U.S. and Canada now include “transparency” programs expanding the meaning to focus on mechanisms to improve both government efforts to provide access and information to the public and the capacity of citizens to participate by proposing and monitoring the public sector. Due to the recognition that there are high levels of citizen distrust throughout Latin America, most international organizations now finance discussions, research and projects in both the public and civic sectors.

This Web Scout provides links to interesting background papers prepared by international organizations that are available on the Internet, links to access to information legislation in Peru, the US, Canada and UK and a few Peruvian examples of government agencies providing information to citizens. Next month, we will provide links to examples of citizen-group monitoring activities.

 

International Organization Transparency Papers
(These organizations also frequently have the information in Spanish)

World Bank Special Report on Transparency
http://topics.developmentgateway.org/special/transparency

United Nations Public Administration Network By themes
http://www.unpan.org/corethemes.asp

University of Manchester Institute for Development Policy and Management
EGovernment for Development: Using ICTs for Government Transparency
http://www.egov4dev.org/topic2.htm

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Dozens of background papers
http://www.oecd.org/home (Search: transparency)

Organization of American States
http://www.oas.org/main/english (Search: transparency)
See also Department for Democratic and Political Affairs
http://www.ddpa.oas.org
and Foreign Trade Information System Links, by topic and by country
http://www.sice.oas.org/Indexe.asp

InterAmerican Development Bank
http://www.iadb.org Search: transparency

International Monetary Fund Papers on Fiscal Transparency
http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/fiscal.htm

 

Access To Information Legislation
Here you will find information on how to protect yourself from invasion of your privacy or insist on obtaining information that you believe exists in government agencies.

Peru: Laws http://www.cpsr-peru.org/bdatos/peru/derechos Background paper by Lucia Fernández, Coordinator of Projects in the Office of Access to Information IPYS http://palestra.pucp.edu.pe/portal/general/imprimir.php?id=110

U.S.: Department of Justice-How to Request Information http://www.usdoj.gov/04foia

Canada: Department of Justice-Using the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act
http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/atip/using.html

UK: Department for Constitutional Affairs-The Freedom of Information Act 2000 and How to Use it http://www.foi.gov.uk

 

Examples of Peruvian Government Transparency Projects

Congreso de la República
http://www.congreso.gob.pe/dpc/
Information on laws and mechanism to send comments and proposals

Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales
http://www.onpe.gob.pe
Information for political parties, statistics, information on personnel, purchases etc.

Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas
http://www.mef.gob.pe
See section on Transparencia Económica Perú. Sponsors bulletin on Transparencia Fiscal.

Superintendencia de Banca y Seguros
http://www.sbs.gob.pe
Information on financial system (banks, insurance, AFP), includes topic of transparent administration.

Consejo Superior de Contrataciones y Adquisiciones del Estado
http://www.consucode.gob.pe
Information on government purchases and contracts

Instituto Nacional de Catastro y Concesiones Mineras
http://www.inacc.gob.pe
Information on mining rights

InnovaPUCP (Universidad Católica) with World Bank and COSUDE (Swiss Development Agency)
http://www.ventanapublica.org.pe/pls/wwwvpublica/vp2.inicio_c
Home page on Municipal Transparency to provide citizen access to local governments.