Domingues e Pinho Contadores was honored in Observatório Social do Rio event

Domingues e Pinho Contadores is one of the sponsors of the institution and received an honorable mention during the reporting event

The Observatório Social do Rio de Janeiro (OSB-Rio) promoted the event "Transparência e Ética nas Contas Públicas" (Transparency and Ethics in Public Accounts, in a free translation), on March 13, at OAB-RJ's headquarters, where it gave the audience to know its actions in 2017. The institution, which monitors the application of public resources, outlined its main achievements, income sources and expenses.

The organization maintains its operation thanks to a volunteers network, donations from individuals and legal entities. Domingues e Pinho Contadores is one of the initiative sponsors and during the event received an honorable mention for the support given to them. The DPC’s directors, Manuel Domingues e Pinho and Carlos Ripper, enthusiasts of Observatório Social purpose, made a point of attending to follow the actions progress. "Our decision to support the Observatório Social in Rio de Janeiro was because we already know the work they do in other cities, where the institution has been achieving important results in fighting against corruption. This reporting show that the initiative has also contributed to the public actions transparency in our municipality, which gives us great satisfaction as supporters of this movement", said Pinho (photo)

The event also brought together supporters representatives of OSB-Rio's actions, such as Waldir Ladeira, president of CRCRJ, Yuri Sahione, president of OAB-RJ’s Special Commission on Anticorruption, Compliance and Social Control of Expenses and Felipe Santa Cruz, president of OAB-RJ. The guests were unanimous in extolling the work that the organization develops.

For Tatiana Bastos, president of OSB-Rio, society still needs to understand better its role in ask for actions from public agencies that are at citizens’ service, in order to broaden social participation and transparency culture. Moreover, the entity acts in this sense, assisting to monitor public procurement and promote fiscal education to raise the need for people to follow-up the public resources application.

Observatório Social of Rio is among the 22 initiatives selected in Brazil by Federal Public Ministry and National Strategy project to Combat Corruption and Money Laundering. The selection recognizes OSB-Rio as a pro-integrity entity, aimed at preventing corruption.

Reporting

Throughout 2017, Observatório Social followed the municipal administration through checking bidding and contracting processes, and a live monitoring of municipal councils for management, health, social assistance, children, and adolescents, among others.

Photo: OAB-RJ/Bruno Marins

The group also announced the conclusion a fieldwork analysis on urban transport in partnership with the Municipality General Controller. OSB-Rio volunteers accompanied as "hidden clients" more than 700 bus rides operated by local concessionaires in the four regions of the city. The survey will add to identify problems in this sector and to make proposals to a services quality improvement.

Acting for more transparency, OSB-Rio has also been following the enforcement of Law on Access to Information. When requesting information to public agencies, the organization found that 92% of the requests were not met within the period established by law. When the agencies provide, the data are insufficient, also revealing failures in the quality in information presented to the citizen.

The reporting revealed that to continue the actions, OSB-Rio should increase the revenue, whether through donations from individuals or companies. Currently, twenty-eight citizens financially contribute to the work maintenance and only four companies, among them the DPC, take up the cause.

Here's how to support this initiative: www.observatoriosocialdorio.com.br