Operational review on aid integrity in DRC

For a number of years now, Groupe URD has been working on aid integrity issues: fraud and corruption, gender-based violence, and situations where the fundamental values of the sector are under attack. Following on from our work on this theme with Transparency International, we were approached in early 2020 to contribute to the ‘Operational review of exposure to corruption in humanitarian aid implementation mechanisms in DRC’, initiated by the Humanitarian Country Team in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and funded by DFID.

At the beginning of 2019, a humanitarian organisation uncovered systemic fraud in certain programmes related to displacement in DRC. Joint Anti-Fraud Task Forces were subsequently set up in Kinshasa and Goma, and this review was commissioned.

The objectives of the review are as follows:
a) Analysing risks related to corruption and fraud at all stages of the project cycle and within the supply chains used by the humanitarian sector in DRC. The analysis will be gender sensitive and will be geared towards protection.
b) Assessing which prevention and mitigation measures are effective and vital in reducing the risk of corruption. Identifying potential solutions to reduce the risk of corruption in connection with specific types of programme and emergency response systems. The operational and strategic recommendations that will be formulated for the humanitarian community in DRC will be achievable and affordable.

To achieve these basic objectives, the review will examine areas that are conducive to corruption at the different stages of the project cycle, with a focus on aid distribution programmes. This will include all distribution methods (cash, vouchers, and in-kind). The coordination and management of information will be examined in relation to all aspects of the project cycle, and particularly as a factor that allows all the stakeholders involved to work together.

The different stakeholders involved in the aid delivery process are donors, international agencies, international NGOs, national NGOs, civil society organisations, businesses, service providers, the administrative and traditional authorities, state and non-state military forces, the men and women living in affected areas, and aid beneficiaries.

There will be a specific focus on the general factors that encourage or hinder corruption, such as access constraints, staff availability, the context, the roles of men and women, internal controls, response systems, rules and procedures, and security.

The review will not look at specific cases of fraud or suspected fraud. These will be notified to the appropriate reporting or complaints mechanisms.