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informed speech. At issue is the larger discussion of values expressed through the spiritual beliefs
and traditions of the Greenlandic people, and to promote those values in accordance with the type
and rate at which development takes place (Nuttall 2013).
In this context numerous organizations such as ICC Greenland, World Wildlife Fund Denmark
(WWF) and Transparency International Greenland have raised concerns that the Government of
Greenland has not appropriately dealt with the matter of public consultation. It would appear that
the process of consultation might be less than complete, or at worst willfully deceptive.
Transparency International Greenland
Transparency International Greenland (TIG) was founded on August 31, 2011 in response to the
direction taken by the Government of Greenland toward an extraction-driven economy. The
organization promotes open and transparent transactions in government, business and throughout
the greater society, and seeks to prevent corruption through transparency. TIG defines corruption
broadly to include, bribery, fraud, embezzlement, nepotism and other forms of favors between
parties. Government desire for rapid economic growth through the exploration and extraction of
subsurface resources has given rise to the potential exposure for corruption. During this preliminary
stage of development it is particularly relevant that Greenland develop mechanisms to prevent
opportunities for corruption (Transparency International Greenland). Given international evidence,
resource extraction rarely benefits society at large. Rather it is most often a source of intergroup
corruption and conflict. “To prevent this occurring in Greenland,” TIG notes, “now is the time to
ensure that public decisions taken in this area are transparent to the companies that will participate
in these industries, but also to the people whose lives and livelihoods will be affected by them”
(Transparency International Greenland).
During the application process, TIG contracted with Nordic Consulting Group (NCG) to conduct
the first ever study of Greenlandic corruption and integrity standards. The goal of the study was to
examine public participation relative to the extent to which governmental systems have the capacity
to resist corruption, based on internationally accepted standards, which include accountability,
transparency and integrity and the level of independence among the branches of government
(Nordic 2012: 3). Based on interviews conducted in 2011, TIG found no indication of bribery, fraud
or embezzlement, however, the study affirms that system inadequacies have given rise to behavioral
practices such as favoritism. Public officials now motivated by personal considerations could be
vulnerable to corruption motivated by personal gain in the future particularly in the extraction sector
where large sums of money are at stake (Nordic 2012: 52).
As an overarching observation, the study found that “citizens have little opportunity to hold the
authorities accountable” (Nordic 2012: 2). Accountability and transparency is hindered by uneven
access to information, government secrecy prevails particularly with regard to BMP, the decisionmaking process is too hurried, and there is a widespread fear of criticizing authority. In addition, a
high level of staff turnover, a limited pool of adequately educated job candidates and legislation that
is both incoherent and confusing negatively impacts the administrative duties of public offices. In
some cases, established rules are not necessarily followed.
Dingman