Brazilian firm, Domingues e Pinho Contadores (DPC), and the commercial association of Rio de Janeiro have helped set up a social observatory in the city of Rio de Janeiro, in a bid to curb corruption.

The social observatory is part of a national network of observatories which brings together citizens from all different walks of life to scrutinise their municipality’s spending and look for irregularities.

“We believe this will make a difference in increasing transparency of the Rio de Janiero Town Hall's dealings, especially in relation to its purchase of goods and services,” DPC president Manuel Domingues e Pinho said.

Social observatories are present in 100 Brazilian cities and 19 Brazilian states. The network estimates that its actions in the last four years have saved R$ 1.5bn ($ 362.1m) to the municipal authorities.

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