Colombian companies join the fight against corruption

The Secretariat of Transparency of the Presidency of the Republic on February 10 launched the “Private companies active in compliance with anti-corruption measures (EACA)” initiative. This initiative seeks to remove the incentives for corrupt practices through compliance programmes, as well as to strengthen the competitiveness of the country through the creation of a more transparent and open business scenario.

The EACA initiative of the Secretariat of Transparency was put together by industry associations and multinational companies like Alpina, Bavaria, c, Hocol, Pfizer, Telefónica and Siemens, with the aim of raising corruption preventionstandards in companies to international levels. The EACA initiative consists of a registry of companies that meet a series of transparency and corruption prevention standards and objectives in three dimensions: leadership of senior management, promotion of an anti-corruption culture within the company and with third parties, and prevention of corruption risks.

Since 2013, the European Union’s EUROsociAL II programme has provided significant support to the Secretariat of Transparency in the design and implementation of the initiative within the framework of the “Transparency and anti-corruption” action coordinated by the FIIAPP with its operational partner the CEDDET Foundation. The EACA project uses as a reference the experience of the “Pro-Ethics Registries” of Brazil, promoted by the Controller-General of the Union (CGU) and the ETHOS Institute. The delegated cooperation project of the European Union, ACTUE Colombia, implemented by the FIIAPP, is taking the baton for working with Colombia institutions in the consolidation of this registry.

At the inaugural event, the Secretary of Transparency, Camilo Enciso, urged companies to participate in the initiative as an opportunity to assess themselves and analyze their management in the area of prevention of corrupt practices.