TI has blossomed to have over 70 national chapters around the world, in every continent and in countries great and small. The number grows quite literally by the month. One which brings together governments, development agencies, international agencies, the private sector and civil society in a powerful movement the likes of which has seldom, if ever, been seen. This is not to say that there have not been failures. There have been, and we must learn all we can from these.
Success is slow, and at first difficult to identify.
But this we must learn to do this if we are to be able quickly to learn and put to good effect the lessons of best practice. But among successes to date the OECD convention, designed as it is to confront and contain transnational bribery of foreign officials, stands supreme. There is much too much at stake for any of us to relax, as this is the most determined effort ever made to counter the supply side of corruption. The OECD, too, has much to do and it is essential that governments equip it properly to undertake the analytical work essential if the laws and procedure introduced by individual government are to be professionally adjudged and rendered most effective. Too many conventions in the past have become worthless pieces of paper, and there is simply too much at stake for us to risk failure.