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Pitch Day at HackCorruption Colombia

HackCorruption, our corruption-fighting series of hackathons, has wrapped in Bogotá, Colombia, with 20 teams taking to the pitch stage. Ideas ranged from digital procurement portals to beneficial ownership applications and citizen monitoring systems. Our panel of judges is currently assessing the solutions and we look forward to announcing our winners next week. Accountability Lab hosted the third HackCorruption event in Colombia, following the first event in South Africa and the second in Nepal. The proogram supports talented individuals from the civic tech, CSO, and activist arenas, to build innovative solutions to combat corruption. The hackathon is supported by the Bureau [...]

2023-08-24T18:04:24+00:0024th August 2023|

Battleground constituencies in Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections

Elections are an exciting and well-studied subject across the world. They attract a tremendous amount of  this excitement stemming from their competitive nature and “peoples” enduring a belief in them as the best way to provide governors with legitimate province over governance, or the absence of alternatives. For some, elections are the essence of democracy and legitimacy, and a close approximation of the rule of the people by the people through evidence of their express consent to authority, itself a fundamental tenant of political legitimacy. Resultantly, elections invariably whip up a frenzy, as the public, commentariat, and scholars engage in [...]

2023-08-22T19:32:42+00:0022nd August 2023|

Liberia’s complex path to lasting peace

Liberia, situated on West Africa's coast, claims the distinction of being Sub-Saharan Africa's oldest republic. Established in 1821 by freed American slaves through the American Colonization Society, it became independent in 1847. For 102 years, from 1878 to 1980, Liberia was governed by the True Whig Party, operating under a single-party system. Unfortunately, this era was defined by underdevelopment, widespread corruption, and the mismanagement of precious natural resources. A significant turning point emerged on April 12, 1980, when the People's Redemption Council (PRC), descendants of the military, orchestrated a brutal coup that thrust Liberia into an internal maelstrom. Tribal tensions [...]

2023-08-18T12:41:07+00:0018th August 2023|

Five reforms to strengthen World Bank engagement

The urgency for global climate action has prompted World Bank management to rethink the Bank's mission, vision, operations, and financing through the Evolution Roadmap. Following a public consultation that ended in July, the Bank has hosted regional consultations to inform stakeholders and gather their feedback. Despite the global scale of the climate crisis and the need to co-create solutions at the community level, the Evolution Roadmap, in its current form, does not identify citizen engagement and social accountability (CESA) as a significant pillar to deliver its ambitious goals. Much of the current focus has been on mobilizing finances to increase [...]

2023-08-21T10:31:01+00:0017th August 2023|

G20 and the crisis of corruption: what has been the story this year?

As we enter the final stretch of India’s Presidency of the G20, what progress has been made in relation to key anti-corruption priorities? Sanjeeta Pant and Kathryn Westmore take a closer look. The G20 Indian Presidency and Anti-Corruption Priorities When India took over the Presidency of the G20 earlier this year, there was real hope that it would herald an increased focus on anti-corruption issues. As the final meeting of the Anti-Corruption Working Group (ACWG) approaches, attention has turned to what progress has been made on the three anti-corruption priorities for this year and what might lie ahead for the [...]

2023-08-14T12:10:04+00:008th August 2023|

Why climate finance needs greater transparency and accountability

We face an existential poly-crisis related to energy, debt, food, climate, health, and security. Collective action is needed to address these challenges and to build global support for the green accountability agenda. The role of international financial institutions (IFIs) like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is critical to promoting transparency in climate finance and addressing the inherent corruption risks. But the quantity of their funding is just one element of this- the quality of that funding is equally as important but is largely missing from policy debates around these issues.  Progress Multinational Development Banks (MDBs) have [...]

2023-08-14T12:10:39+00:001st August 2023|

Five ways to make regional collaborations meaningful

Accountability Lab Nepal (ALN) and Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) are collaborating to promote youth engagement in democracy in Nepal and Bangladesh, respectively. The goal is to build and strengthen diverse and pluralistic networks of youth leaders through targeted support, collective learning and shared best practices to strengthen democracy.  This blog is based on a joint reflection between the program implementation teams during a learning exchange visit from Nepal to Bangladesh and summarizes the value of meaningful collaborations.This blog also highlights how young people from Nepal and Bangladesh uniquely catalyze their role to strengthen democracies, advance social changes and support innovation.  [...]

2023-08-14T12:08:06+00:0018th July 2023|

Five approaches for young people to speak up against corruption

This is one of two winning blogs from the World Bank's International Corruption Hunters Alliance 2023 Blog Contest. In an effort to find a common solution to a common challenge, we asked to hear the views of African youth on the challenges of corruption. We asked for submissions, based on the situation in the blogger’s country, that answered the following question: How can young people work with their governments, academia, and civil society organizations to speak up against corruption and counter the negative impacts corruption has on society? Corruption poses a significant threat to society, hindering progress and impacting the lives of [...]

2023-08-14T12:15:27+00:0013th July 2023|

Eradiquons la corruption grâce à des mécanismes pratiques

Ce billet est l’un des deux lauréats du concours de blog de l'Alliance internationale anti-corruption 2023 organisé sous l'égide de la Banque mondiale. En vue de trouver une solution commune à un défi commun, nous avons invité la jeunesse africaine à s'exprimer sur le fléau de la corruption. À la lumière de la situation propre à chaque pays, ces témoignages devaient répondre à la question suivante : comment les jeunes peuvent-ils œuvrer de concert avec leurs gouvernements, les universités et les organisations de la société civile pour s'élever contre la corruption et contrer les effets négatifs qu'elle fait peser sur la société ? La Corruption… [...]

2023-08-14T12:17:08+00:0013th July 2023|

Anti-corruption and compliance efforts to increase investment and growth for SMEs in Africa

In June, Accountability Lab was proud to take a group of inspiring youth activists to the World Bank Group's International Corruption Hunters Alliance 2023 Forum in Ivory Coast. This is part of a series of blogs from those participants.   Written by Simisola Samuel, Afia Poku, Liza Young, and Becky Majani Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are pivotal for economic growth and employment. According to the World Bank, SMEs represent about 90% of businesses and provide more than 50% of jobs globally. SMEs contribute over 40% to the national income in emerging economies and attract domestic and foreign investment. This [...]

2023-08-14T12:23:08+00:0011th July 2023|
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