1. A BLUEPRINT FOR TRANSPARENCY: INTEGRITY PACTS FOR PUBLIC WORKS IN EL SALVADOR
Author: Maya Gainer
When Gerson Martínez became head of El Salvador’s Ministry of Public Works in 2009, the organization was notorious for corruption that contributed to poor-quality construction, unfinished projects, and frequent lawsuits. Working with a prominent nongovernmental organization (NGO) and industry representatives, Martínez introduced integrity pacts as monitoring mechanisms intended to prevent corruption. The agreements publicly committed officials and companies to reject bribery, collusion, and other corrupt practices and enabled NGOs to monitor bidding and construction.
Overview
El Salvador’s commitment had high-level political support, as well as the participation of the private sector and civil society. A USAID-funded Transparency and Governance project provided technical and financial assistance.
Minister of Public Works Gerson Martínez a leading proponent of transparency, built ties with civil society and the private sector.
Mario Rivera, then president of Salvadoran construction industry association CASALCO, and Ismael Nolasco, its executive director, built support in the business community.
Roberto Rubio, executive director of Fundación Nacional para el Desarrollo, and Ramón Villalta, executive director of Iniciativa Social para la Democracia, led the two NGOs involved in the monitoring of the integrity pacts.
Reform Champions
Policy Problems
In El Salvador’s Ministry of Public Works, corrupt practices were widespread. As a result, projects were frequently delayed or incomplete. Some ran millions of dollars over budget. National anti-corruption institutions were weak, making it unlikely that audits or sanctions would be effective in reducing these problems.
In El Salvador’s Action Plan for 2012–14, the Subsecretariat for Transparency and Anti-corruption pledged to implement integrity pacts in major government projects. The commitment was modeled on reforms that were already underway at the Ministry of Public Works. The government later revised the OGP commitment to focus on the construction sector and to include creation of a code of ethics.
OGP Commitment
Gerson Martínez (middle), Minister of Public Works, signs the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST). Source: CoST
By August 2015, the Ministry had signed 31 integrity pacts with civil society groups, covering five major projects worth a total of about US$62 million. Further:
Monitors uncovered no instances of corruption in the projects they examined, although they noted a few implementation issues.
The ministry has not been involved in any lawsuits or paid any legal penalties since 2009—considered an important indicator of corruption prevention. (Earlier officials and companies had sometimes colluded to create contracts that deliberately favored companies in potential lawsuits or arbitration.)
Key Accomplishments
In order for integrity pacts to work, reformers had to address several challenges:
Convince construction companies to participate.
Build the technical knowledge of civil society representatives so they could monitor project progress and completion.
Change the internal culture of the ministry to promote transparency, fair dealing, and coordination with civil society.
Key Challenges
The Ministry of Public Works had already launched integrity pacts prior to El Salvador’s membership in the OGP. The country’s Law on Public Access to Information also provided the necessary legal framework. However, the OGP became more important as the ministry’s initiatives expanded. When the ministry went beyond the initial integrity pact model and embarked on the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST), it viewed the OGP as a way to sustain political will. CoST, which was part of the 2013–14 OGP plan, required more coordination across institutions and therefore “needed to be backed up at a higher level,” said Liz Aguirre, who led the ministry’s Office of Information and Response.
OGP Contribution
The completed Boulevard Monseñor Romero linking San Salvador and Santa Tecla. Source: wwww.share-elsalvador.org
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Professor Jennifer Widner, Director
Pallavi Nuka, Associate Director
Website: successfulsocieties.princeton.edu