CIVIL SOCIETY'S ADVOCACY AND CONTRIBUTION TO ANTI-CORRUPTION EFFORTS

The ability of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to monitor a government's activities and to hold authorities accountable hinges on several factors- their internal capacity and the political environment in which they operate.

Civil society's ability to serve as a check and stabilize influence on a state depends on its capacity to successfully innovate and establish productive working relationship with the government.

In many instances, the limited impact of CSOs is the result of a combination of internal and external factors. Internally, CSOs need high qualified professionals that have the expertise to demand government reform and accountability. CSOs also need to have strong links to the general public in order to ensure their legitimacy. CSOs must be able to speak on behalf of large social groups when negotiating their positions with political actors. In other words, the ability of CSOs to act as mediators between the state and society depends on its social roots and strong bonds with the interests of those they claim to represent. Indeed, CSOs can be insulated at large if they are seen to pursue an agenda that does not quite reflect the concerns of the majority of citizens.

Finally when a government frequently dismisses critical statements by CSOs and considers that the COS's actions are an hindrance to the decision-making process, it undermines CSOs' efforts to exercise their advocacy and watchdog functions. In such cases, few CSOs are able to walk the line between criticizing government and simultaneously working with the government on issues where there is an opportunity for constructive engagement.

Several activities can contribute to strengthening the role played by civil society in anti-corruption efforts:

• Encourage an institutional environment conducive to the development of civil society and to its participation in public affairs
• Adopt laws that facilitate the establishment of CSOs;
• Promote the development of independent media, able to scrutinise government operations freely:
• Increase the transparency of government operations;
• Promote the co-operation of public and civil society actors in anti-corruption efforts;
• Encourage a broad mobilisation against corruption; and
• Strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations by providing CSOs with information and expertise; supporting training programmes; contributing to the raising of funds.

In efforts against domestic corruption, the contribution civil society can make will be all the more important, if CSOs are well integrated into society, and are not compromised by questionable political allegiances. Civil society can then fulfil irreplaceable functions such as channeling information from citizens to the State to design appropriate strategies, enrolling the participation and support of citizens and enterprises in the implementation of anti-corruption policies, maintaining pressure for a political commitment against corruption.