We’re fighting corruption so that Latin America, the Caribbean can prosper

In recent years, we have stressed the importance of fighting corruption at all levels.

Apart from the social injustice it creates, corruption rots institutions.

Each dollar lost to corruption is a dollar taken away from a child deserving an education, a pregnant woman in need of medical attention or a community with water or infrastructure shortages.

Moreover, corruption drives away private investment, so necessary to stimulate economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction. For all these reasons, corruption is an impediment to development.

Conversely, transparency and accountability are crucial elements for countries to move forward. Transparent governments and institutions build trust among both their citizens and investors.

And the same goes for the private sector. Accepting the rules of competitive and regulated systems, without seeking shortcuts outside the system, will also be key. Transparency is essential for countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean region to attract and leverage private investment for development — especially as many countries across the region are running fiscal deficits. This makes it difficult to increase investments in priority areas such as infrastructure, which bears a financing gap of about $180 billion.

Given this situation, the World Bank Group and the Organization of American States (OAS) just launched the Panama Agreement, jointly with the Panamanian government, aimed at enhancing transparency, accountability and the fight against corruption in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The agreement includes measures to improve the quality and transparency of fiscal and financial reporting, strengthen accountability in the public sector and enhance cooperation between governments, the private sector and the civil society. All are key players in the fight against corruption and for countries’ development.

The production of high-quality financial reports from national and sub-national governments, the use of technology tools and platforms for state procurement and public-sector expenses and the adoption of international open government regulations are among the measures proposed.

The agreement also includes measures to prevent and combat tax evasion, illicit financial flows and money laundering.

Other measures are aimed at promoting open and transparent cooperation between governments and the private sector, as well as strengthening processes to secure the inclusion of civil society. All of this has a clear goal: to increase the genuine participation of private-sector financing for development.

The Panama Agreement was presented during the recent “Cuentas Claras 2018: Government Transparency in Collaboration with the Private Sector” regional conference in Panama City, jointly organized by the World Bank Group, OAS and the government of Panama.

The event convened representatives from governments, the private sector, academy, regulatory organizations, civil society, international organizations and the media.

As part of this transparency agenda in recent years, reforms have been implemented to reduce government bureaucracy, foster open data and e-government systems, which we support, as well as initiatives to enhance transparency in national accounts, government budgets and public procurement systems.

The Panama Agreement represents another step toward increased governance in Latin America and the Caribbean.

We encourage all governments, the private sector and civil society organizations to join us in this agreement — through their actions — to achieve a more transparent and prosperous region, free from corruption and to create opportunities for development for all.

Luis Almagro is the secretary general of the Organization of American States. Jorge Familiar is the vice president of the World Bank Latin America and the Caribbean.