Transparency International

“Russian Plane Bombers Exploited Corrupt System.” This was the headline from the Washington Post Foreign Service on Saturday, September 18, 2004. Two radical Chechen women became suicide bombers on two separate planes in Moscow. One paid a paltry bribe of approximately $34 to board an airplane on the night of August 24, 2004. Their evil acts killed 90 people.1 Granted, the repercussions from most corruption do not have as severe consequences as this; however, it still hurts economies and ultimately everyone suffers. When things are done in the open, people tend to be more honest. The term transparency conveys the idea that openness, and therefore honesty, reigns. Transparency International (TI), referring to itself in its publications as the “global civil society organization leading the fight against corruption,” was begun in May 1993 by Peter Eigen, then the World Bank’s resident representative in East Africa in the late 1980s and early 1990s (http://www.transparency.org). Eigen, encouraged by friends, cultivated a passion and determination to eradicate corruption opportunities worldwide. Noting the initial lack of support of the World Bank for his endeavors, Eigen resigned “under a cloud” after trying to convince the World Bank to address issues of corruption during its programs. Time has passed, wounds have been healed, and now the World Bank embraces the TI movement. In a TI newsletter, Chairman Eigen states that he has witnessed huge changes for the good, in Kenya for example, since the early ’90s when TI was in its infancy. Eigen concludes his opening remarks by stating that “TI will continue to engage with governments and the private sector,