| UK Minister attacks corrupt construction industry |
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| Wednesday, 20 June 2007 | |
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New plans to help tackle $400bn of corruption in the global construction industry were announced today by the Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn. At a meeting attended by international construction firms, NGOs as well as representatives from Vietnam, Ghana and Tanzania, Hilary Benn outlined how a new initiative to increase transparency and accountability in the construction sector will work. He also announced that the UK will lead the way by being one of the pilot countries for the new initiative. The Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST) will bring together the essential players in publicly funded construction projects including government ministries and agencies, construction companies and contractors, and civil society. It will work on the principle of making information available to, and accessible by the public. Information will be made public on: *the purpose and location of a project; *its projected cost, and specification; and *quality and cost of final outcome. Hilary Benn said: "The global construction industry has a poor reputation for corruption, with a conservative estimate of 10% of its $4 trillion global turnover lost to corruption." "And the poorest countries suffer the most. Delayed and dangerous buildings mean not being able to get more children into school or safely treat patients in clinics and hospitals. And the poorest countries are least able to afford the extra costs associated with fraud, bribery, and extortion. "The new initiative will help deliver a 'get what you pay for' culture to the industry. It will help create greater transparency around the flow of money, and the quality of roads, schools, hospitals that are built with it. "The UK will lead the way by becoming one of the pilot countries which will have an immediate impact on the UK industry and help build momentum. The benefit for the UK construction industry could be enormous, setting higher international standards for transparency and efficiency, levelling the playing field, and allowing them to access markets previously out of bounds because of pressure to pay bribes." |
