OECD Integrity Review of Brazil
Managing Risks for a Cleaner Public Service
Brazil’s agenda to enhance integrity and prevent corruption is particularly critical in order to address a number of challenges facing the country’s public administration. The challenges include managing risks associated with innovation in public service delivery, achieving value for money and minimising waste in government operations and meeting the expectations of citizens regarding the conduct of public organisations.
This report is the first integrity review of a G20 country undertaken by the OECD. It assesses the implementation and coherence of instruments, processes and structures to create a culture of integrity and to manage risks affecting the operations and performance of public organisations.
The report analyses four main areas of focus : (i) promoting transparency and citizen engagement; (ii) implementing risk-based systems of internal control; (iii) embedding high standards of conduct; and (iv) enhancing integrity in public procurement.
It is complemented by three case studies to highlight issues of integrity management at the level of individual public functions, organisations and programmes: the federal tax administration, the Family Grant (a conditional cash transfer) Programme; and the National STD/AIDS Programme.
Promoting transparency and citizen engagement
Promoting transparency and citizen engagement is considered essential for enhancing accountability and external oversight of public organisations. This chapter examines the progress by the federal government of Brazil over the past decade to increase transparency and mainstream citizen participation in the public administration. These actions have taken place in the absence of a comprehensive freedom of information law, although a draft law is currently under discussion in the National Congress. The proposals for action focus on: i) strengthening preparation for the eventual implementation of a freedom of information law, ii) enhancing the scope and accessibility of information made available through the government’s various transparency portals; iii) assessing the effectiveness of the government’s charter of citizens’ services; and iv) evaluating the effectiveness of the ombudsman system of the federal government.