Why are we different

We have been asked in what way we are different from the other NGOs, whose work is centred on governance, on integrity and against corruption. In the specific case of Mozambique, where few NGOs work in this area, the question has been asked as to whether the Center for Public Integrity won’t be “just another one of these NGOs.…?”

The answer is “no”.

►First, we are different because we base our work on empirical research and not on information produced by third parties. We have been undertaking qualitative research on corruption, identifying the opportunities and the risks, drawing attention to the type of reform needed. We do not base our work on surveys about perceptions, but on studies that try to identify the nature of corrupting practices, and the profile of the exchanges, etc.

►Second, we have a strong advocacy and training component. We think it urgent to provide stakeholders with the tools of knowledge and action so that they may take control of their own destiny. The advocacy and training we have been undertaken make thus objective possible.

►Third, we are different because we provide information. Information is an important instrument for society to understand better the possibilities of demanding accountability. It is also an instrument for the public powers to understand that accountability and transparency are basic requirements of governance; and for all to understand that transparency is not an end in itself, but a way of making viable the participation of society in development.

►Fourth, we are an organisation independent of all powers and that can express itself freely. We are not tied to any political force, or to any economic power. Our party is the public good. We are a genuinely Mozambican organisation, but which understands the local and global contexts of the problems of humanity.

►Fifth, we are not “just another one of those NGOs.....”. We rely on internal transparency, in a clear and specific way. In this phase, we are counting heavily on the component of Institutional Development, which allows us to have the capacity to manage our own organization, taking into account the most demanding management standards. ▄