Under revised disclosure policy, all core OIG reports to be published

Author:

David Garmaise

Article Type:

Article Number: 7

The revised policy will cover a series of 2013 reports on internal Secretariat processes that remain sealed from the public

ABSTRACT The Global Fund's revised disclosure policy will make all reports on the assurance and investigation work of the Office of the Inspector General public, including future reports on internal Global Fund Secretariat processes.

DECISION POINT: GF/B31/DP11

All reports on the assurance and investigation work of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will be made public under a revised disclosure policy adopted by the Global Fund Board at its 31st meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia.

This will include OIG functional reviews of processes at the Global Fund Secretariat, as well as reports on in-country audits and investigations.

The OIG’s previous disclosure policy, dated November 2009, envisioned this level of transparency but was over-ridden by a clause in the OIG Charter, adopted in March 2013 that approved publication only of reports on OIG’s external assurance and investigation work. Internal assurance findings would be reported to the executive director and the Audit and Ethics Committee (AEC) only.

The clause in the OIG Charter has left reports on functional reviews of Secretariat processes over 2013 with limited disclosure, including reports the practice of embedding specialists in country teams; the recoveries process; procurement and supply management quality control; and the Fund’s external communications. These reports will not be released retroactively despite the amendment of the Charter and the complementary revision of the disclosure policy.

The revisions spell out exceptional circumstances that could produce delays or modifications of reports prior to publication. Among them are the potential exposure of a whistleblower to retaliation, and the potential impediment of an investigation undertaken by the OIG or other entities. In these instances, the Inspector General makes a request to the leadership of the AEC and the Board to restrict the publication of a report. .

The output of “consulting and other services” provided by the OIG will remain sealed. This refers to cases where the OIG is asked for advice (as opposed to the OIG deciding on its own to review something).

Additional articles about the OIG’s report to the Board during the 31st meeting are here and here.

Read the article in French. Lire l’article en français.