Strengthening Transparency: OSCE workshop on Removing Administrative Barriers Contributing to Corruption

On 8–9 April 2025, the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, in collaboration with the Law Enforcement Academy under the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan, organized a training workshop “Removing Administrative Barriers Contributing to Corruption” for law enforcement agencies. The training event focused on removing administrative barriers that contribute to corruption and enhancing institutional transparency.

The workshop convened 21 participants, including 9 women and 12 men, from the Anti-Corruption Agency, the Financial Monitoring Agency, and the Prosecutor General’s Office of Kazakhstan. It provided a platform for open discussion and knowledge sharing, emphasizing international best practices, case studies, and tools to develop national anti-corruption strategies.

Dr. Raimundas Kalesnykas, an international expert and head of the Lithuanian National Anti-Corruption Association, led the two-day training event, which covered topics such as corruption risk identification, regulatory reforms, optimization of administrative procedures, and digitalization of public services. Participants actively engaged in group works aimed at developing corruption prevention programmes tailored to the national context.

The sessions explored how systemic transparency and accountability mechanisms, together with strong institutional leadership, are essential for eliminating opportunities for corruption in public administration. The organizers placed special attention on the use of global indices and data-driven tools to assess the effectiveness of anti-corruption policies.

Group exercises resulted in the presentation of practical recommendations on how to reduce corruption risks by removing administrative obstacles in licensing, procurement, and public service delivery.

Ms. Arailym Rashitova, Senior Officer, Department for Co-ordination of Analytical and Methodological Support, Prevention Service of the Anti-Corruption Agency, emphasized the value of the event: “This training offered an opportunity to deepen our understanding of how administrative practices can inadvertently enable corruption. By learning from international experience and tailoring solutions to Kazakhstan’s context, we are better equipped to pursue sustainable institutional reforms”.

The event reaffirmed the OSCE Programme Office in Astana’s commitment to strengthening Kazakhstan’s capacity in good governance and the rule of law by fostering professional development and strategic dialogue that contribute to a more robust and transparent public administration landscape.