Recently, the Technical Commission for Good Governance Practices (CTPBG) of the Latin American Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions issued the Call for the 2022 edition of the Regional Contest on Good Governance. This year, the theme of the contest is citizen participation in the prevention of corruption and its objective is for the staff of the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of the Central American, Caribbean and South regions to reflect on the role of citizens in the prevention of corruption and how it can contribute to strengthening the impact of the work carried out by SAIs. The contributions obtained from the papers that are presented will be valuable inputs to define new and better work strategies in the fight against corruption and promotion of citizen participation in the field of SAIs that are part of the regional organization, which we are not few.
Today, there is consensus regarding the importance of citizen participation in public affairs, since it allows society as a whole to be linked to the functioning of the State, promoting that their needs be the center of the work of public institutions and that actively participate in the search for solutions to the problems that afflict you.
In this sense, a government in which citizens participate, in general, is better prepared to face challenges, such as corruption, since citizens have mechanisms to request information, make complaints and demand accountability. Citizen participation influences the forms and quality of the provision of public services, promotes legislative reforms and has repercussions on the attitudes and performance of public officials, as indicated in Sustainable Development Goal 16 -Peace, justice and institutions solid-, which, among other goals, seeks to significantly reduce corruption and bribery, create effective and transparent institutions that are accountable, and guarantee the adoption of inclusive, participatory, and representative decisions that respond to the demands of the community.
In addition, citizen participation is a key factor in increasing the impact of supreme audit work. OLACEFS has recognized this in different Declarations, specifically in the Declaration of Punta Cana adopted by the XXVI General Assembly of OLACEFS, held in the Dominican Republic from October 18 to 20, 2016. In it, the Organization agreed to promote citizen participation in order to improve the quality of the programs and projects that materialize the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda as well as the public policies that guide them, incorporating their mechanisms into the institutional control of public management.
To achieve this, each SAI, in accordance with its mandate and environment, will define its own strategy to promote citizen participation, in accordance with the parameters and principles set forth in the Declaration itself, in a proactive, progressive manner, defining the issues in which citizens can participate. contribute to the monitoring and control of the implementation of the SDGs, especially in matters related to the improvement of the quality of life and general well-being, through the right of access to information, the establishment of mechanisms for the presentation and processing of complaints, the creation of information systems to facilitate access to audit reports, training and awareness in matters of control and providing spaces for citizens to be part of the decision-making processes in planning, execution and follow-up of the audits.
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