The words transparency and accountability feature in some of our articles in this issue, and indeed in many current development programmes. Meanwhile the news is replete with stories about the large-scale movement of funds to avoid nation-state based tax authorities; wherever one is in the world, people are aware of the Panama Papers and recent Paradise Papers exposing the financial flows of the super-rich and of many companies. These flows are no longer just the prerogative of a few major multinational companies who have always had the ability to transfer their profits to the lowest taxed country, through internal transfer pricing manipulation. Now celebrities, politicians, sportspeople, and senior civil servants all seem to have their own offshore accounts. We know that some of this money comes from being a highly paid sports person or actor; other funds are from companies moving funds around globally.
However, such offshore funds are also often the proceeds of corruption. As a non-accountant I have often wondered how politicians or individuals in the state can steal such large amounts of money from their compatriots. Stories of Chinese officials leaving the country with suitcases of cash can be matched with many similar stories from almost any country in the world, whether capitalist, socialist, developed, or developing. Corruption used to be mainly in the form of small tips to get state officials to deal with everyday paperwork, and such corruption still places a burden on many people, increasing their costs of registering a car, getting a trading licence, a child's birth certificate, and myriad other documents that we all need. In some countries, we see an increase in corruption from petty (although still significant for the poor) levels to much greater and systemic misuse of official positions for personal enrichment.
One colleague in India explained it as being a change in Indian society to a far more materialistic approach to life, so that previously incorruptible senior civil servants now wish to emulate Bollywood lifestyles for themselves and their families. It is unclear whether such materialism can be blamed for corruption or the increasing attitude that state civil servants and politicians can seek to financially benefit through their positions, or if it is merely an increase in individualism and breakdown of community. What is clear from the various scandals and papers released over the last year or so is that tax avoidance, money laundering, and corruption are not just the preserve of one particular country or stage of development, but cut across nationalities, private/state organisations, faiths, and other forms of identify. It has become the norm for the global rich and is emulated by politicians, civil servants, and many others for whom this now seems to be an acceptable way of making money.
It is therefore not surprising that issues around accountability and transparency increasingly feature in the literature and practice of international development, from the lowest level of governance to the highest level of transnational companies and senior politicians. The resulting financial flows mean that we all suffer from weaknesses in accountability and governance, whether through the costs of doing business, or coping with daily bureaucracy, or the reduced resources available to provide basic services due to tax evasion. Those involved in such corrupt practices fail to realise or fail to care that, for personal gain, they are reducing the quality of public life, services, and environmental health. I fully expect to see future articles describing how communities at all levels are seeking to improve public goods through improved accountability and transparency.
Pranab Kumar Panday provides a study of a local governance programme in rural Bangladesh supported by BRAC over the past 14 years. The study shows that through strengthening local governance with communities and the lowest level of government, it has been possible to improve services to the community, reduce corruption, and increase transparency at this level.
Justin Flynn and James Sumberg have studied youth savings groups in Africa which it was hoped would encourage entrepreneurship, economic inclusion, and self-employment. They conclude, having looked at some 57 groups in four countries (Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Ghana), that although these programmes help mitigate problems such as cash flow, their transformational potential has perhaps been exaggerated.
Patrick Milabyo Kyamusugulwa, Dorothea Hilhorst, and Carolien Jacobs also look at accountability issues, in reconstruction and recovery programmes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. They argue that although many such programmes aim to improve transparency and accountability, in reality these concepts are often abstract and poorly understood by communities in this area. Instead, they note that there are local accountability mechanisms and relief programmes need to understand these local approaches and embed their own efforts within local processes.
Tamsin Bradley and Janet Gruber share a useful framework for mainstreaming processes to protect against violence against women and girls (VAWG) within all development programmes. They argue that development work needs to take VAWG into account, and use two examples from microcredit and HIV/AIDS to show how their framework can help achieve the goal of ending VAWG.
Matt Husain and Sebastian Kolesar's intriguing contribution looks at international development in the post-colonial context of Bangladesh, using a case study of corruption in the motor licensing authority to explore the nature of political power, transparency, and accountability since independence in 1971. It is quite rare to find such a detailed study of corruption, and this is a useful contribution to a field which is often characterised by general or high-level studies.
Cristina Álvarez-Mingote and Paul McNamara review participatory mechanisms in Malawian agricultural extension services. Overall, the authors are positive that participation has led to farmers feeling that such services are more responsive, although they note that in turn this creates yet more challenges internally for extension agencies.
Thomas Dietz, Andrea Estrella Chong, Paulino Font Gilabert, and Janina Grabs have developed a means to quantify the empowerment or lack of it among women in a coffee-producing region of Honduras. They conclude that women often lack control over economic resources, and suggest some ways to improve their situation.
Valerien Pede, Takashi Yamano, Prakashan Chellattanveettil, and Ishika Gupta evaluate a system of small farmers using mobile phones to receive information about rice prices and varieties. Farmers furthest from market are most likely to pay for such information, and those who do pay are also more likely to experiment with different rice varieties, compared to farmers in areas where the calls are free. Whether these innovations come because the most forward-looking farmers are more likely to pay to use the mobile technology and are already more likely to change varieties, or whether farmers change varieties because of the technology, has still to be researched.
Anton Oleinik, discussing the processes at play in Ukraine, argues that although external assistance is needed to deliver new forms of economic governance and other activities, some traditional development models are not as appropriate as what he calls a “gardener's care” and support. The viewpoint is a critical review of external assistance, wary of the politicisation of aid from certain donors, and a misuse by some of the recipients, characterised as “grant eaters”.
Justice Issah Musah-Surugu, Kwadwo Owusu, Paul William Kojo Yankson, and Emmanuel Kofi Ayisi review the degree of compliance with climate change financing in Ghana. They find that there are considerable differences between different local government entities, with high levels of compliance in areas most affected by climate change and lower levels elsewhere.
A.H.M. Belayeth Hussain and Noraida Endut explore work life issues in small enterprises in Bangladesh, and find marked differences between enterprises, noting that where managers-owners engage socially with their employees, decent working conditions are a more likely result. They suggest that agencies lending funds to small enterprises should encourage social relations within the enterprise as a way of improving working conditions.
Nadhem Mtimet, Derek Baker, and Emily Ouma provide an example of research into pig value chains in Uganda, breaking down the nature of the chain and producing some interesting findings. They also experimented with different approaches to sampling and investigated how sampling can affect the final research results.