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A few weeks ago, the results were presented at an event organized by the Continental University, Intelfin and Management, in which the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Eduardo Vega, the President of the National Penitentiary Council, Susana Silva, the Secretary General of the National Board of Justice, Juan Carlos Cortés, and the Secretary of Integrity (e) of the PCM, Eloy Munive.
Both the National Plan for Integrity and the Fight Against Corruption 2018-2021, as well as two tools thereof, were evaluated: the unique Platform for the Affidavit of Interests (PDJI) and the Register of online visits and official Agendas, all initiatives of the Executive, administered by the PCM.
The Plan is a management instrument that establishes the objectives, guidelines and standards that State institutions must comply with to promote integrity, prevent and punish corruption. The PDJI seeks to make transparent the interests of those who hold positions in the public sector with decision-making capacity and resource management, in order to detect and prevent conflicts of interest. While the Visits Registry provides, in real time, detailed information on the visits received by any public servant in a State entity, in order to promote integrity in the performance of their functions.
1. Better communication strategies
Some of the tools are widely known by public officials, but not by the ordinary citizen. Although journalism has helped to make the PDJI and the Register of online visits known due to media cases, massive national information campaigns are needed in all media (written press, radio, TV, social networks, etc.). Citizens cannot use tools they do not know.
2. Diffuse benefits
Although the tools have a great technical solidity, both experts and citizens consider that the direct benefits for the population are not clear and depend on the efficiency with which they are used. Although the preventive approach of the Plan contributes to recovering governance and avoiding deficiencies in systems such as health and education, it is concentrated at the institutional level, distancing itself somewhat from the population. The potential benefits of the PDJI depend on the veracity of the information provided. The Registry of Visits, for its part, seems to have a greater benefit for researchers or analysts than for the citizen himself.
3. Political support is needed
Citizens support all the tools that seek the integrity of the public sector, as well as the frontal fight against corruption, but they perceive that there is not the same support from many politicians. This is especially evident in the PDJI and in the online Visitor Registry.
Authorities and experts say
Eduardo Vega, Minister of Justice and Human Rights
Corruption continues to be one of the main problems of the country: it affects the quality of public service and, therefore, the quality of life of Peruvians. Therefore, it deserves concrete actions. A year ago we did not have some of the tools that have been evaluated and, today, the Traffic Light presents us with specific tasks to perfect them. The results commit us to improve communication, in addition to continuing to require politicians to comply with the Affidavit of Interests and avoid manipulating the Visitor Registry.
Susana Silva, President of the National Penitentiary Council
Public policies in this area must be evaluated within the institutional model in which they were designed. Peru is in a phase of institutional strengthening. The Plan is extremely useful and is on a different level than the PDJI and the Online Visitor Registry. These last two do not intend to combat corruption, but rather seek to consolidate concepts of integrity that help officials to understand the limits they have within the public administration and that citizens appropriate these tools.
Juan Carlos Cortés, Secretary General of the National Board of Justice
The methodology of these two views is good, although it is necessary to have greater clarity about the profile of the citizen who gives his opinion and complement these opinions with data. Since the greatest criticism of these instruments is the communicational part, it is important to highlight that, given the situation, it is difficult to communicate positive issues (they are not “news”). The Plan and its execution could benefit from more innovative mechanisms. Both the PDJI and the Registry of Visits seek to define the spaces for those who could incur acts of corruption, which is important.
Eloy Munive, Secretary of Integrity (e) of the PCM
The potential of these tools is being recognized, despite not having been conceived a long time ago (for example, in 2018 interest management was not recognized as a problem to be addressed). The population considers that the Plan is a valuable tool and whose results are of public interest, although many achievements (such as the justice reform) are not directly related to it. Recently, we have completed a mid-term report (the first two years of the Plan) that we have to disseminate and make visible.
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