Blog

Global Integrity convened a two-day workshop Dec. 10-11 of transparency and accountability experts at the OpenGov Hub to exchange thoughts on government monitoring and accountability tools and techniques. Our goals were to bridge domestic and international transparency and accountability groups that have had few opportunities to meet outside large conference rooms and haven them exchange…

At the OpenGov Hub's Festivus/holiday bash yesterday, members of the tenant organizations got together as a community to relax, eat, drink (too much) and share goofy gifts. It was wonderfully informal, and for me a proud moment to witness the coming together — over sugary treats and beer — of a community of like-minded friends and…

This year, International Anti-Corruption Day (Dec. 9th) comes in an interesting week for South Africans. The country is still shaken by the current corruption scandal in the country, Nkandlagate, in which President Jacob Zuma is accused of squandering about R248 million (USD$28 million) on reconstruction of his ancestral home in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal. The opposition party…

On Monday Global Integrity is convening a workshop called ‘Government Monitoring and Accountability Tools and Techniques’ at the OpenGov Hub to exchange ideas between international and domestic practitioners on government monitoring and accountability tools and techniques. We were inspired by the success of the State Integrity Investigation earlier this year and wanted to bring together international…

Yesterday, I had the chance to attend the public launch of a new government transparency and accountability funding mechanism – Making All Voices Count. Held at USAID headquarters, the discussion featured a veritable who’s who of open government and transparency practitioners in the Washington area; probably 250 people were packed into the room. (Announcing a…

Last week’s sentence of former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader (2003-2009) shows progress in the Croatian judiciary. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for taking bribes from two foreign companies. As the first jail sentence for corruption of a head of state or government in that part of the world, the case could potentially…