Zambia August 2006
The growing partnership between IMA International and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of Zambia to build capacity for corruption prevention in the country is a great milestone for the two organisations. The design and delivery of a second course on Monitoring and Evaluation for Corruption Prevention is evidence of this growing partnership. The course was conducted in the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) boardroom in Lusaka, Zambia from 28th August to 1st September 2006. The course was delivered by two IMA International consultants and attended by 12 officers from the ACC, who included four Prevention Officers, five Education Officers and three Investigations Officers. Participants had varying experiences of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) with the majority being new to the basic concepts. The course enabled participants to see the correlation between corruption and poverty: Corruption causes poverty but also hampers attempts to reduce poverty because it, by and large, takes away resources from poverty reduction efforts and places these resources into the hands of a few. As such where there is less corruption and good governance, countries reap the development dividend, which includes reduced infant mortality rates, improved literacy rates, increased per capita incomes etc. Participants also looked at the different schools of thought on anti-corruption programmes. This understanding was seen to be important in designing effective anti-corruption strategies taking into consideration the contextual issues. Examples of such schools of thought were the universalistic school of thought, which focuses on “society”; the static-centre, which focuses on the state; the society-centric school of thought, which focuses on civil society and the critical school of thought, which focuses on “power institutions”. It was observed that in most cases an eclectic approach or a combination of different schools of thought is normally pursued. Diagnostic Assessments (DAs) were discussed as techniques for developing anti-corruption programmes. DAs include: public opinion surveys, focus groups, legal assessments and institutional assessments. Through participatory processes three participant working groups brainstormed, discussed and practised various skills gained throughout the course such as problem tree, objective and alternative analysis. They used these skills to identify key problems, to develop strategies and to prepare logical frameworks for their respective programmes: investigations, education and prevention. This learning was re-enforced with a focus group discussion with officials of the Public Services Pensions Fund, which offered an opportunity for participants to not only practice skills learnt but also to get a public sector perspective on the extent of corruption, its effects and strategies for corruption prevention in Zambia and elsewhere in Africa. With over 23 years experience in delivering training to organisations and their staff, IMA International takes special interest and great pride in contributing to the noble efforts of fighting corruption because we believe that where corruption has been reduced and good governance achieved, the environment becomes fertile for sustainable development and poverty reduction.
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