Alliance for Integrity and its role as a partner in Peru's anti-corruption efforts

According to the national bureau of statistics (INEI) of Peru, 60 percent of citizens consider corruption as the country's main public problem. The problem extends to the highest levels of public office.

The fight against corruption has intensified over the last years, which is mainly reflected in the policy and the National Plan for Integrity and the Fight against Corruption. This has led to increased priority being given to corruption prevention, risk management and cross-institutional coordination to prevent and prosecute bribery offenses and other crimes. There is also a growing effort in the private sector to promote a culture of integrity and address bribery and other forms of corruption.

The Alliance for Integrity has been working in Peru since 2021 to promote integrity in the economic system and contribute to a corruption-free business environment in the long term. In cooperation with the Transparent Public Investment Project (TPI) of USAID Peru, the Governance Project of GIZ Peru and the German-Peruvian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, compliance experts and other professionals around the country have received training within the framework of Alliance for Integrity's training program DEPE (De Empresas para Empresas).

To continue and further develop the successful cooperation, Alliance for Integrity entered a new agreement with the GIZ project "Promoting Evidence-Based and Integrity-Based Public Administration in Peru" at the beginning of July 2022.

In preparation for this agreement and in order to strengthen the exchange with partners in Peru following difficulties in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Director of Alliance for Integrity, Susanne Friedrich, and Network Manager for the Andean region, Marco Perez, both visited the Andean country in June, where they held a series of meetings with representatives of the Peruvian government and business executives, including Eloy Munive, Head of the Secretariat for Public Integrity, whose team presented a draft of a new law aimed at facilitating the investigation, prosecution and punishment of judicial entities in cases of corruption. Another groundbreaking bill will see the bribery of public officials using promises, benefits or unlawful gratuities that constitute sexual conduct or an act

In the exchange with business initiative "Empresarios por la Integridad" (Entrepreneurs for Integrity), President Oscar Caipo and Vice President Mariela García De Fabbri explained the strategy of the initiative founded in 2018. They presented their certification program, in which the Alliance for Integrity's integrity training will play a role in the future, according to a result of the conversation.

Further discussions were held with representatives of the Peruvian Court of Audit, the CEO of the German-Peruvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and her team, and USAID, among others.

During the talks, it became clear that, in addition to the training offered by the Alliance for Integrity, the Collective Action approach is of great interest to all partners and that there is a willingness to expand the dialogue between the public sector, business and civil society on issues of corruption prevention. Thanks to the new agreement with the GIZ project, this can now be brought to life by all participants in the coming years.