Citizens Against Corruption

Citizens Against Corruption: Report From The Front Line tells the story of how courageous and dedicated citizens across the globe are taking action to root out corruption. It draws on over 200 unique case studies that describe initiatives undertaken by 130 civil society organisations (CSOs) which engage directly with public agencies to stop the bribery and extortion that damages peoples’ lives and obstructs social and economic progress. This book challenges the notion that, at best, civil society can only have a marginal impact on reducing corruption and argues that aid donors need to radically rethink their assistance for governance reform.

Part 1 analyses the role citizens can play in fighting corruption and promoting good governance and tells the story of the Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF). Part 2 presents studies of India, Mongolia, Philippines, and Uganda to illustrate activities undertaken to root out corruption, including the tools and approaches that are being used to build pressure on corrupt public agencies to become transparent and accountable. Part 3 addresses key themes, including putting in place effective national anti-corruption strategies and institutions, making public buying and selling honest and empowering citizens to keep watch on what happens at the point of delivery of public services. Part 4 is a summary of lessons learnt and explores the potential, as well as the risks and limitations, of civic activism in a world where greed and dishonesty is the norm. Finally, the book explores the opportunities and dangers faced by aid donors in supporting local CSOs and charts a way forward.

“This book tells the story of the mobilisation of seasoned development specialists to pilot new ways to root out corruption in public agencies. Their task was to assist small CSOs to devise well-conceived projects to tackle directly specific acts of corruption, projects that could be supported by small grants. These advisers have all worked without remuneration. Never before has so much been achieved with such limited resources,” says Pierre Landell-Mills.

Pierre Landell-Mills has spent a lifetime in development, first as Chief Economist and Director of Planning in Botswana, and then at The World Bank. He founded and was CEO of an international NGO, Partnership for Transparency Fund, and is a Principal of The Policy Practice, a consulting company specialising in issues of political economy. He was recently a Visiting Professor at the University of Bath.