The Ministry of Foreign affaired implemented a number of new measures to strengthen the administration of Norwegian development funds. These include:
- A new whistle-blowing channel will be established on 1 January 2008. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has entered into an agreement with the law firm G-Partner, one of Norway’s leading financial investigation firms, which is headed by lawyer Erling Grimstad. Under the agreement, G-Partner will receive and carry out a preliminary investigation of notifications of suspected misuse of funds.
- A central control unit will be established to ensure that the Ministry’s instructions, systems and routines for financial management are adequate and are followed. The unit will also administer the new whistle-blowing system for suspected cases of misuse of funds.
- A poster explaining whistle-blowing procedures has been produced and new guidelines are being drawn up for dealing with cases of suspected misuse of funds.
- Competence-building measures in this area are being implemented in the Ministry. These include both enhancing general training and establishing new more specialised courses.
These measures are the result of the Ministry’s anti-corruption project, which started one year ago. The project has also helped to bolster Norway’s efforts to fight corruption at international level.
Norway is taking part in a number of international initiatives to fight corruption. For example, we are chairing an international working group that is looking at illegal capital flight from developing countries and the impact this has. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also emphasised the important role the business sector has to play in the fight against corruption. A new, revised edition of the Norwegian version of the information brochure It pays to say no to corruption, which is targeted at Norwegian businesses and administration, has been published.
Norway has also provided NOK 300 000 to support the website Business Anti-corruption Portal, which publishes information on around 50 developing countries to small and medium-sized enterprises, and provides tools for helping them to identify and avoid corruption
The U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre
The 4U centre in Norway assists donor practitioners in more effectively addressing corruption challenges through their development support.
The U4 Resource Centre is operated by the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI), Bergen, Norway - a private social science research foundation working on issues of development and human rights. U4s research on corruption aims both to isolate the economic effects of quid pro quo deals between agents and third parties, and to suggest how legal and institutional reforms might curb harms and enhance benefits.
Read more about The U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre