Palau, Viet Nam Endorse ADB-OECD Anti-Corruption Plan in Manila Meeting

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (5 July 2004) - Palau and Viet Nam today became the 22nd and 23rd countries, respectively, to endorse the regional Anti-Corruption Action Plan initiated by ADB and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This announcement came during the ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative's 5th Steering Group Meeting in Manila.

"The Republic of Palau is fully supportive of the ADB-OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative to improve the transparency and accountability of governments. As evidence of Palau's commitment, laws have already been implemented for anti-money laundering, performance-based budgeting, improvement of the public service system, and better transparency in the procurement process, as well as the establishment of a code of ethics, and oversight offices such as the Public Auditor and the Special Prosecutor," says Elbuchel Sadang, Palau's Minister of Finance.

"As further work is done on the Initiative, Palau stands ready, willing, and able, to be a part of this important endeavor."

Tran Quoc Truong, Vice General Inspector and head of the Viet Nam delegation to the meeting, said that Viet Nam is implementing its Public Administration Reform Master Program (2001-2010) with the goal of building a professionalized, effective and efficient public administration system. "The endorsement of the Action Plan indicates further commitments of high-ranking leaders of Viet Nam in the combat against corruption, as well as in full and comprehensive cooperation with other countries, international and regional institutions, initiatives and action plans of this endeavor," he said.

According to Jak Jabes, Director of ADB's Governance and Regional Cooperation Division, these two new endorsements testify to the perceived value of the Initiative. "The past three years since the endorsement of the Action Plan have seen tangible results and progress in the region. With growing awareness of the negative impacts of corruption on political stability, social welfare, and economic growth, and of the central role that good governance plays in alleviating poverty, countries have increasingly attached great importance to fighting corruption," he said.

The ADB-OECD Initiative, launched in December of 2000, is the region's forum for policy dialogue and cooperation in the fight against corruption. The Initiative's Action Plan contains legally non-binding principles and standards for strengthening national and regional anti-corruption efforts and unites 23 countries committed to cooperate in their endeavor to reduce the flow of bribery and enhance transparency in public service.

The Initiative gained even more importance in light of the signing of the UN Convention against Corruption and the advanced international anti-corruption agenda that resulted from this. "The ADB-OECD Action Plan is deemed as the key instrument to assist the Asia-Pacific countries in implementing the UN Convention against Corruption," says Frederic Wehrle, OECD's Coordinator for Anti-Corruption Initiatives, "as it provides for a meaningful and working mechanism for implementation and monitoring of progress."

The Steering Group, composed of policymakers from all endorsing countries, together with the Initiative's Advisory Group and representatives of observer countries, is meeting for three days to discuss the Initiative's strategy and work plan for 2004-2006 and to deliberate on participating countries' new anti-corruption priority reform projects under the Action Plan.

"While significant results have been achieved by the countries implementing the Action Plan in its initial two-year period, constant and special efforts are required in many areas to ensure that anti-corruption efforts are sustainable and effective," says Mr. Jabes.

The strategy and work plan for 2004-2006 pays particular attention on support towards capacity building and enhancing the Initiative's evaluation mechanisms to monitor effectiveness of anti-corruption reform, and seeks to increase involvement by donor institutions in countries' reform efforts under the Action Plan. Increased attention will also be given to bringing the Initiative closer to the people through enhancing visibility of anti-corruption reforms under the Action Plan.

The group will also finalize the 2004 report on anti-corruption policies and institutions in Asia and the Pacific, and will prepare its dissemination to the public in book form and through the Initiative's website.

The meeting will further decide on themes to be addressed in the Initiative's next training seminars and launch a series of in-depth thematic country studies. These studies will aim to identify good practices as well as gaps and deficiencies of the countries' anti-corruption strategies, thus serving governments and donors alike as indicator and benchmark against which to evaluate future progress. Finally, the meeting provides an opportunity for anti-corruption experts from endorsing countries to share expertise and learn from each other's experiences in the implementation of the Action Plan.

A training seminar on "Curbing Corruption in Public Procurement" will follow the meeting, from July 7-9. Organized with the Société Générale de Surveillance of Geneva, the seminar will familiarize the participants with the "ideal" procurement process, as well as with the major corruption risks in public procurement. It will also tackle ways to detect, prevent, and deal with corruption in procurement, and end with a discussion of case studies. The seminar is second in a series organized by the Initiative to assist countries in strengthening needed capacities for fighting corruption.

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