Combating Corruption Digitally
By Alexandra Scacco

Electronic government (e-government) is the application of information technology tools and techniques to the workings of government for the benefit of its "customers"—citizens and businesses—as well as of itself. In theory at least, to be effective e-government should focus on meeting citizens’ needs. It should aim to provide greater access to information and better and more fairly distributed services to the public. Not all e-government initiatives have the same priorities. Some are entirely focused on improving the quality of public service delivery; others, particularly in developing countries, have given priority to strengthening the economic sector to attract foreign investment; and still others have focused on broadening public participation in drafting legislation.

E-government is broadly expected to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of executive government functions, especially the delivery of public services; make governments more transparent and accountable to citizens and businesses; and change the relationships between citizens and the state with large implications for democracy and government structure.

In a number of cases increasing transparency, accountability, and predictability in public procedures and rule making have been the primary goals. When government leaders and public stakeholders are firmly committed to these ends, e-government can be a vital tool in combating corruption.

Three striking case studies from Argentina, the Indian state of Gujarat, and South Korea demonstrate that increased openness of information about the decisions and actions of government functionaries and greater civic engagement drastically reduce the incentives and opportunities for rent-seeking and corruption among public officials.

Argentina: The Cristal Government Initiative

Perceptions of government corruption were a major political issue in Argentina in the late 1990s. The goal of the Cristal Government Initiative, launched in September 1999, was to make available all information concerning the public use of funds in Argentina online (see http://www.cristal.gov.ar/). This included not only statistics on the amount of money devoted to different government programs, but information on the process through which these funds are administered. Thus the Cristal project web site aims to empower citizens by giving them information that allows them to monitor their political representatives more effectively.

The web site was designed to be as user friendly as possible and is organized around three basic themes: an explanation of how public funds are redistributed between the central government and the provinces, an information hub on central government policies for public evaluation, and a summary of information on the management of corruption in the public and private sectors. As an accountability measure, an external body comprised of representatives of 15 transparency-focused NGOs audits the web site annually.

Even though the web site encountered some initial difficulties, such as failing to meet the high expectations it set for itself in terms of content availability, it has been restructured several times and has served as a source of top-down legitimacy in the campaign against public corruption. The Cristal project has also been successfully "sold" to a number of central government agencies as a means to improve their weak public image. As a result, many agencies have improved their data gathering practices in response to questions submitted on the website.

Gujarat, India: Check Post Monitoring

The common practice of overloading commercial trucks traveling on Gujarati highways had become a major safety hazard and a source of excise and sales tax evasion. This, combined with the massive corruption problems among public border inspectors, many of whom had been suspended for harassing and robbing truck drivers, led to the overhaul of Gujarat’s traditional check post system in 1998. The state government installed computers and electronic equipment at 10 remote interstate border check posts and introduced a computerized system for issuing and collecting fines.

The automated process relies on video cameras installed at the check posts to capture vehicle registration numbers, which are then transferred to a centralized electronic database so that electronic fine notices may be issued on the spot. Vehicle drivers have the option of carrying prepaid cards to allow for the immediate collection of fines and to avoid carrying cash, thereby reducing the amount of discretion and corruption among check post officials.

Through the use of computer and information technology, Gujarati officials managed to drastically curb corruption at the check posts and tripled state tax revenues over a two-year period by reducing the number of illegally overloaded commercial trucks and making fine collection significantly easier. This successful e-government program paid for itself in just six months, and also reduced the average waiting time at check posts for drivers from 30 minutes to only 2 minutes.

Seoul, South Korea: The "OPEN" Anticorruption Portal

More than a decade of rapid economic growth in Korea led to the drastic expansion of Seoul’s municipal bureaucracy and opened numerous avenues for corruption, particularly in the form of bribes extracted by public officials for speedy processing of applications for business licenses and permits. This had become such a widespread problem that in 1998 the newly elected mayor, Goh Kun, pledged to lead a war on corruption. As part of this campaign he supported the creation of the Online Procedures Enhancement for Civil Applications (OPEN) Internet portal, which provides a wide range of information on services, permits, and licenses issued by the municipal government. The web site makes these administrative procedures transparent to the public and allows individuals who have applied for permits to check the status of their applications online. (To view the English version of the web site go to http://english.metro.seoul.kr/government/policies/anti/civilapplications/.)

The portal also outlines the elements of the anticorruption campaign, includes an anticorruption index, and displays the results of surveys on government corruption. Going beyond educating citizens on government procedures, it allows them to voice their opinions on how the government is progressing toward meeting the transparency benchmarks it has set.

Seoul’s city government invested heavily in the OPEN project. More than 5,000 employees in nearly 500 city departments were trained to use the computer program for processing applications, and in recent years many other government functions have been made public through the Internet, including 20 civil affairs functions. According to a survey of around 1,100 people, approximately 84 percent believed that the OPEN project had increased transparency in the Seoul government.

Conclusion

The three initiatives have been successful for a number of reasons, namely:

• All were strongly supported by political leaders at the local and central government levels.

• All increased the accountability of public officials to citizens and to their government by increasing transparency in their daily operating procedures and increasing the risks of rent-seeking. Government rules, procedures, and punishments were clearly articulated and made predictable.

• In the Argentinean and Korean cases in particular, the public was engaged in the e-government process.

E-government should be seen as a means to facilitate already envisioned reforms. Technology is an important facilitator, but it cannot produce results on its own. Political commitment, public resources, and citizen engagement are necessary ingredients for success.

The author is at the Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and can be reached by email at Alex_Scacco@ksg.harvard.edu.