3 Efforts to Ensure Appropriate Development Cooperation
Japan’s development cooperation centered on ODA has contributed greatly not only to the development and growth of developing countries but also to the establishment of firm bonds of friendship and trusting relations between Japan and developing countries. At the same time, it has helped enhance Japan’s standing in the international community and ensure the country’s peace and prosperity. On the other hand, there have been cases of fraud committed in ODA projects, as well as failures in delivering expected outcomes and delays due to unforeseen circumstances.
The Government of Japan has made various efforts to learn lessons from these experiences for the future, such as improving evaluation systems, enhancing transparency, strengthening project management processes, and holding dialogues with a wide range of stakeholders, including recipient countries and civil society. The Government of Japan will continue to strive to engage in more effective and appropriate development cooperation.
Furthermore, in order to implement projects with due consideration for environmental and social aspects, JICA has established the Guidelines for Environmental and Social Consideration as a part of its efforts to ensure the appropriateness of its development cooperation.
(1) Prevention of Fraudulent Practices
Fraudulent practices related to ODA projects not only hinder their appropriate and effective implementation, but also undermine trust in ODA that is funded by the taxes paid by the people of Japan. Therefore, fraudulent practices are absolutely unacceptable.
Based on lessons learned from past fraudulent practices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and JICA have strengthened efforts to prevent those practices. These include enhancing monitoring systems (such as strengthening the function of the consultation desk for information related to fraud and corruption and expanding third-party checks), increasing penalties (such as extending the maximum period of suspension of eligibility for participation, increasing penalty charges for breaching contracts, and introducing a point-deduction system applicable to corporations that repeatedly commit serious fraudulent practices), and expanding the scope of suspension of eligibility for participation (such as subjecting the groups of the suspended corporations and entities who have received business transfers from the suspended corporations to penalties).
Japan remains firmly committed to the prevention of fraudulent practices in ODA under the strong conviction that fraudulent practices related to ODA projects can never be tolerated.