New mobile application to help persons report corruption cases

Artas Bartas, a former employee of the United Nations Development Prograame (UNDP) and his team have developed a mobile application called the Bribespot which will help ordinary people report on instances of corruption they witness in their daily lives.

Users can download the mobile app and can then use it to submit specific instances of bribery.  The device is not intended to identify specific individuals, but rather to help visualize the extent of corruption, and to provide a basis for anti-corruption agencies and others to follow up, according to developers.

Bribespot was developed in March 2011 and the World Bank and other development agencies are now beginning to pay attention and get involved in these types of activities, says Shanthi Kalathil, a World Bank blogger.

The app can be download for Android and an iPhone version is expected in October 2011 but people can also submit reports on Bribespot’s website and instances are plotted on a map using Google maps API.

So far, the app is being used mainly in Lithuania and Romania.

By Ekow Quandzie