INTEGRATED COMPANY REPORT 2014 - GIZ. Solutions that work.

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Local development and democratisation | Having a say in how
their local authority spends money, mechanisms for pursuing
complaints directly and swift access to officialdom – people
are satisfied with their municipality when it is responsive and
when public services are geared to their needs. Then they are
also willing to pay fees and taxes, and get involved themselves.
Just what a positive effect citizen participation has on
satisfaction in local authorities is demonstrated by the pro-
gramme ‘Local governance and civil society development’,
which GIZ is implementing in the Palestinian territories on
behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Coop-
eration and Development (BMZ). The programme is being
cofinanced by the development agencies of Denmark and
Switzerland. An independent evaluation mission has con-
firmed the success of the programme to date. It found that
overall satisfaction with local services has risen by 10 per cent.
In more than 130 municipalities, local non-governmen-
tal organisations, private-sector associations and women’s
organisations have so far helped decide how money is spent in
their local authorities – whether on a new road, a primary
school or a hospital extension. According to a survey, nine out
of ten people involved are satisfied with this planning proce-
dure. The ‘Youth Create Change’ initiative was launched to
increase participation by young people. In 2014 this initiative
was among the winners in the Council of Europe Democracy
Innovation Award. Almost 200 people are getting involved on
the ground, taking part in youth councils, planning action
programmes and motivating others to get on board.
Another exemplary approach is the one-stop shop
created in twelve municipalities. These offices provide people
with a single point of contact for the delivery of important
municipal services, ranging from water and electricity bills to
the licensing of businesses. Now that half a million people
have used the service and payment rates have risen by 20 per
cent, these shops are being opened right across the West Bank
and the Gaza Strip. This is being supported by the Municipal
Development and Lending Fund (MDLF). This fund was set
up for investment in local infrastructure and is being pro-
moted by GIZ along with twelve other development partners,
including KfW Development Bank.
Having a say is also the key to civic engagement in large
municipalities in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. When citi-
zens are involved in decision-making they are more likely to
become actively engaged, for instance in cleaning up their
beaches, beautifying public squares or building youth centres.
Since 2008 GIZ has been working on behalf of the BMZ to
strengthen local authorities in the Maghreb region in order
that they become agents for development and democracy in
their own countries. This involves supporting more direct
mechanisms of participation, such as local elections, promot-
ing local associations and modernising training systems for
local authority experts.
Here too, local governments have more responsive governance
on their agenda. If citizens want to apply for a building permit
or pursue a complaint, they can now do so through one of the
newly established citizens’ offices. Since many municipalities
in the Maghreb face similar challenges, knowledge sharing
between them is an important component of this project.
GIZ is organising this, partly through study trips to partner
cities in Germany. These enable delegates to benefit from the
lessons learned by local governments and associations in
Germany. //
03
Compliance | Corruption is one of the greatest constraints
to development, and leads to a waste of resources. By ‘cor-
ruption’ we mean the abuse of legitimate power for private
benefit and gain. This also includes bribery, accepting or
receiving gifts or other advantages, and employing or award-
ing contracts to closely connected or related persons. As a
federal enterprise GIZ is obliged to a particular degree to
use resources efficiently and transparently. Moreover, for
the projects we implement on behalf of the German Federal
Development Ministry (BMZ) we also have a binding frame-
work for action in the BMZ strategy paper ‘Anti-Corruption
and Integrity in Germany Development Policy’.
Within GIZ the Integrity Committee is the highest body
responsible for decision-making on all integrity-related pol-
icy issues. It is made up of the Chair of the Management
Board, the Labour Relations Director, the directors general
of the Commercial Affairs Department and the Human
Resources Department and the directors of the Legal Affairs/
Insurance and the Auditing Units.
GIZ has adopted a Code of Conduct that is binding for
all employees and business partners. It includes orientation
and rules on ethical conduct, and guiding principles for
action to ensure among other things equal treatment, coop-
eration in partnership and transparency. Two integrity advi-
sors and an external ombudswoman are available to offer
advice, and can be contacted should the Code be breached.
To prevent corruption in our service delivery pro-
cesses we use special IT systems. We also apply the rota-
tion principle, according to which staff members who hold
responsible positions in areas where the potential for cor-
ruption is high move to other positions at regular intervals.
GIZ intends to further develop its compliance man-
agement in the future. In the course of 2015 we intend to
establish a Compliance and Integrity Unit that will monitor
compliance with external and internal regulations and
requirements, and initiate pertinent improvements. //
Anti-corruption and integrity | Compliance with our Code of Conduct is an integral component
of all contracts of employment with GIZ. To supplement an obligatory induction module for
new staff and staff switching positions on all salary levels, GIZ added a further e-learning
module on ethical conduct in 2014. Staff members anywhere can update or extend their own
knowledge by accessing this module online. Using interactive elements and numerous exam-
ples, the module provides users with a practical understanding of how to prevent corruption
and maintain compliance. //
// Worldwide
// Worldwide
Integrity
New online training measures
Palestinian territories – contact: //
Maghreb – contact: // (in German)
GIZ’s Code of Conduct: // Anti-Corruption and Integrity in German Development Policy:
Contact: |
Code of Conduct:
// Palestinian territories and the Maghreb
More responsive local government –
More citizen satisfaction
278
employees took part in
these training measures
between September and
December 2014.
GIZ Integrated Company Report 2014 40 41 Promoting good governance