Posts Tagged ‘financial/business info’

  • 26 April 2012

    U.S. House Passes Bill on Spending Transparency

    The U.S. House of Representatives April 25 easily passed a bill (HR 2416) to standardize the reporting requirements for recipients of federal grants, loans and contracts. The potential uniformity is seen as a way to improve oversight of government spending and was supported by open government advocates and a new industry coalition. The bill would […]

  • 6 February 2012

    Indonesia Groups Appeal Denial of Water Agreement

    A group of Indonesian NGOs led by the People’s Coalition on the Right to Water (KRuHA) is appealing to the National Information Commission the government’s refusal to provide details about the privatization of the water utility in Jakarta. The groups have been seeking access to the agreement that provides the framework for the production and […]

  • 10 March 2011

    Utah Restricts Access to Records Despite Protests

    Utah Governor Gary Herbert Match 8 signed controversial legislation that critics say will restrict access to government records. Instead of vetoing the bill, as opponents urged, Herbert signed a version of the bill that was altered slightly, to delay its effective date until July 1.  This gap is intended to allow time for the potential […]

  • 20 October 2009

    New Report on Aid Transparency: Not Available! Not Accessible!

    Madrid, Spain — Transparency NGO Access Info Europe released a report on October 20 entitled “Not Available! Not Accessible!” to coincide with the opening of the International Aid Transparency Initiative’s conference of donors and recipient governments in the Hague. The report shows how donor governments are failing to make available the information needed to prevent corruption in […]

  • 11 September 2009

    Rep. Frank Urges World Bank to Make Transparency Reforms

    US Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said September 10 that the World Bank should improve its disclosure policy and remove the anti-labor bias from its Doing Business report or else risk reduced US funding. Franks message was delivered at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee at which academics and other witnesses advocated for greater […]

  • 14 April 2009

    World Bank Releases Extremely Useful Reports on Access to Information Implementation

    Over the past few months, the World Bank has recently published a series of extremely useful reports by experts on access to information laws. Using comparative case studies, together these reports provide an overview of the whole life cycle of access to information (ATI) legislation, from adoption to implementation and enforcement. One report examines the role of civil society groups in the formulation and adoption of access to information laws in Bulgaria, India, Mexico, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Another examines the institutional and logistical nuts-and-bolts of implementation, using Mexico as a case study, while the third report looks at models of enforcement in several countries: South Africa, Mexico, Scotland, India, and Hungary.

  • 27 January 2009

    World Bank Expands Disclosures on Debarments

    The World Bank has expanded its policy of disclosing the names of firms and individuals banned from doing business with the Bank. In a Jan. 11 announcement, the Bank said it will reveal the names of firms and individuals barred from providing goods and services directly to the institution. Under existing policy, the Bank discloses […]

  • 16 November 2005

    IFC, EIB, IIC Make Few Concessions on Disclosure About Private Sector Projects

    Three of the major international lenders with a mandate to finance private sector projects with public interest benefits are making few concessions to transparency. Pro-disclosure campaigns are underway to achieve better outcomes in ongoing disclosure policy reviews being conducted by the European Investment Bank and the World Bank’s private sector lending arm, the International Finance […]

  • 1 June 2005

    Sen. Lugar Stresses Transparency in MDB Replenishment Legislation

    The Republican chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Richard Lugar (R-Ind), has made transparency reforms the central focus of legislation that also would authorize U.S. contributions to five multilateral development banks. Lugar’s bill contains instructions to the U.S. representatives at the five institutions, including the World Bank, and tells them to support several […]

  • 11 November 2003

    PHILIPPINES: Court Workers Sing, Dance For Transparency

    SunStar Network (Philippines) reports that court employees, instead of chanting protest lines, sang old-time favorites and danced to boogey tunes as they demanded transparency in the disbursement of the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF). Wearing red shirts or red armbands, the court employees called for a salary increase and transparency in the disbursement of the Judiciary […]

  • 9 May 2003

    JAPAN: Public Highway Corporation Spends Over 1 million Yen to Treat Politicians

    The Yomiuri Shimbun reports that the Japan Public Highway Corporation spent a total of 1.47 million yen to wine and dine 11 lawmakers on 17 different occasions between fiscal 2001 and 2002. Documents, obtained under the Japanese Information Disclosure law, show that the public corporation spent about 77 million yen on entertainment, including the meetings […]

  • 11 May 2002

    New UN Secretary-General Discloses Personal Finances

    The new Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, has disclosed his personal financial statement, the first United Nations Secretary-General to do so. Ban’s statement was made public Jan. 26, and indicates that his net wealth is between $1,210,000 and $2,500,000. The range results from the construction of the disclosure form. For example, his apartment […]