No control, no monitoring Confederation pays billions against corruption - but doesn't know if it's doing any good
The Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) criticizes the fact that Switzerland neither specifically controls nor systematically reviews its fight against corruption in international cooperation. According to the SFAO, the two responsible offices do not have a clear operational strategy.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- According to the SFAO, Switzerland lacks an overall strategy for combating corruption in international cooperation.
- The SDC and SECO define neither concrete goals nor joint control mechanisms.
- The SFAO calls for clearer responsibilities, binding indicators and better impact measurement.
Every year, Switzerland invests billions in development and economic programs, partly with the aim of preventing corruption and strengthening the rule of law. This policy is intended to create trust in Swiss aid worldwide and ensure that public funds actually reach the population in partner countries.
This makes the current diagnosis by the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) all the more delicate: according to its report published today, the Federal Administration lacks a coherent strategy to ensure the effectiveness of its anti-corruption measures.
According to the report, neither the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) nor the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) have operational objectives, budgets or measurable targets for the fight against corruption. The activities are developed "bottom-up" and are hardly strategically coordinated - systematic monitoring of success is therefore not possible.
Lack of central control
The auditors note that there is no central data basis that shows which projects actually contribute to the fight against corruption. There is no formalized cooperation between the SDC and SECO, although their responsibilities overlap to some extent. As a result, it remains unclear how effective the funds used are.
The SFAO recommends creating a joint coordination platform where information can be pooled, experiences shared and synergies exploited.
Cross-cutting issue without clear responsibility
Anti-corruption is considered a "transversal objective" within Swiss development cooperation - it should be taken into account in all projects. In practice, however, according to the SFAO, this means that the issue rarely takes center stage. Only a few programs focus explicitly on the prevention or detection of corruption.
Although this cross-cutting logic is flexible, it means that there is no clear responsibility. The SFAO warns that without defined priorities and responsibilities, there is a risk that corruption issues will get lost in the project portfolios.
Knowledge without structure, impact without measurement
The SFAO also sees weaknesses in knowledge management: Experience and expertise are not systematically documented and are heavily dependent on individual employees. Institutional learning processes are largely absent.
It is also difficult to record the actual effect of anti-corruption measures. Many projects are designed in such a way that there are hardly any verifiable indicators. The SFAO calls for binding indicators and ex-post evaluations to determine whether projects have a long-term impact.
Both offices acknowledge the criticism in principle, but point to political and operational limits. The SDC emphasizes that operational targets would anticipate political decisions. SECO refers to its zero tolerance policy and says that the report only relates to part of its project work.
The SFAO concludes that there is an urgent need for action to ensure that Switzerland meets its international standards in a credible manner. Without clear objectives, coordinated management and measurable results, it remains unclear whether the billions spent in the fight against corruption will have the desired effect.
