Sunlight is the best disinfectant, say advocates of clean government. In areas that tend to breed corruption, exposure to public scrutiny can be the most effective deterrent against abuse.
Public procurement is certainly one such area.
Governments the world over struggle to stamp out these abuses. But the mountains of paperwork, the sheer volume of items, and the large sums of money involved all conspire against effective control. Now, governments are adding the Internet to their arsenal of fraud-fighting weapons. Internet disclosure makes it easier for business people, journalists, and ordinary citizens to watch how public funds are being spent thus supplementing the government s limited capability for oversight. Several Latin American countries are gradually migrating their procurement systems to the Internet.