Industry campaigners against corruption in the infrastructure sector have welcomed FIDIC’s latest report on the issue.
Leading anti-corruption campaigners Catherine Stansbury and Neill Stansbury from the Global Infrastructure Anti-Corruption Centre (GIACC) have welcomed FIDIC’s latest State of the World report, which highlights the scale of the corruption problem affecting the global infrastructure sector.
“FIDIC is to be applauded for its long-standing commitment to – and leadership of – the international fight against corruption,” say the Stansburys. “The new report, Corruption, its effects and the need to take action, adds to the overwhelming weight of international evidence that corruption is highly damaging to countries, organisations and the public, and that urgent and effective action must be taken to prevent it,” they said.
While the elimination of corruption, both national and internationally, requires widespread and coordinated action by all stakeholders, every individual engineer can make a significant contribution to this goal and that’s certainly an area where the GIACC can offer help and guidance. So, whether they work in the public or private sectors, what steps can engineers practically take to prevent corruption?
Quite a few, according to Neill Stansbury. “When acting in your personal capacity or as an employee, before taking any action, it’s important to consider whether there is a risk that the action could be corrupt. If in doubt, obtain further information, or ask for advice, before continuing with the action. Also, you can refuse to participate in any potentially corrupt action – the only exception to this would be if you have to participate because you fear for the safety of yourself or another,” Stansbury explains.
The fear of reporting is obviously an issue for many placed in an invidious situation and care needs to be taken in situations like that. “Report any suspected corruption to an appropriate person as soon as possible, but if you fear for the safety of yourself or another in making a report, then do so anonymously,” advises Stansbury.
Importance of leadership
But, what about leadership in all this? Surely the tone that is set from the top of an organisation and company culture is important. Neill Stansbury agrees. “When acting as a leader or manager of an organisation, you should refuse to allow your organisation or its personnel to participate in any corrupt action and also provide appropriate leadership so that the personnel under your management or control are absolutely aware of your strong commitment to anti-corruption and believe that you will fully support them in taking steps to prevent it,” he says.
Stansbury recommends that industry leaders take a holistic approach to the challenges faced by corruption involving ‘whole-organisation’ solutions that include capacity building and training. “It really is important to ensure that the personnel under your management receive appropriate anti-corruption training and understand the importance of preventing corruption. You also need to make sure that the organisation or function has implemented reasonable measures to prevent corruption. Ideally, the whole organisation should implement a formal anti-corruption management system, such as FIDIC’s FIMS or ISO 37001,” he says.
There is also much advice and assistance available from the GIACC Resource Centre, which provides, free of charge, online information, advice and tools specifically designed to help organisations and individuals in the public and private sector understand, prevent and deal with corruption.
The wide range of resources includes an analysis of what is corruption, why corruption occurs, how corruption occurs, why avoid corruption, liability for corruption, and the cost of corruption and a range of anti-corruption programmes for organisations, governments, funders, project owners, business associations, professional institutions and projects.
Together with anti-corruption training modules and advice on how organisations, individuals and the public can deal with corrupt situations, the Global Infrastructure Anti-Corruption Centre, an international, independent, not-for-profit doing great work in the sector, really is the go-to place for those looking to tackle and guard against corruption.
Catherine Stansbury and Neill Stansbury are co-founders and directors of the Global Infrastructure Anti-Corruption Centre. Click here to find our more about the GIACC.
