THis article is good regarding transparency:
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Ghana: Transparency International Accuses G8
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Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)
July 19, 2006
Posted to the web July 19, 2006
Joseph Coomson
Transparency International (TI) has accused the world's eight industrialized countries (G8) for missing the chance to offer hope for the world's poor.
However, it said that a fraction of the momentum of recent years was carried forward in the G8's Update on Africa.
Within that, Transparency International welcomed the G8's reaffirmed support for the African Peer Review Mechanism (for monitoring governance progress), transparency in oil and gas, and the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
It said the recovery of stolen assets, making revenue streams transparent and implementing anti-corruption instruments are the key ways to ensure development and investment that fulfils the promise of a better future for the continent.
These were contained in a communiqué released by the Transparency International (TI) on the G8 summit at St. Petersburg in Russia on Monday.
The group further indicated that the statement on Fighting High-Level Corruption points to a maturing understanding of corruption and numbered days for impunity of public officials.
Transparency International also said the statements on oil and on Africa contain nods to the requisite initiatives, but are short on detail and lack concrete commitments.
On Fighting High-Level Corruption, Transparency International (TI) welcomed the G8 recognition of the horrendous effects of corruption on development, democratic governance and the rule of law, but they must do more.
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It said Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States should ratify the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) without further delay and support robust monitoring. Canada, Italy, Japan, the UK and Russia must enforce the foreign bribery prohibition contained in the OECD Convention and UNCAC. It said the G8 cannot prescribe anti-corruption and transparency measures that they themselves have not followed.
Comment on energy was not left out. It reiterated that although transparency and anti-corruption measures in the oil sector were mentioned, there were no specific measurable steps taken. "Awareness and recognition of the need for these measures is a positive development, but real progress will only come when G8 countries hold themselves to specific targets," it said.
Germany is billed to host the next summit in 2007. Chancellor Merkel indicated that the G8 would tackle global poverty next year. Transparency International calls on the German government to ensure that governance and development are at the heart of the agenda for next year's summit and to ensure a participative process, starting now, in which civil society feeds into the programme for 2007.
