Bank contractors, consultants and suppliers subject to sanctions under new whistle-blowing policy
On 25 April, the African Development Bank Group launched a six-month campaign to raise awareness among its internal and external stakeholders of its new whistleblowing policy, approved by the Boards of Directors on 19 January. This is based on the Bank Group’s 2007 Whistleblowing and Complaint Handling Policy, which, at the time, was considered to be one of the most progressive policies that expresses the importance that the institution attaches to the contributions of whistleblowers to its anti-corruption processes and its zero tolerance for any retaliatory measures against them. counter.
The new whistle-blowing policy sets additional standards: board members and elected representatives of the bank now fall under the disciplinary scope of the policy, where it appears that they have threatened or participated in reprisals against a party, internal or external, that has reported fraud and corruption in the bank’s operations, or participated in audits, investigations and disciplinary processes. Strengthening its ability to protect external whistleblowers, the new policy classifies reprisals by external actors in the context of operations financed by the Bank Group as obstruction practices, subject to exclusion in the Bank Group’s sanctions system. The new policy ensures that the Bank Group will continue to protect natural or legal persons who disclose in good faith cases of fraud or corruption, who refuse to break the law by making public disclosures, who challenge national or international illegality, as well as abuse of power, mismanagement, blatant waste or serious threats to health or safety; who are wrongly identified as whistleblowers; which includes Bank Group staff and consultants, individuals, development partners, non-governmental organizations, professional organizations, government officials and officials from other international financial organizations; and employees of suppliers and contractors involved in projects funded by the Bank Group, by making the guarantee of whistleblower rights by employers a contractual clause.
The new whistle-blowing policy also ensures due process by providing temporary assistance to victims of reprisals pending the final resolution of their complaint, protects the rights of those who seek protection from reprisal by whistle-blowers, so that they may have recourse against decisions taken by the bank, Preserves the anonymity of whistleblowers by maintaining the confidentiality of its procedures, protects the right of whistleblowers to be informed of the progress of their requests.
The Bank Group Boards of Directors have committed to re-examine the new policy in 2028, after five years of implementation, taking into account evaluation reports and stakeholder feedback.
In 2007, the US-based Government Accountability Project (GAP), reviewed the bank’s whistleblowing policy and indicated that the Bank Group was the first multilateral development bank to substantially comply with the whistleblower transparency reforms, that US Senators Patrick Leahy (elected Democrat of Vermont) and Richard Lugar (elected Republican of Indiana) drafted and ratified in an American finance law in October 2005. The 2007 policy establishes “a new standard to protect staff and others from potential reprisals when they report fraud or corruption [with] a guarantee of the employment of successful whistle-blowers and reprisals”, according to the GAP.
Six months of whistleblowing awareness campaign 2023
Speaking at the launch of the whistle-blowing campaign at the bank’s headquarters in Abidjan on 25 April, the Director of the Bank Group’s Integrity and Anti-Corruption Office, Paula Santos-Da Costa, said: “the campaign will be spread over a period of six months at the bank’s headquarters, in its regional and national offices and in its regional member countries.” Ms Santos-Da Costa, the bank’s designated whistleblower protection officer, said the campaign would be carried out through various activities, such as setting up information offices, disseminating information materials, training and communication, fact sheets and FAQs. The beneficiary communities of projects financed by the African Development Bank will also be involved, as well as civil society organisations, relevant professional bodies, contractors and officials involved in the implementation of projects.
The Director of the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Office also said that an internal directive had been developed and published to “ensure the strategic and effective implementation of the 2023 whistleblowing policy.”
The Integrity and Anti-Corruption Office of the African Development Bank Group is responsible for preventing and deterring acts of corruption, fraud and all practices liable to sanctions in operations financed by the Bank Group and to investigate allegations in this regard. He is also responsible for coordinating the implementation of the Bank Group’s whistleblowing policy and maintaining the whistleblower complaint channels.
