• Domestic Economy

    NGOs Instrumental in Anti-Corruption Fight

    Today, experts and politicians worldwide underscore the need to fight corruption and ensure probity in governance. 

    Frequent references to indicators that measure the success of countries in the fight against corruption prove this claim. Civil institutions have contributed significantly to the accomplishments of countries that rank high among corruption-free countries. To be more precise, the fight against corruption is not a mere governmental matter; countries cannot safeguard their achievements in their pursuit of probity without the participation of people and civil organizations. 

    Nasser Zakeri, an economist, prefaced his article for the Persian daily Shargh with this note. A translation of the text follows:   

    That’s why Article 13 of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption underlines people’s participation, stressing that, “Each of the member states shall take appropriate measures to strengthen the active participation of individuals and groups outside the public sector, namely civil institutions and non-governmental organizations.” 

    It is years now that fighting corruption and improving Iran’s ranking among corruption-free countries have drawn the attention of decision-makers. However, it seems that the necessity of the participation of civil institutions in fighting corruption has not been felt yet. Therefore, the fight against corruption in Iran is still viewed as the responsibility of the government and supervisory bodies. 

    Over the years, the media have time and again reported on corruption cases and involvement of regulatory bodies in judicial proceedings, but sufficient information about these proceedings have not been given to the public. This lack of information dissemination has sometimes fueled the suspicion that some cases have been archived without proper investigation, while of course this is not true. Ignoring the importance of giving accurate information to the public is an example of neglecting the role of people and the necessity of the presence of public institutions in the fight against corruption.

    Article 10 of the convention also underscores the importance of providing periodic and detailed reports to the people about the performance of government agencies as part of the obligations of member states and emphasizes the citizens’ “right to know”. 

    Many other examples can be presented to prove the claim that the government has yet to understand the necessity of civil institutions’ participation but an important point that should be studied is the lack of financial support for non-governmental organizations in the fight against corruption. 

     

     

    Government Neglect

    The government provides financial support for some non-governmental institutions as part of its annual budget. Over the past years and despite financial hardships and the risk of budget deficit, the government has never shirked this responsibility and has paid the share of these institutions without applying the usual budgetary strictures. However, the government has failed to fund anti-corruption activists; this fundamental point has been overlooked both during the writing of the budget and during its approval in the parliament.

    Perhaps many people working with civil organizations do not want to receive financial assistance from the government; they consider it as the first step toward dependence on the government and toward losing their independence. In addition, I am well aware of the risk of even more corruption as a byproduct of allocating funds to those involved in the fight against corruption. However, this cannot justify the government’s neglect in doing its duty. 

    In fact, just as NGOs appear as a demander in the fight against corruption and try to force the government to respond and comply with the principle of transparency, the government should also demand more participation and support from civil organizations in the fight against corruption. For example, if NGOs blame lack of financial support for their lackluster presence in the fight against corruption, the government should be quick to provide them with the needed fund. 

    Civil organizations should play a more serious and decisive role in realizing the lofty goal of achieving a corruption-free community. In the first step, those in charge should believe in the necessity of the participation of people and not see this fight as a mere governmental duty. This belief is only the starting point. 

    As the government is obliged to financially support non-governmental organizations in other fields, it should facilitate rules and regulation and create security and budgetary support for the media and anti-corruption activists in the fight against corruption.