By Bayo Ogunmupe
The rise of cyber crimes and fake news on social media have soured many people on the digital revolution. However, these same novel technologies that cause these distressing trends can also help us combat corruption much more effectively. There are encouraging examples in Latin America, a region recently swept by many corruption scandals. Now, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is providing digital tools as powerful means of rooting out fraud in government and foiling unscrupulous officials and their accomplices.
Complex bureaucratic procedures requiring steps and approvals typically set the stage for corruption. Opportunities to demand and offer bribes tend to multiply when transactions between citizens and officials happen in person, as is still the case here in Nigeria. Recognizing this problem, governments across Latin America and the Caribbean are aggressively cutting red tape by simplifying and digitizing their administrative processes. By automating services and putting them online, governments leave corrupt officials less room to make arbitrary decisions.
Uruguay for example, is close to its goal of enabling citizens initiate 100 percent of their government transactions online. Panama has embarked on an ambitious programme to put 450 key services online, and Argentina is also moving to become a paperless government. Cutting red tape in these and other countries has proven to be a good antidote to corruption. Apart from limiting graft, simplifying and streamlining bureaucracy can make economies more competitive and strengthen trust in institutions.
These two goals Nigeria must pursue with passion. Ultimately, these efforts seek to deliver better services to meet the ever rising expectations of our digital citizens. The digital revolution is generating massive amounts of data that can be leveraged by governments, businesses and civil society organizations to make better informed decisions, improve services and become more transparent and accountable. By opening access to their data, governments are enabling citizens to track more closely how their taxes are spent.
In Brazil, the Public Expenditure Observatory uses big data analytic tools to detect potential fraud in procurement transactions. In 2015, it scrutinized more than 120,000 contracts, raising red flags in more than 7,500 cases involving $104 million in businesses. One of its filters for example, identified when big contracts are split into smaller deals to avoid more competitive bidding. The IDB is supporting several open data projects in America, ranging from an anti corruption package in Mexico; to local initiatives in Argentina and training Costa Rican officials in big data analysis.
Other countries are also experimenting, like the Mexican government's testing of smart crowd sourcing based on a methodology developed by New York University researchers. Since antiquity, public sector investments have been particularly vulnerable to corruption. But online data visualization platforms can be strong bulwarks against venality. Colombia has created a platform called MapaRegalias where anyone can track how royalties paid by mining companies are spent. The central government uses it to police compliance.
In 2016, government suspended transfers to 125 municipalities for not reporting data adequately. Similar platforms are being developed in Paraguay, Costa Rica and Peru. While excessive controls paralyze governments, the smart use of technological solutions can help make audits work more nimbly. Chile's Integrated Audit Control System provides a simplified risk-based auditing process. The portal Contraloria Ciuadadano is an effective communication channel between auditors and citizens, allowing the public to participate in the process.
Technology-based integrity solutions can also fight money laundering; they can make it easier for banks to comply with know- your-customer regulations. Nigeria's national identity system can facilitate such compliance. Beneficial ownership of information gadgets not only ensures financial sector integrity, it also helps fight tax evasion and money laundering. New digital technologies are emerging and proliferating rapidly.
Block chain, which creates secure distributed ledgers guarded by many parties, protecting transactions from being tampered with. Block chain is the technology behind bitcoin, a digital currency. It is also registering property transactions to combat blood diamond trafficking. The IDB is also working with Argentine customs to use blockchain to identify and track cargo shipments crossing borders. Coupled with political resolve, the digital revolution can help us attain our goals of greater transparency and accountability in governance much faster and efficiently than we ever imagine possible.
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