Paraguay launches “Stamp of Integrity”, inspired by Brazilian anti-corruption experience

The government of Paraguay launched, on Wednesday (May 4 ^th ), "Stamp of Integrity", an initiative that integrates a set of actions to fight corruption and fraud that this country has been carrying out over the past few years. In the words of the Minister of Industry and Commerce of Paraguay, Mr. Luis Alberto Castiglioni, the stamp intends to contribute to a structural change in his country, through the development of a new way of doing business, based on a culture of integrity and ethics. "We know that this is a project that will take two to three generations to get consolidated. We are talking about a cultural shift, and we are optimistic about this process”, he said.

The stamp was launched with the support of the trilateral technical cooperation project, "Strengthening Integrity in Times of Crisis" , which focuses on fighting corruption in public management. The initiative is part of the portfolio of actions under the Brazil-Germany Technical Cooperation Program (CTBA, acronym in Portuguese), and will be implemented through a partnership between the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC, acronym in Portuguese), under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE, acronym in Portuguese), the Office of the Comptroller General of the Nation (CGU, acronym in Portuguese) , the National Anti-Corruption Secretariat (SENAC, acronym in Spanish) of Paraguay and the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ, acronym in German) . ABC is responsible for funding and coordinating the initiative, while CGU will share technical knowledge on the subject. The German cooperation, in turn, will offer specialized human resources and support to technical visits in both countries.

Authorities and technical teams of the Paraguayan, Brazilian and German governments, partners in the technical cooperation project, participated in the launch ceremony. On behalf of Brazil, the minister of CGU, Mr. Wagner do Campos Rosário, participated; as well as the Brazilian ambassador-designate in Paraguay, Mr. José Marcondes de Carvalho; the deputy director of ABC, Minister Mariana Madeira, and their advisors.

With reference to the Program Empresa Pró-Etica (Pro-Ethics Company Program), carried out by CGU in Brazil, the Paraguayan government developed a program of incentives for companies in the public and private sectors, based on standards of business integrity, so that adherence to Stamp of Integrity can represent a turning point, and bring about positive impacts on increasing the transparency and profitability of approved companies. According to the minister of SENAC, Mr. René Fernández, the stamp intends to especially support private companies that provide services to the public sector, by making them aware of the importance of their role in preventing corruption and the positive financial impacts that result from it.

The minister of CGU, Mr. Wagner de Campos Rosário, recalled that the Pro-Ethics Company Program was launched in 2010, as a pioneering initiative in Latin America, created to stimulate voluntary adoption of integrity and corruption prevention measures within the business sector, thus fostering a more honest, ethical and transparent corporate environment. From then on, the instruments and criteria for recognition by the program have been improved, with a record number of registrations in the last edition (2020-2021), in which 67 companies were approved. "I hope that we can share all the lessons we learned with Paraguayan institutions, so that Stamp of Integrity achieves results that strengthen the fight against corruption, and the economic development of the country, with a focus on making societies fairer and more prosperous. Count on us!” , he concluded.

On behalf of the Brazilian embassy in Paraguay, Minister-Counsellor João Carlos Storti highlighted Brazil's efforts to build mechanisms to fight corruption and fraud, whose successes should then be shared with other countries through technical cooperation. "Sharing implies not only helping those who receive. It also involves collaborating, learning. And this is the spirit of the project 'Strengthening Integrity in Times of Crisis', which supports today's initiative. Today's event shows that the path to prosperity is built on cooperation”, he said.

Wolfgang Erdmannsdörfer, counsellor to the German Embassy in Paraguay, said that the effects of corruption, apparently beneficial to some, are in fact extremely damaging to the whole of society. “The fight against corruption in the public and private sectors is fundamental. We are pleased that the trilateral cooperation, through this partnership between Paraguay, Brazil and Germany, is being strengthened by this project, which stimulates an exchange of South-South experiences”, he said.

Following the launch of an institutional video that explains and promotes Stamp of Integrity, the representatives of the National Anti-Corruption Secretariat, Ms. Clara Aquino, and the Transparency and Anti-Corruption Unit of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Paraguay, Ms. Giannina Ríos, presented the Stamp of Integrity adhesion criteria, which can be adapted according to the size of each company. “The word integrity, whose meaning in Guarani is 'to develop trust', is fundamental for successful trade relations,” Giannina said.

Learn more about Stamp of Integrity in the videos available on our YouTube channel.