“Después de haber dedicado mi vida a monitorear, auditar y analizar elecciones y campañas, acá estoy de candidata”. La frase es parte del discurso que hoy dio Delia Ferreira al ser elegida como presidente de Transparency International. Es uno de los logros más importantes del país en el mundo. No pertenece al gobierno, pero es radical. Es una de las expertas más importantes en temas electorales que tiene la Argentina. Es de las pocas personas que puede mantener una conversación sobre el tema con Jorge Landau y Alejandro Tullio. Su solidez la hace responsable de haber volteado el voto electrónico que propuso el gobierno en el Congreso el año pasado.
Aquí el video que registra el momento de la votación en Berlín:
Aquí el texto completo del discurso que dijo hoy en Berlín:
Dear TI Members, ladies and gentlemen
In this special moment of TI’s history and having devoted my life to monitoring, auditing and analyzing elections and campaigns, here I am running for election. And I must recognize that elections in TI are not so different from political elections as many people would expect.
I have served the Argentine National Chapter for many years and still do and I have also served the whole movement as member of the International Board for two periods.
As lawyer and consultant, I work with NGOs, business sector and international organizations. This background gives me the possibility to see and analyse our work both from the local and the global perspective.
We have devoted a lot of time these days reviewing TI recent past. I will devote these five minutes to talk about the future of TI in a world that each day is becoming more uncertain and changing.
When disruptive change is used, it should be for a short period and steps must follow. Now we should move ahead, undergo the stage of stabilization and rebuilding, restoring trust and confidence and healing the divisions generated by the disruption.
The characteristics of the leadership to oversee the phase of stabilization and renewal are quite different from those of the leadership who oversees the disruption.
In the stage we are facing, the leader must be a team leader, must be able to listen and generate consensus. The new leadership must be capable of creating an inclusive environment, committed to foster participatory processes, effective in restoring confidence, trust and enthusiasm among the members and the staff. The new leader must find the ways to guarantee a space for every member of the community, as well as respect for our values and procedures.
As Malika said yesterday, disruptive change is just a moment and shall not last forever. It is time to go ahead and overcome divisions. It is time to stop looking inward and to concentrate our common efforts on fighting corruption, which is an ever-changing social, political, and economic phenomenon which challenges us in new and more sophisticated ways.
Globalization and technology have changed the nature of corruption. Like José so well explained in many international fora, Grand corruption is a new animal. I agree. But it is not the only animal out there. The other corruption “animals” (petty corruption, political corruption, conflict of interest, abuse of power, nepotism, abuse of privileged information, among others) are still causing problems in many parts of the world, affecting service access, increasing poverty and inequality, jeopardizing human development and seriously menacing citizen rights, freedom, and democracy.
I think that TI is not a one-issue-only organization. The richness of our movement is precisely its diversity and its extension in terms of geographical presence.
Needs, conditions, possibilities vary from country to country. NCs shall be relevant in their national context and shall be respected by the other members of the movement and by TI-S when working on the issues they see as appropriate.
This diversity offers us the possibility to tackle all types of corruption where they appear. We should strengthen our efforts in all directions from grand corruption to petty corruption, from prevention to sanction, from public to private sector and civil society organizations, from service delivery to legislation, from disclosure to accountability, from the international to local arena.
The strength of TI is not the presence of one person, one idea or one approach. Our strength comes from our diversity. A diversity that should not be interpreted as a cleavage or the basis for division and confrontation. Our strength comes from the unity of a diverse group which becomes a team fighting together for a common objective: a world without corruption.
In my view the priorities now are the following:
- We shall work together to heal the divisions that may have been created. We shall restore the sense of community and unity which in no ways means uniformity.
- We shall work together with the new Managing Director to restore stability, trust and an appropriate working climate at TI-S.
TI-S should help Chapters and IMs to perform and coordinate their actions instead of being a source of concern and confusion.
- We shall work hard on communication among members.
Simplicity and efficiency shall be the principles in this respect.
- The Board shall work as a team and perform its oversight duties without assuming or interfering with managerial responsibilities.
We must ensure that the Board provides the necessary space to the management to operate independently, with full accountability and transparency in a policy framework befitting our mandate and reputation
- With a well-functioning Board and Secretariat, we shall address the necessary changes in our governance structure.
I see governance modifications as the result of a collective reflection, not as a top-down imposition.
We, the members of TI, should think about our organization, our governance structure, and our way of conducting the institution.
We are a large international organization, and consequently, we should think about ways to create new spaces of coordination like the Executive Directors group.
What can you expect from me?
Full commitment to our principles and values
Full respect for the rules and procedures
Team-leadership and team-work
Listening capacity
Sensible and prudent attitude
Patience and perseverance
Sincere disposition to work hard and to serve the movement
Transparency, Integrity and Accountability are the principles that shall guide our work as an organization. We shall walk the talk.
In this, I will lead!
Thank you very much.