Government Faces Tricky E-government Transition

Majid Mowzer, divisional director sales of Metrofile Cape, part of the MGX Group, has warned that the transition to e-government will be challenging and will not happen overnight. Speaking yesterday at the opening of the government's three-day e-government conference in Cape Town, Mowzer said: "We must remember that the e-word doesn't mean an instant change from old systems to this new electronic world. This is an ongoing exercise whereby systems need to be evaluated, new architectures designed, processes modelled, infrastructure built and staff trained." Mowzer said that during this building phase, one of the challenges would be to adhere to governance requirements knowing that information may reside in a combination of legacy and new systems. "Adherence to e-governance translates directly to availability of and access to all requisite information, regardless of where that information may sit within the various departments. E-governance also means ensuring that as new methods of conducting business are adopted, so the back-end processes must be implemented to secure and protect that information for the period required by legislation. The requirement to understand and then comply with corporate governance is a pressing issue.

Mowzer added that access to information would increasingly become a focus area, not only to be compliant, but also to service an increasingly computer-literate customer base. "As government, business and private individuals become more computer-literate and -enabled, so the need for client self-service increases. An interesting challenge is to balance the demands of a few very literate, very demanding customers, with a majority who will still take some time to move to the electronic world. This may mean duplicate systems, with information stored in different forms - paper reports and invoices for many, electronic bill presentment and payment for some." Mowzer also pointed out that achieving e-governance would require a significant mindset change among employees and customers. "Implementing new systems is 10% about technology - the rest is ensuring that the people who will use the technology are adequately trained and comfortable with moving to the new ways. Technology change requires organisational change - new processes require buy-in from staff and other stakeholders." Another challenge, he said, would be to satisfy political agendas and social needs, at the same time as moving into a more technological world. "The process needs to be carefully managed to ensure that introduction of technology doesn't lead to reduced employment rates." Mowzer said that in spite of the major challenges facing the government, it was to be commended on the steps that had already been taken as far as legislation was concerned.

From AllAfrica.com, Africa - 30 November 2002

Drink Ban After Seychelles Poll Violence Kills One

Victoria - Police banned the sale of alcohol near polling stations as Seychelles parliamentary elections began on Wednesday after one person was killed in brawling between supporters of rival parties. ''The measure is necessary to assist in the orderly conduct of elections,'' said senior police officer Andre Valmont, who added that one person was stabbed to death in fighting at the weekend between supporters of rival political parties. About 62,350 voters around the Indian Ocean archipelago began electing a 25-seat parliament in a contest in which the ruling Seychelles People's Progressive Front (SPPF) of President Albert Rene faces a tough challenge from the opposition Seychelles National Party (SNP. Valmont said police would not allow alcohol to be sold or drunk near polling stations during the three-day voting period from Wednesday to Friday. The authorities want to avoid the chaotic fist fights between drunken youths seen at previous elections. The SPPF had a majority in the last parliament, but opposition parties have been encouraged by Rene's relatively poor showing in last year's presidential elections, in which he won 54 percent of the vote against 45 percent for SNP leader Wavel Ramkalawan. Each party has fielded 25 candidates in the parliamentary polls. Ruling party supporters were optimistic after holding huge rallies over the weekend addressed by Rene. ''I feel assured we are going to win,'' said SPPF supporter Marie-Josee Edmond. The government has declared a three-day national holiday after the announcement of the results, which is expected to take place late on Friday.

From MSNBC, 4 December 2002

Government Approves New Organic Law

Luanda - The Council of Ministers Monday approved the law decree that establishes the new Government's structure, clarifies its leadership and defines framework of power sharing between the President and the Prime Minister. A press note from the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers issued at the end of the first meeting of the newly sworn-in Government, reveals that the sharing of competences between the Head of State and the Prime Minister is grounded on the Supreme Court's Judgement on that matter and what the Constitution states. The diploma creates the post of Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, the entity which ensures the execution and coordination of Government's economic and financial policies and is the main interlocutor with the international financial institutions. According to the law-decree, were also created the Ministries of Education, of Family and Promotion of Women, of Culture, of Urbanism and Environment, of Public Works and of Fisheries. The Council of Ministers also approved another law decree that changes the composition and the functioning regime of the Standing Commision of the Council of Ministers. Under this new rule, the Standing Commision is now the institution in charge of monitoring and ensuring the implementation of the Council of Ministers' recommendations with regard to special programmes leading to national reconciliation and population resettlement. Other Standing Commission's duties will be to monitor and ensure the execution of Government's deliberations concerning social reintegration of ex-soldiers, war disabled, abandoned children, as well as the relaunching of internal production and the rehabilitation of social and productive infrastructures. Under that diploma, the Ministers of Industry, Fisheries, Geology and Mining and of Social Communication are also members of the Government's Standing Commission. The Ministers of Defense, Interior, Justice, Planning, Finances, Foreign Affairs, Territory Administration, Assistence and Social Reinsertion, Public Administration, Employment and Social Security are already members. The Cabinet Ministers also approved the law decree on the organic statute of the Prime Minister's office.

From AllAfrica.com, 10 December 2002

Promote Federalism, Mutebi Tells Baganda

Kampala - Kabaka Ronald Mutebi has advised the people of Buganda to win the minds of other people in Uganda on contentious issues like federalism that they so much cherish if they are to be included in a revised national constitution. Mutebi was receiving a draft document of the views from the people in Buganda, at his Banda palace on Thursday. The report is to be revised before a final document is presented to the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) on January 28. Mutebi said Baganda should not seek federalism in isolation of other Ugandans as was the case in 1994 and 1995 when people believed that federalism was only a Buganda issue. He said federalism was not only good for Uganda but for all nations that cherished peace. He also asked the Government to respect the people's views as they are presented to the CRC. The Chairman of the 10-member Buganda Constitutional Review Commission, J.W. Katende, handed over a light blue manila file which contained three huge bundles of paper to the Kabaka. In his seven-minute address, the Kabaka said the function was historical in that the views from the people in Buganda would be addressed and given the due respect and the seriousness they deserve. He said Ugandans had high respect for agreements and that is why the Europeans made several agreements with Baganda and Ugandans which they never defied. "The people in Buganda are not contented with the 1995 Constitution which left out many of their views," he said.aid Ugandans had high respect for agreements and that is why the Europeans made several agreements with Baganda and Ugandans which they never defied. "The people in Buganda are not contented with the 1995 Constitution which left out many of their views," he said.

From AllAfrica.com, by Josephine Maseruka, 23 December 2002

E-governance Policy by March

New Delhi - The Department of Information Technology (DIT) will finalise the agenda for national e-governance policy by the end of the current fiscal. DIT is hopeful of finalising the agenda for the e-governance policy by the end of March 2003, sources told PTI on Sunday. It assumes importance in the context of Communications and IT Minister Pramod Mahajan's recent announcement that he would take it up with the Finance Minister to make the current three per cent budget allocation to IT in all government departments mandatory. The agenda, which will chart a roadmap for policy and projects, will see to it that once the basic infrastructure is in place, subsequent action could take place, they said. It is important to have a policy first and then keep looking at the required changes as and when warranted, sources said, adding the agenda would include technology standards, funding mechanism, HRD strategy playing the role of indicators to the states. DIT has a Rs 70-crore budget for the current fiscal and significant amount of this budget has been spent already on various projects taken up in coordination with several states. E-governance cannot be enforced by DIT on the states, therefore, while they are free to draw their own e-governance policies, they can improvise or move along with the national policy. Currently, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Manipur, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are among the states which have e-governance policies of their own and companies like Microsoft and IBM are betting big on this particular segment.

From Economic Times, India, 30 November 2002

Sri Lanka: World Bank to Support Country's Economic Reform Agenda

Washington - Sri Lanka's efforts to improve the quality of life of its people and to secure lasting peace will receive support from a US$15 million credit approved today by the World Bank. The financing will help the government implement a broad economic reform program aimed at modernizing and invigorating the economy and expanding the role of the private sector, putting the country on the path of higher economic growth and faster poverty reduction. "The Government's new economic strategy, 'Regaining Sri Lanka', is bold and far reaching," said Peter Harrold, World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka. "Our goal is to provide the support needed to translate that framework into reality on the ground." A key aspect of the government's plan is to introduce greater private sector participation in all areas of the economy, thereby decreasing public subsidies to inefficient state-owned entities and freeing up resources for priority social needs such as health care and education. "By allowing the creativity and competition of the private sector to improve services, the government is opening the door to a better standard of living for the people of this country," said Harrold. "These reforms will also allow the kind of sustained economic growth needed to reduce poverty and remove the social and economic tensions that exacerbate civil conflict. The peace process and the government's economic reforms are mutually dependent and are equally fundamental to Sri Lanka's future prosperity."

The World Bank financing will be provided in the form of an Economic Reform Technical Assistance Project, which will work to increase the government's overall expertise and ability to carry out far-reaching economic reforms; provide specific support for reforms in various sectors such as transport, telecommunications, petroleum, power, and water supply and sanitation services; support reforms in the financial sector, particularly state-owned banks and the insurance industry; improve government's ability to build nation-wide understanding of and consensus on reforms; and establish an effective regulator to ensure a level playing field, fair competition and protection of consumer interests as private sector activity grows. The new project is expected to support government's efforts to concentrate on where it is most effective, leaving other work to be done by the private sector operating under government oversight and regulation. Besides the government's new economic strategy, "Regaining Sri Lanka", World Bank assistance is also guided by Sri Lanka's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, which was produced by the government based on extensive consultations with civil society, donors and other interested stakeholders. The credit is being provided by the World Bank Group's International Development Association (IDA), it carries no interest but includes a small (0.75 percent) service fee. The credit has 40 years to maturity with a 10-year grace period. The total project cost is US$18.75 million, of which IDA will provide US$15 million and the government will provide US$3.75 million.

From World Bank Group, DC, 11 December 2002

Government Makes Solid Progress in Face of Difficult Conditions

The Timor-Leste and Development Partners Meeting held in Dili this week brought together the Government, international financial institutions and key partner nations as well as members of civil society and the private sector for a frank and open discussion about progress against the key deliverables outlined in the Government's National Development Plan (NDP). The Government of Timor-Leste's partnership approach to development includes not only strong links to its international development partners overseas, but also to local civil society groups and the private sector. Prime Minister Mari Bim Amude Alkatiri, stated "the challenges we face are daunting but we are determined to improve the living standards of our people and to reduce poverty." World Bank Vice President of East Asia and the Pacific, Mr. Jemal-ud-din Kassum, commended the Government on making substantial progress against goals laid out in the NDP. He also thanked the Government and the people of Timor-Leste "for their commitment to our joint dream - a world free of poverty." "Timor-Leste has made extraordinary progress in the past three years, and we must remember that difficult events like those last week reflect the very real challenges of development in a new country. We have joined all of Timor-Leste's development partners in renewing our commitment to supporting action and results on the urgent priorities identified by Government," affirmed Mr. Kassum.

Participants in the meeting heard that in the six months since Independence, the Government had begun to put the NDP into action through the implementation of 128 programs. The key programs are budget-linked and have built-in performance criteria, ensuring accountability and transparency. Solid progress has also been made in education and health and in the legislative framework for the judiciary and private sector development. Moreover, the Government has maintained sound financial management systems. The meeting called for a strengthening of the judiciary and law and order - a necessary condition for economic development, investment and employment. A robust regulatory framework will enable an environment for the private sector to develop, stimulating both domestic and foreign investment - especially in the critical area of rural development and agriculture. Growth in employment opportunities will assist in the alleviation of poverty whilst enhancing social stability and contributing to the ongoing development of the nation. Other key priorities include accelerated service delivery to meet the basic needs of the community. The delegates commended the Government on the considerable achievements made in the power sector, but stressed the need to address cost recovery at the same time as improving power supply. The Government was encouraged to work on improving communication and coordination between the central administration and local communities to enable those living in the districts to play a greater role in the implementation of the NDP.

Mr. Xian Zhu, World Bank Director for Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands stated that "the Government should be very proud of its early achievements which are concrete and truly impressive". The Government's Ministry of Planning and Finance presented to the meeting a planning framework for the implementation of the NDP, laid out in what it termed 'building blocks'. Part of this process includes prioritizing and sequencing the programs and projects for the balance of the 5 year NDP. Each program will have clearly measurable targets and will be budget-linked. Each will also have a human resource development component. Conference delegates endorsed the Government planning framework approach and agreed to synchronize the timing of their country assistance strategies in line with the Government's planning timeframe. Delegates supported the need to prioritise capacity building and human resource development to match the needs of the NDP, as reflected in the Transitional Support Program (TSP). The TSP supports the implementation of the key priorities of the NDP, and, in its second year will be refocused on service delivery for basic needs in the districts and rural areas. Timor-Leste's Development Partners said they were prepared to explore ways to minimize the costs for government when dealing with multiple development agencies.

From World Bank Group, DC, 11 December 2002

LTTE Officials Study Swiss Federalism

A top level delegation of the Liberation Tigers this week visited Switzerland at the invitation of the government there to study the country's federal system, officials said. In a packed schedule, the Tiger delegation met with senior officials of the Swiss government, but squeezed in time to take a guided tour of Bern, they said. Following the historic agreement reached in Oslo last week with the Sri Lankan government - on internal self-determination in the Tamil areas of Sri Lanka based on a federal structure - the Tamil delegation, led by the LTTE's Chief Negotiator and political advisor Anton Balasingham flew to Switzerland from Norway. The head of the LTTE's political wing, Mr. S. P. Tamilselvan and Special Commander Eastern Flank, Col Karuna were also part of the delegation, officials said reported London based Tamil Guardian newspaper. In Bern, the LTTE representatives met for two hours with a Swiss government delegation which included the Head of Political Department IV of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Peter Maurer, the Head of Political Division (Asia-Pacific), Ambassador Rodolphe Imhoof , Foreign Affairs Ministry official Marcus Heiniger and Swiss Economic Development Ministry official Verina Nosar. The LTTE delegation then met with the Director of the Resource Network for Conflict Studies and Transformation (RNCST), Dr. Norbert Ropers, and representatives of a Swiss mine-clearing NGO. After lunch, the visiting LTTE officials met the Head of the Political Affairs Directorate of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Blaise Godet after which they held two hours of discussions with Swiss constitutional experts, including the Vice-director of the Swiss Federal Office of Justice, Prof. Dr. Luzius Mader. As part of their official visit, the LTTE delegates were also taken on a sightseeing tour of Bern, including a stop at a cheese factory, officials said.

From TamilNet, Sri Lanka, 11 December 2002

WB May Give Structural Adjustment Loans to More States

New Delhi: Encouraged by the results of structural adjustment loans to Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, World Bank on Tuesday said it may give such loans to more states subject to their adhering to new guidelines issued by the Centre to carry forward reforms. "We are encouraged by the performance of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Discussions were on with Orissa for a similar loan and preliminary discussion have started for Punjab and Tamil Nadu," World Bank Country Director Michael F Cartar said. The performance of Uttar Pradesh, which has also taken a Structural Adjustment Loan from the World Bank, has been "less encouraging", he said. The recent guidelines issued by the Centre to State Governments makes it very clear that the loans would be available subject to their agreeing to reforms to generate primary and revenue surplus, limiting fiscal deficit to less than three per cent of state's GDP over three to five years. The guidelines also emphasises on measures to phased elimination of subsidies, commitment to improve user charges civil services reforms including reduction in cost of governance. Admitting that the Central Government has written to World Bank and Asian Development Bank recently regarding the new guidelines, Cartar, however, made it clear that the Centre has not refused to be a guarantor to state governments for such loans. In fact, Cartar said no State Government could get loans from international agencies without the Centre being a guarantor. Besides loans could not be given directly to them and they are always routed through the Centre.

Cartar underlined the need for states to ensure that the structural adjustment programmes were on track and are implemented as agreed upon. The guidelines, Carter said that "once the loan is put through and is under implementation where the adjustment programme of the state has fallen behind by six months or is unlikely to be pursued further, the adjustment programme could be called off and the remaining undisbursed assistance cancelled." Cartar said so far such a situation has not arisen. Of the three states which have taken such loans, the performance of two is encouraging while that of Uttar Pradesh is less encouraging. No state has come for review as yet, he added. The guidelines have become necessary as in the past, there has been no uniformity, he said adding hereafter it will ensure that certain common criteria as a pre-requisite for getting such loans from multilateral agencies. "Unless the states take steps to reform and implement them well, they would not get structural adjustment loans," he said adding it was in the interest of the states to peform after getting the loans, as otherwise they would move towards debt trap instead of improving growth.

From Times of India, India, 17 December 2002

Parliament nod for Freedom of Information Bill

New Delhi - Parliament today approved the Freedom of Information Bill, conferring statutory right to the citizens to access information from the Government. The Rajya Sabha today passed the Bill through a voice vote after it negatived amendments suggested by the Congress member, Prithviraj Chavan. The Lok Sabha had passed the Bill earlier this month. Piloting the bill, the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension, Vasundhara Raje, said the move would provide openness in Government functioning and promised that the effort was not a one-off measure but a "novel and far-reaching experiment" through which the Government would learn as it moved along. With the passage of the Bill, India would be among the 20 or so countries to have legislated a measure which was in the direction of providing transparency, openness and accountability in Government functioning. Responding to members' concern over a conflict with the Official Secrets Act, the absence of an independent appellate authority, excluding jurisdiction of courts and not having a penalty clause on officers who refuse or delay passing on the requisite information sought by citizens, the Minister allayed the fears stating that the Bill was not in conflict with the Act or the oath of secrecy taken by Ministers. She said that the two-tier departmental appellate authority was aimed to address grievances and in addition, the decision was open to challenge in the high courts and the Supreme Court. She said the Government proposed to amend the Conduct Rules for Civil Services so that departmental penalty could be imposed on erring officials. Earlier, members from across the political spectrum welcomed the Bill saying it would usher in transparency and a corruption- free administration.

Taking part in the discussion, the Congress leader, Pranab Mukherjee, said the Government should have included a penalty clause to penalise officials who wilfully held back information. He regretted that some of the recommendations of the Standing Committee chaired by him, which had studied the Bill, were not included. He said the Bill also did not provide for giving reasons for not disclosing a particular information. Chandra Kala Pandey (CPI-M) felt the list of exemptions in the Bill for not disclosing information defeated its purpose while R. Chandra Sekar Reddy (Telugu Desam) said the Bill was silent on the appointment of officials who would deal with the issue. P.G. Narayanan (AIADMK) saw the Bill as a vital component in democracy and one that could check a drift in the management of public affairs. Nominated member, Fali S. Nariman, said the Government should exercise caution and expressed apprehension that the right to inspect could lead to logistics problem and create havoc with government files. Another nominated member, Kuldip Nayar, said the Bill did not have enough transparency or accountability. He said already several States had enacted similar legislation which was working well. He also sought to know whether the Government would repeal or amend the Official Secrets Act after the passage of this Bill. Mr. Nayar also felt that since the court of appeals were with the Government, he saw no justification in barring the jurisdiction of courts. He also advocated penalty for delay or refusal to provide information and demanded an independent monitoring body with representatives drawn from various walks of life. Property Bill - PTI reports: Parliament approved a Bill to amend the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 to remove legal lacunae in its implementation regarding lease of immovable property for agricultural or manufacturing or any other purposes.

The Transfer of Property (Amendment) Bill 2002, already passed by the Lok Sabha, was approved by a voice vote in the Rajya Sabha after a brief discussion. Replying to the discussion, the Minister of State for Law and Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad, assured the House that the amendment would enable people to avoid litigation. Evidence Bill - Parliament approved a Bill seeking to bar cross-examination of a rape victim on her character with the Rajya Sabha approving the measure by a voice vote. Replying to the Indian Evidence (Amendment) Bill, 2002, the Minister of State for Law, Ravi Shankar Prasad, said the Government would bring a comprehensive legislation, covering measures to check crime against women, based on the recommendations of a committee. The House also passed the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2002 without discussion. Competition Bill - The Lok Sabha passed a Bill to provide a new competition policy and a regulatory body to replace Monopoly and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission with the Government asserting under the new dispensation, MNCs would not be allowed to abuse market and indulge in unfair trade due to their size and financial muscle. The Competition Bill, 2001 was passed by a voice vote after the Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, assured the House that the new measure was aimed at promoting investment and competition and would enable Indian companies to grow in size to become worldclass entities.

From The Hindu, India, 17 December 2002

SLFP Opposed to Federalism - General Secretary

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party will remain implacably opposed to the federal system in the North-East as agreed between the United National Front government and the LTTE, said Maithripala Sirisena, the SLFP general secretary and a member of parliament, speaking at a meeting of the party's youth wing in Pollanaruwa, today. He said, "Sri Lanka is a unitary country. We will never allow the federal system in this country. Under the guise of peace, federalism is just an attempt to divide the country and allow the North-East to separate. "Currently, there is a separate government in the North-East. A separate Army, Police, Courts and Banks are operating there. The judicial administration of that part of the country is under the control of the LTTE. What else is needed? In such a situation, the current proposal for federalism is just to facilitate separation. Our party will never accept this. This will only lead to the division of the country. The UNF government is trying to change the unitary state that has been maintained for many years and is helping the LTTE to create a separate country. "In the past, the president had many executive powers. But currently many of them are powers in name only. In the future, the president may have to use her authority, otherwise the division of the country will become a dangerous reality." Many prominent members of the party, and members of the party's youth wing were present at this meeting.

From TamilNet, Sri Lanka, 24 December 2002

E-government Plans Boost Public Sector's IT Spending in Western Europe

Budget constraints are not expected to cause major IT spending decreases beyond the short term in public sector organizations in Western European countries, according to a recent IDC survey. In spite of the negative impact of the current economic uncertainty on total short term spending, the Western European public sector is expected to experience stronger growth compared to most other industries. According to IDC, this growth is mainly driven by the need to both improve internal efficiency and meet customer satisfaction standards that other industries have already achieved. "Driven by the eEurope action plan and national modernisation programs, public sector organisations are engaged in a transformation process that is expect to foster better services for constituents/patients/students and at the same time reduce spending in public services. Agencies must improve quality, accessibility, and the responsiveness of service delivery and grow efficiency and effectiveness of internal processes," said Massimiliano Claps, Research Analyst with IDC's European Vertical Markets group. In terms of IT budget expenditure, survey results suggest that local governments are more optimistic than central agencies, especially in the UK, where local councils are currently investing significant funds to develop electronic front and back end solutions. Education institutions also have a positive outlook on their IT budgets, especially in France, the UK, and the Netherlands. Security technologies, systems infrastructure software, collaborative technologies and knowledge management applications and database/datawarehouse solutions attract the attention of most organizations for future investments.

Industry specific solutions are also very important, particularly to local government agencies. As well analysing IT spending and enterprise solutions trends in the Western European public sector, specific IDC reports focus on hot topics such as CRM, security, mobility, and new technologies. CRM solutions still have to start deploying their full potential in the public sector. Drivers of growth are the expected benefits in terms of customer service and response and accuracy of information and data. The adoption of security technology is very high in the public sector across all surveyed countries, and investment plans to increase protection against virtual and physical attacks to organizations are aggressive. The increasing reliance on network solutions and virtual systems to interact with constituents/patients/students, and the data intensity and sensitivity of many of these applications (e.g. citizens/patients records) are driving companies to pay more attention to the issue of IT security. Many public sector agencies already have or plan to have mobile solutions. The most aggressive plans concern hot desking solutions, XML applications, and mobile collaborative technologies. In the area of new technologies, many public sector agencies - especially in the government segment - plan to invest in voice over IP and IP VPNs. Healthcare organisations are focusing on wireless LAN while peer-to-peer computing and rich media video streaming represent technology areas of major interest to education institutions.

From Europemedia.net, Netherlands, 03 December 2002

Major Public Policy Review Recommended

A wide ranging review of public policy areas has been recommended by the independent "three wise men" who advised the government in the run up to the Budget. The committee advising the Finance Minister, which comprised three former top level civil servants - Kevin Bonner, Maurice O'Connell and Dermot Quigley, warned that the present rate of increase in public expenditure was "unsustainable". It warned that savings on the scale required for 2003 could not be achieved without difficult decisions and some major policy changes. However, if corrective action is taken, it estimated savings in the order of E900m could be gained in 2003. To this end, it recommended that charges for drinking water should be considered, and that reform of the CIE group should be a priority. It also suggested that all government pay-outs should to be reviewed to see if a more focused approach to policy was necessary. This would include taking a fresh look at the universality of child benefit, a further increase in the drugs refund threshold, and medical cards for over 70s. It also recommended a review of pupil-teacher ratios and the possibility of further increases in third level fees. he committee said that means testing should be introduced for home improvement grants for the elderly and for people with disabilities, and that there should be a rationalisation of schemes to promote social inclusion. A cap at existing levels on employment in the public service was recommended - a measure which Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy announced in yesterday's Budget. It also said that Benchmarking awards should be phased "to reflect current pressures on the Exchequer". It also called for an assessment of the number of army barracks, garda stations, schools and health service facilities. And, it said the sale of state assets should be extended and co-ordinated. It also proposed that all semi-state groups should have to pay a dividend to the government. Regarding the National Development Plan (NDP), the committee recommended the phasing in of capital transport programmes over a longer period due to the changed economic environment, both globally and domestically.

From Online.ie, Ireland, 05 December 2002

EU Adopts Merger Control Reform

The European Commission has adopted a comprehensive merger control reform package designed to make it easier for companies to defend mergers in Europe. The European Union's antitrust chief Mario Monti unveiled the reforms Wednesday in Brussels. The reforms will make it more difficult for merger deals to be blocked and will give merging companies more flexibility to justify their actions. In addition, national antitrust officials will investigate more mergers instead of the Brussels-based EU authorities. The proposals aim, in part, to offset the growing perception that European antitrust enforcers have become too rigid in the way they assess corporate deals. Some information for this report provided by AP.

From Voice of America, 11 December 2002

Public Policy Research

The Market Research Society (MRS) in the UK is to host a topical new conference on public policy research. Entitled 'Challenges and Opportunities in Public Policy Research', the aim of the event is to explore how the government agenda for policy and research is changing and what implications this has for those involved in research. The conference, which is targeted both at research practitioners and those who are responsible for commissioning, managing and using policy-related research, is expected to attract a significant number of delegates. It will be co-chaired by BMRB's Managing Director, Malcolm Rigg, and Tim Oates, Head of Research at QCA. The themes to be addressed will be:·Better policy-making? Evidence and values in strategic decision-making;·Maximising the impact of Government research? Government contributions to the evidence base; Fit for purpose? Understanding the value of different methodologies. The conference will include keynote speeches and case studies covering different aspects of policy research. Afternoon workshops will provide the opportunity for debate and discussion. Amongst the high-profile speakers who will address the event are Len Cook, Office of National Statistics; Phil Davies, Cabinet Office; Nick Moon, NOP; Ben Page, MORI; Adam Rose, Central Office of Information; Lesley Saunders, General Teaching Council for England; Meg Wiggins, Institute of Education; Keith Bolling, BMRB; and Hugh Willbourn, Corr Willbourn. Malcolm Rigg, Managing Director of BMRB who will co-Chair the conference, commented, 'The policy research agenda has changed substantially in recent years. This MRS event will provide a valuable forum for reviewing and discussing the implications of these changes for social research. Public policy research is a vital area of research activity and we are delighted to be hosting this conference. We look forward to welcoming delegates to this event. It will bring together research practitioners and users from disparate fields and undoubtedly stimulate lively debate.' 'Challenges and Opportunities in Public Policy Research' takes place on 12th February 2003 in London. For further information visit www.mrs.org.uk

From Daily Research News Online, UK, by Butch Fernandez and Lenie Lectura, 13 December 2002

Federalism: Berlusconi Says Reforms Will Pass any Vote

Silvio Berlusconi is certain that the devolution program will be approved by the government coalition in as much as it is part of the electoral manifesto commitments. Only days away from the Senate debate on the issue the prime minister - speaking in Skopje - denied that such a reform would be approved thanks to an overwhelming majority and without accounting for the views of the opposition. "The centre-left coalition - he pointed out - launched a hurried reform plan with a five vote margin in its favour, we have a 100 vote margin...". Berlusconi said that as far as the "majority of Italians are concerned this is a natural step forward" also in view of the fact that "the most advanced democracies have chosen the federalist model". "If we were to deal with an opposition that took the good of the country to heart we would easily find an agreement - the prime minister added - but the current political climate says otherwise". "It is no coincidence that the Pope has called for greater solidarity and concord between political parties, I wish that could be so...", he added with a sigh.

From AGI, 15 November 2002

Niznanský Back Behind Public Administration Wheel

Viktor Niznanský as of January 2003 returns to the post of coordinator of public administration reform, which he resigned in 2001 after the previous parliament rejected his reform strategy. Niznanský said he would not fight to have his original plan followed, which argued for 12 rather than 8 regional governments, but would help implement the current government's programme statement, which calls for greater decentralisation.

From Slovak Spectator, Slovakia, 19 December 2002

U.S. Plans 5-Year Global Warming Study

White House Plans 5-Year Global Warming Study, Critics Say It's Unneeded - The White House is putting together a five-year plan for more research on climate change, a move that critics say leaves hard decisions on reducing global warming until after President Bush leaves office. The Bush administration strategy being debated at a three-day conference this week refocuses a 13-year-old research program on providing better economic projections of potential climate policy changes and tighter coordination of efforts by more than a dozen federal agencies. Administration officials said their hope is that as further research is done, still-developing technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells will emerge in practical uses to allow the United States to address the threats of global warming without wreaking havoc on the nation's economy. "The science program is kind of the ground we're laying here for the work that will go on on the technology side," Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham told reporters Tuesday. John H. Marburger III, the president's science and technology adviser, said the White House wants better data that can be used to shape a "clearly articulated policy ... that doesn't put the economy at risk." The new research plan asserts that people are clearly agents of environmental change but it is still unclear how much human activities are causing changes such as global warming. For many climate experts, though, it reopens questions that most scientists considered already fairly settled. Critics say the plan also largely ignores decades of international work into climate change led by the United Nations and the Clinton administration's published findings in 2000 from a decade-long federal assessment of potential impacts of climate change around the United States.

"The plan would be a great plan if it were written five or 10 years ago," said Janine Bloomfield, a senior scientist for Environmental Defense, an advocacy group. "But we've learned a lot since then." "I don't think the science plan really should be used as an excuse to delay tough actions," said Peter Frumhoff, director of the Union of Concerned Scientists' global environment program. "If you're taking a precautionary approach to climate change, you'll both do research and you'll take actions to minimize the risks of really serious consequences." Bush has advocated voluntary measures for industry to cut smokestack and tailpipe emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases that many scientists blame for warming the atmosphere like a greenhouse. Some 1,200 scientists and government officials were gathering Tuesday for the start of the three-day meeting at a downtown hotel to hear about the White House draft strategy and to suggest changes before it is published in final form by next April. "The president has accepted the notion that some action has to be made," Marburger said."This is not a no-action, no-decision situation," echoed James R. Mahoney, the assistant commerce secretary who directs U.S. climate research efforts. President Bush's plan for slowing the rate of growth in heat-trapping gas emissions calls for increased federal spending on science and technology and for industry to voluntarily reduce air pollution. Shortly after taking office, Bush rejected an international treaty negotiated in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997 mandating reduction of those gases by industrial nations. On the Net:U.S. research plan.

From ABC News-Politics, 4 December 2002

Bush Signs Bill to Boost Cyber Security

President Bush on Wednesday signed a bill authorizing $900 million in grants to spur federal agencies, industry and universities to devote more energy to cyber security research. The five-year program would require the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to bring industry and academic experts together to fund new research and to help attract top researchers to the field. It also would encourage efforts to recruit new students into cyber security programs. Senate proponents of the legislation were Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and George Allen, R-Va.

From Nando Times-Technology, 27 November 2002

Bush Signs Small Webcasters Legislation

President Bush has signed legislation that will resolve the dispute between record labels and small webcasters over the royalty rates for copyrighted music. The original law set a flat rate per song streamed, but took no account of the size of the company streaming the material. Small webcasters complained that a rule setting out retroactive payments for songs going back to 1998, would put many of them out of business. This complaint led to Congress stepping in and drafting this new legal agreement, which gives Sound Exchange, the music industry's main royalty collector, the right to negotiate individual contracts with small and non-profit webcasters. The new legislation also gives non-profit webcasters a six-month grace period for royalty payments.

From Europemedia.net, Netherlands, 6 December 2002

New Legislation Enhances Access to Justice, Modernizes Outdated Laws

Toronto - The Eves government is keeping its promise to modernize outdated laws and enhance access to justice with the passage of Bill 213, the Justice Statute Law Amendment Act, 2002, Attorney General David Young announced today. The legislation was approved by the legislature in an all-party vote of 53-0. "This legislation will allow the creation of clear and comprehensive standards for the preparation of contingency fee agreements. This will enhance access to justice while protecting clients," said Young. "The cost of going to court should not be a barrier to justice, and by modernizing and clarifying outdated laws, we are making the justice system work for the people of Ontario." The legislation regulates contingency fees in legal matters. Contingency fee agreements tie legal fees to the outcome of a case. Under such arrangements, clients pay a pre-arranged fee only in the event of a successful lawsuit. The legislation also consolidates 69 existing limitations periods into two clear time limits for initiating most lawsuits. "The international community and Ontario investors expect high standards in the wake of the Enron scandal," said Young. "This legislation is another step taken by the Eves government to ensure that Ontario remains a world leader when it comes to public accounting standards." This legislation provides a principled framework for Ronald J. Daniels, dean of the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law, whom the government has appointed to make recommendations on a more modern, effective and transparent licensing regime based on high, internationally recognized standards. The act also broadens eligibility for public accountancy licenses, to include members of the three major accounting bodies - Chartered Accountants, Certified General Accountants and Certified Management Accountants - who meet prescribed high standards.

From Canada NewsWire, 6 December 2002

Keep Eco-Theology Out of Public Policy

Is nature just a benign creature or a cold-blooded killer? The answer to this question is important not just as an intellectual exercise, but because it has profound implications for what kind of public policies we adopt. That, in turn, will have a very real impact on our standard of living and that of our children and grandchildren. Today, many people tend to romanticize nature and all things "natural" and vilify anything artificial. In short, whatever happens in nature is fine, but if we humans do anything to alter it, it is considered a crime against the natural environment. There are many examples of this kind of wrong-headed thinking. Pristine wilderness areas should be preserved at all costs. Economic development is a necessary evil at best. Natural foods are far better for the body and soul than processed food. Biotechnology is a monster that needs to be kept bottled up in a laboratory. Vaccines created in laboratories should be avoided. At the bottom of this kind of thinking is the notion that human beings are quite apart from nature rather than part of it. That view, says Professor Anthony O'Hear, a renowned philosopher at the University of Bradford, is simply mistaken and dangerous for humanity. As he succinctly puts it in a monograph entitled Nonsense About Nature, it is the instinct of human beings to "use [their] intelligence to change the way things are prior to [their] coming on the scene." Thank God our ancestors did precisely that. If not, life would, as the great English political theorist Thomas Hobbes described it in the 17th century, be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." The natural environment unleashes a host of weapons that kill us prematurely.

These include bacteria, viruses, toxins, cold snaps, heat waves, hurricanes and earthquakes to mention just a few. To protect us against nature's equivalent of a handgun, machine gun or B-2 stealth bomber, our forefathers developed defences. They include chemicals to get rid of bacteria in our drinking water, vaccines to kill viruses, herbicides and food processing techniques to make our food safe and tasty, insulation and central heating to keep us warm on cold winter days, air conditioning to keep us cool during summer heat waves, radar systems and seismic measurement machines that give us advance warning of nature's many vagaries. These artificial things have made life way better for humanity, particularly for those living in the developed world. To make it even better here and give a chance to those folks in the developing world to enjoy the benefits of technological progress and economic development, we have to continue to alter nature as we see fit. Just like an animal in the wild is instinctually on guard against any predators, so are men and women. We, being blessed with a higher level of intellect, will always find sophisticated ways of making life safer and better. The Aristotelian view, as Professor O'Hear points out, "sees man as part of nature and hence our doings as part of nature." And he goes on to say, "all creatures change their environment simply by existing and taking sustenance and shelter from it."

As Professor O'Hear puts it, "evolution inspires no thoughts of an ecological Golden Era. Species are not static, nor are their environments, nor is what conduces to the flourishing of some individual or species necessarily good for their co-existents or for the environment as constituted at any particular time." In short, there is no basis in evolutionary theory to view human beings with contempt, as many environmentalists and politicians do. Only by recognizing that humans are part of nature can we pursue the kinds of policies that will make life better for the world's 6 billion people. Practically, that means allowing technological progress and economic development to occur. Specifically, we should find ways of producing more fossil-fuel-powered electricity relatively cheaply, we should allow mining to take place with the environment in mind, we should log our forests in a sustainable manner, we must engage in aquaculture with relevant safeguards in place, we should build roads and highways so transportation is safe and efficient, we should find cheaper and more comfortable private modes of transportation, we should embrace life-saving biotechnology and we should encourage the introduction of new medicines and medical devices that help us enjoy a better quality of life. For all of these things to occur, we must stop worshipping at the altar of eco-theology. And we should do our best to tame that cold-blooded killer called nature so that we can delay meeting our creator as long as possible.

From National Post, Canada , by Fazil Mihlar, 6 December 2002

President Bush Signs Child Internet Safety Legislation

Remarks by the President at Bill Signing of the Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002 - The Roosevelt Room - The President: Good morning. Thank you. Please be seated. Thank you for coming. Legislation I sign today will create a new place on the Internet that is safe for our children to learn and to play and to explore. Dot Kids will be part of the U.S. country domain on the Internet. It will function much like the children's section of the library, where parents feel comfortable allowing their children to browse. Be a safe place for children to go. This bill is a wise and necessary step to safeguard our children while they use computers and discover the great possibilities of the Internet. Every site designated .kids will be a safe zone for children. The sites will be monitored for content, for safety, and all objectionable material will be removed. Online chat rooms and instant messaging will be prohibited, unless they can be certified as safe. The websites under this new domain will not connect a child to other online sites outside the child-friendly zone. I want to thank the supporters of this good piece of legislation. I want to thank them for their hard work - Representatives Shimkus, Upton, and Markey, as well as Senators Ensign, Dorgan and Fitzgerald. I want to thank them for coming. I am going to ask them to come up in just a second as I sign this piece of legislation. All of here today share the same goals: We must give our nation's children every opportunity to grow in knowledge without undermining their character. We must give parents effective tools to help their children learn. And we must be on the side of our parents as they work hard to raise their children. We must give our parents the peace of mind knowing their children are learning in safety. This act of Congress helps us meet these goals. I appreciate you all coming today. It's my honor now to sign the Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act. Will the members join me. (The bill is signed.) (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: I'll answer a few questions. Fournier, I may answer a few questions. You're stuck in a mini-press conference here. Yes? Q Sir, can you tell me specifically what the inspectors have or haven't been able to do, what they've uncovered or what they haven't uncovered that leads you to believe the signs are not encouraging that they're doing their job? THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Well, I can tell you this. This isn't about inspectors. The issue is whether Saddam Hussein will disarm. Will he disarm in the name of peace. And we expect him to fully comply. And one of my concerns is that in the past he has shot at our airplanes - anybody who shoots at U.S. airplanes, or British airplanes, is not somebody who looks like he's interested in complying with disarmament. He wrote letters, stinging rebukes to what the U.N. did. He was very critical of the U.S. and Britain. That doesn't appear to be somebody who was that anxious to comply. But we've just started the process. And one of the things that I want to continue to remind Americans, this is not a game that we're playing of hide and seek. This is our attempt to work with the world community to create peace. And the best way for peace is for Mr. Saddam Hussein to disarm. It's up to him to make his decision. Yes. Q Kofi Annan said Iraq is cooperating. Is there some daylight between you and - THE PRESIDENT: We've been at this - what - five days. This is after 11 years of deceit and defiance. And the issue, again, is not hide and seek; the issue is whether or not Saddam Hussein will disarm. And soon he'll be making a declaration of whether he has any weapons. For years he said he didn't have any weapons. And now we'll see whether or not he does. And if he does, we expect them to be completed destroyed and a full accounting. And I remind our citizens that the U.N. Security Council voted overwhelmingly, 15 to nothing, for this approach we've taken. Our NATO allies have joined us, and we all expect Saddam Hussein to disarm. Stretch. Q To follow on what Steve just asked you, do you disagree with the Secretary General's relatively optimistic take on things?

THE PRESIDENT: What I agree with is that we've been doing this for five days, after 11 years of deception and deceit. The process is just beginning. And the world will determine soon whether or not Saddam Hussein is going to do what we've asked, which is, in the name of peace, fully disarm. This is not a game anymore of, well, I'll say one thing and do another. We expect him to disarm. And now it's up to him to do so. And time will tell whether or not he is willing to do so. Yes. Q A 95-year-old woman was killed on the West Bank yesterday, and aid groups say that malnutrition among Palestinian children is reaching crisis proportions. What are you doing to alleviate that suffering? And are you concerned that the desperation of the Palestinian community is driving them into the arms of al Qaeda? THE PRESIDENT: I am concerned that terrorists have disrupted the ability for peace-loving people to move a process forward. I am concerned about that. And our country will continue to fight terror and join our allies in fighting terror wherever it exists. And so I fully understand the Israeli government's attempt to stamp out terror, because we'll never have peace so long as terrorists are able to disrupt. I'm also concerned about the plight of the Palestinian people. I'm concerned about suffering that has taken place as a result of the activities of terrorists. We're working with the Sharon government to allow for tax receipts to be redistributed amongst the Palestinian people. And there are a lot of non-governmental organizations doing work within the Palestinian Territory to make sure that people don't starve. But the net effect of terrorism is to not only stop the peace process, but is to cause suffering amongst all the people of the region. And that's why our war against terror must - must remain steadfast and strong, wherever terror exists. Yes, Terry. Oh, you just asked a question. Q I'll ask another one - THE PRESIDENT: No, that's fine, that's plenty. (Laughter.) You did a wonderful job. It was such a great question, I already forgot it. Next. (Laughter.) Q Are you concerned about al Qaeda on the West Bank?

THE PRESIDENT: I am concerned about al Qaeda anywhere. I believe that al Qaeda was involved in the African bombings, in Kenya. I believe al Qaeda hates freedom. I believe al Qaeda will strike anywhere they can in order to disrupt a civil society. And that's why we're on the hunt. And we're making progress, slowly but surely we're dismantling the al Qaeda network. It doesn't matter how long it takes to find them, we'll find them. And we're going to bring them to justice. And the good news is, is that the free world is - recognizes the threats that we all face, and therefore, we're more bound together than we've ever been, in cutting off money, in sharing intelligence, and bringing people to justice. And it's a dangerous world we live in, because there's still terrorists on the loose. And this is the great charge we have; this is the first war of the 21st century, and it's a different kind of war. It's a different kind of war than our fathers and grandfathers fought. It requires the same amount of courage and the same amount of focus. And this government will continue to provide that focus. Q Sir, there's a report out today that shows a sharp deterioration in public attitudes abroad about this country, particularly among Muslim nations and key allies like Turkey and Pakistan. Are you concerned, sir, that your message that this is - that the anti-terror campaign is not a war against Islam is somehow not getting to those people?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I haven't seen the report. As you know, I remain skeptical about polls. I don't run my administration based upon polls and focus groups. I'm running this war against terror based upon freedom and doing my obligation to make sure our children can grow up in a free and safe society. I hope the message that we fight not a religion, but a group of fanatics which have hijacked a religion is getting through. I understand the propaganda machines are cranked up in the international community that paints our country in a bad light. We'll do everything we can to remind people that we've never been a nation of conquerors; we're a nation of liberators. And I would ask the skeptics to look at Afghanistan, where not only this country rout the Taliban, which was one of the most barbaric regimes in the history of mankind, but thanks to our strength and our compassion, many young girls now go to school for the first time. General McNiel, who is our general in Afghanistan, was in today in the Situation Room and gave me a briefing about the human condition in Afghanistan. It's improving dramatically. There are projects after projects after projects of going forward with the United States and other NGOs are involved to improve the human condition. The Muslim world will eventually realize, if they don't now, that we believe in freedom, and we respect all individuals - unlike the killers, we value each life in America. Everybody is precious. Everybody counts. And to the extent that we need to continue to make that message work, we will try to do so. But the best thing we can do is to show results from our activities, and be able to point to the fact that not only did we liberate Afghanistan from the Taliban, we remain in place, with a lot of aid and a lot of help. And the suffering of the human condition is improving, and suffering is less because of the United States of America. Thank you all. Thanks for coming. (Applause.)

From Whitehouse.gov (press release), 4 December 2002

E-government Bill Wins Praise from Tech Officials

Privacy advocates and technology industry groups are hailing the passage of legislation aimed at boosting online government services. They see the measure, which President Bush is expected to sign before year's end, as a way to cement the government's commitment to modernization and as a boon to consumer privacy. The bill, H.R. 2458, would establish an Office of Electronic Government within the White House Office of Management and Budget that would be modeled closely upon the Bush administration's current blueprint for e-government. But the measure also would mandate greater privacy protections by ensuring that all federal Web sites post standard privacy policies and establish safeguards for personally identifiable data held by the government. And federal Web sites could incorporate the technology known as the Platform for Privacy Preferences, which allows consumers to choose the level of privacy they want when surfing the Internet. Ari Schwartz, associate director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, said the privacy provisions are critical because they compel agencies to think about the issue for the first time and will be "helpful toward moving the Bush administration to focus on privacy." The legislation also would require that agencies assess the privacy implications of technologies they want to procure to deliver services online. Schwartz said that language would help "build a marketplace for privacy" and "drive agencies to have vendors explain to them how their products meet privacy" requirements. Industry groups, meanwhile, said the measure will aid the push to deploy government services to citizens via the Internet. "I think the key word is focus," said Tom Gann, vice president and general manager of e-government initiatives at the software maker Siebel Systems. "This bill is important because it focuses the government more and more on e-government." The measure would authorize $345 million over the next four fiscal years, capping spending at $150 million in fiscal 2006. Gann said the funding would advance ongoing e-government projects spearheaded by Mark Forman, the head of OMB's information technology efforts. Forman is overseeing the implementation of 24 e-government projects. For companies that are good at overcoming vertical bureaucratic thinking in federal agencies, the bill would create opportunities to partner with agencies on projects that could facilitate a transformation in services, Gann said. It "enables us to have a greater, more far-reaching dialogue with government agencies," he said. Dan Burton, vice president for government affairs at the Internet security firm Entrust, said the measure also would give e-government projects a boost by authorizing $8 million for the authority that certifies government agencies to install e-signature technologies.

From GovExec.com, by Maureen Sirhal, 02 December 2002

Powell to Pledge Backing for Democratic Reform in Arab World

Washington - With peacemaking stalled, Secretary of State Colin Powell is ready to offer Arab nations U.S. support in promoting democracy and adapting to the modern world. Powell will outline the Bush administration's intentions in a speech Thursday at the Heritage Foundation, a private research group. He had planned to make the speech in early November, but held off while Iraq took center stage in U.S. policy-making in the Middle East and Gulf. Powell will declare that U.S. interest in fostering democracy and reform among Arab nations is comparable to the attention the United States gives those goals in its European policy. While Powell is not likely to unveil new peacemaking initiatives, the drive for economic and political reform is being coupled with U.S. promises to plug away at a settlement between Israel and the Arabs. The Bush administration has modest goals for a conference it will host Dec. 20 to plot peace moves in the Middle East. Even while announcing the talks two weeks ago, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said it would be impossible to make headway toward a Palestinian state amid violence and terror attacks on Israel. "We see no excuse for such attacks," Boucher said. "We're pressing the Palestinians to do all they can to end immediately the terror and violence." The conference - drawing together officials from the United States, Russia, Europe and the United Nations - will be aimed at developing a roadmap for Middle East peacemaking, Palestinian statehood and reform within the Palestinian Authority. The idea is "to make progress where we can," Boucher said, adding that ending the violence and restoring security will be on the agenda at the so-called Quartet talks.

From Jerusalem Post, Israel, 11 December 2002

Jennings Talks About Western Public Policy

The Jordan Ballroom was nearly filled to capacity last Friday evening as Peter Jennings, senior editor and anchor of World News Tonight, gave a public address at a conference titled, "Dateline the West." The conference, sponsored by the Cecil D. Andrus Center for Public Policy, the Idaho Statesman and the Gannett Co. Pacific Group, was a daylong event culminating in Jennings' speech. The conference's purpose was to examine the delicate line where media meets western public policy. Cecil Andrus, former governor of Idaho and current chairman of the Cecil Andrus Public Policy Center, introduced Jennings prior to his address. "He has, without question, one of the most impressive journalistic careers in the world," Andrus said of Jennings, who has received 14 Emmy Awards for his work on television and recently completed his new book "In Search Of America." Jennings focused on what he referred to as "the western point of view" in his half-hour speech. "The media is an eastern enterprise for the most part," he said. "I was quickly cast today as an eastern urban journalist. The west is more complicated in moral and historical terms than I had ever guessed." Jennings said that the eastern media has a tradition of romanticizing the west. This tradition came out of the legends of frontier people and entertainers such as Buffalo Bill and his Wild West Show. "Myths about the west seem to stand for America in ways that legends from other parts of the country do not.

The frontier is very much alive here, and a heck of a good story, but there are promises and problem here that do not meet the national idea," he said. Jennings said one of the problems is the west's attitude toward government has not changed much since the days of the pioneer. He focused on the argument about the gray wolf and states rights, and the idea that, as he put it, "the people of the west are uniquely dependent on government aid." Jennings also addressed the idea of internal immigration. In the past 10 years, according to the statistics he cited, over 11,000 Californians changed their driver's licenses to Idaho, and only six Idahoans did the reverse. "Much of the pacific coast has ceased to be western, and the fact that the legend of the frontier lives on in Idaho is one of the main attractions," he said. This internal immigration brings wealth to Idaho, Jennings said, but has the effect of easternizing it. Idaho is giving way to technology. Jennings said he hoped some of the mythos lives on in Idaho forever, because, as he put it, "you cannot understand history without understanding the myths." The question and answer session covered questions ranging Jennings' 19-hour coverage of the Sept. 11 tragedy to whether he believed America would have a black president or a woman president first. Jennings concluded his speech and the conference by saying "I hope what you believe about your media, for the most part, is that nothing is out of limits."

From The Arbiter Online, by Elizabeth Puckett, 12 December 2002

PNP Group Welcomes Passage of Anti-Corruption Legislation

Three of the ruling People's National Party (PNP) has commended parliamentarians for the recent passage of anti- corruption legislation. However, the group has criticised the length of time it took to effect the legislation, saying it should have been in place from the outset of the 1997 PNP administration as government "and can only be described as tardiness on the part of the Attorney-General's Office and those directly responsible". At the same time the group said it wanted a workable mechanism where the public can readily and confidentially provide information with the assurance that there is the proper machinery for quick professional, independent investigations and appropriate action. The PNP group said it was also pleased that Prime Minister P J Patterson last week launched the Citizen's Charters for the Office of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Office. "The region wants more public education on the charters and of the work of the Standards and Monitoring Unit, which functions out of the Cabinet Office," said a Region Three statement. It added: "The region has long been aware of the numerous instances of indifference, inefficiency, incompetence, partisan behaviour, political sabotage, victimisation, discourtesy and plain downright rudeness from some government workers. The region feels that not only must quick and appropriate action be taken, without necessarily naming offenders at all times, but the public must be made aware of the sanctions and actions taken."

From Jamaica Observer, 17 December 2002

Jerry Gana Makes Case for Integrity in Governance

Abuja - Minister of Information and National Orientation, Professor Jerry Gana has identified integrity as a key to good governance and called on governors who would assume the mantle of leadership in 2003 to demonstrate integrity in the administration of state resources for the good of the people. He therefore called on the people of Kwara State to vote for former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP), Mr. Gbenga Olawepo as governor in 2003 for the much-desired development of the state, because, according to him, he (Olawepo) is a man of integrity. Professor Gana made the call Tuesday night at Nicon Hilton Hotel on the occasion of the fund raising dinner organised by friends of Olawepo for the advancement of his gubernatorial aspiration on the platform of the PDP. He said Olawepo was a forthright politician who was there at the beginning of the PDP project, pointing out that "he helped in forming the party, shaping the initial idea, in mobilising membership for the party; this particular candidate we are talking about today will tell the story of the formation of the PDP. "I am very glad that you good people of Kwara have identified the tremendous qualities of this young man: he is very forthright, God-fearing, a man of integrity, a man of ideas, a man of determination, a man with a very clear vision, a man with the love of the people because he wants to transform their lives, a man who never gives up, a man who is a fighter to the core. "As the secretary of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, I do not usually go to fund raising dinners except for very special candidates.

The fact that I am here today and even chairing, I want to tell you that our friend is a very special candidate and I want to assure that many around the country are delighted that you want to give him the opportunity of governing Kwara State." Professor Gana assured that 'there will be a determined effort on the part of Olawepo to ensure good governance that will translate into real action of development down to the grassroots level because he has a very profound ideas of development. 'For him, development is not just a few things here and there, it is not just distributing money; it is not just distributing even facilities; for him development is a deep-rooted transformation of our society in such a way that the poverty of the people can be transformed into prosperity through a very clear productive process that will create wealth." He said that having interacted very closely with the gubernatorial aspirants for many years, he had come to terms with his understanding of wealth creation in the development process of the people. "For him (Olawepo), wealth creation is a way forward, wealth transformation is a way forward, not redistributing poverty," he said, adding, "his government would ensure that there is integrity within the system." Present at the fund raising dinner were Col. Isa Maina (rtd), Barrister Kunle Suleiman and Mr. Sunday Fagbemi (former PDP Kwara State Chairman and Secretary respectively), Raheem Adedoyin (Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP), Barrister Christy Akpan (Representing Akwa Ibom State Governor) and many chieftains of the party from Kwara State.

From AllAfrica.com, by Sufuyan Ojeifo, 05 December 2002

Local Governments Reform Plans Unrealistic-Government

The government has admitted that plans and expectations of the Local - Governments Reform Programme (LGRP) were over-ambitious and unrealistic and that there is no way the envisaged goals would be met. There was also a general agreement among government, the donor community and the civil society that progress made so far in the Local Governments reform programme was slower than earlier expectations and plans. In statements made at the Informal Consultative Group meeting, the three parties said separately that very little progress had been made in some critical systematic issues in implementing the reforms. Presenting a government statement on the issue, Daniel Foka from the President's Office noted: "Implementation of the reforms to date has been slow by the standards of the original plans." Foka said that it was now clear that early expectations were unrealistically high and that the plans were over-ambitious. "It is now recognized that the process of reforming the local government system is a major undertaking which involves changing of not just the way central and local governments carry on their business, but also fundamentally changing mind-sets at all levels of government and among the public at large," he said. The donor community mentioned in its joint statement three issues that will have major impact on whether Local Government Authorities (LGA) would be adequately capacitated and motivated to reform. These issues include the fiscal decentralisation and deciding mechanisms for resource allocations to LGAs, harmonisation and rationalisation of laws and regulations governing staffing at LGA levels and the legal harmonisation. "It is now recognised that insufficient attention had been given in the inception phase to the role of the Regional secretariats in the implementation of reforms," the statement says. The donor community suggests that it is important that prompt action be taken to initiate the intended capacity-strengthening programme for regional secretariats. This programme must be designed in a comprehensive and structured way and avoid being fragmented, the donor statement adds.

The statement also stressed the importance and necessity of increased co-ordination between many stakeholders in the different reform processes most of which must work through local governments and all of which must ultimately realise the poverty reducing objectives of the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS). "In view of this co-ordination, the Inter-Ministerial Working Group has a crucial role to play. Unfortunately this role is not yet being exercised as envisaged," added the statement. On their part, members of the Civil Society said in a statement that it was widely recognised that the full effect of local government reforms are still far from being realised in concrete practice, in both the 'non-reforming' as well as 'reforming' districts. The civil society argued that for many people, particularly the poor, women, young people and the vulnerable groups, the reforms continue to be experienced as alien, oppressive or unhelpful. "In some cases, the very institutions and staff who are charged with the responsibility of serving the people and upholding their rights are in fact experienced as frustrating people's efforts and as a source of harassment," said the statement which was read during the CG meeting. The representatives from the Civil Society who read the statement said that the decentralisation process has revealed contradictions between the principles of decentralisation on the one hand and central control, sector wide programmes and donor funded projects on the other hand. For instance, LGAs still face multiple and overlapping instructions and reporting requirements from central and sector ministries, he said, noting in a single financial year, LGAs are being presented with ten different planning and budgeting guidelines. "LGAs will never succeed if they are asked to do the impossible," he said. The government of Tanzania set out to reform the public service in the early 1990s and developed the Civil Service Reform Programme (CSRP) as the main reform vehicle. The programme implementation began on January 1, 2000 in 38 Phase I councils.

From IPP media, Tanzania, by Peter Nyanje, 4 December 2002

Chiefs Have Governance Role Says Mbeki

Johannesburg - Facing harsh words from traditional leaders who claim the government is sidelining them, President Thabo Mbeki agreed on Thursday they should play their rightful role in governance and development. This role, however, still had to be clearly defined, he told the Congress of Traditional Leaders' (Contralesa) national conference in Kempton Park. "Fortunately we have a Constitution that recognises institutions of traditional leadership, and places it firmly among institutions of government in our country," the president said. "But we have to do more work to define more precisely the role and place of such institutions." To this end, broad consultations were needed, including with members of the public. Contralesa president Patekile Holomisa said traditional leaders were being ignored in the drawing up of peace and development plans. "It is incumbent upon us to take up our rightful place in matters of the governance of our people. "By agreeing to the electoral systems by which leaders are appointed, our people were not thereby saying we were no longer their leaders. 'On the contrary, our people expected of these leaders to provide support systems to their traditional leaders, and not to be their substitutes." Traditional leaders were not consulted in the creation of the African Union or the New Partnership for Africa's Development, nor was provision made for their participation. "If these schemes and programmes are intended to uplift the living conditions of the millions of poor and long-suffering Africans, then the great majority of their beneficiaries are to be found in the rural areas," Holomisa said. "We need therefore to make it our responsibility to engage the leadership of the AU and Nepad to demand our rightful duty to be part of their programmes." Mbeki said traditional leaders should not need to be asked or invited to take part in governance, "but must say: 'this is what we are going to do'."

He agreed one could not hope to involve ordinary people in the development of the continent without involving their traditional leaders. The president criticised traditional leaders threatening violence to attain their goals. "In this country we know very well what political violence has done to our people. We cannot now resume that slaughter. "We cannot ourselves contribute to the stereotype that portrays Africans as savage brutes unable to resolve their differences in a peaceful manner." Turning to the draft White Paper on Traditional Leadership and Governance - which is very unpopular among traditional leaders - Mbeki pointed out the document was a basis for discussion, not a decision the government intended to impose on leaders. Changes could still be made. Holomisa said traditional leaders should seek from their respective governments constitutional amendments guaranteeing a meaningful role for them. They should also seriously consider the idea of forming a Southern African organisation. "Our people and governments must at all times hear our voice and views on a whole range of issues at local, regional, national, and now sub-continent levels." The difficulty of attaining unity among traditional leaders has been the "Achilles heel" in attempts to deal with their opponents, Holomisa said. Contralesa treasurer Madoda Zibi asked Mbeki to arrange an imbizo (summit) with traditional leaders, saying there were many questions they wanted to ask. He also assured the president the organisation had no intention of holding the government to ransom with threats of violence. Mbeki urged the conference-goers to put their heads together and come up with concrete plans. "I hope something comes out of this conference to assist the political leadership to be better able to answer the question 'what is the role and place of traditional leaders in our countries?'

From Dispatch Online, South Africa, 6 December 2002

A Drought of Good Governance

Zimbabwe's economic meltdown has been blamed by ruling ZANU PF politicians on the drought that has devastated the country over the past year, and which they say has wreaked havoc on our agro-driven economy. They further allege that the British and American governments have been interfering with Zimbabwe's internal affairs by funding and supporting the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, in the process sabotaging the economy to force a regime change. Well, it is indeed common knowledge that the drought that has ravaged most of southern Africa has taken its toll on the performance of the region's economies, including that of Zimbabwe. In our case, it is however important to note that our economy has been in recession for the past three years. I do not dispute that the drought has had a negative effect on Zimbabwe's economy, but let me be quick to point out that our economy was already in dire straits before the dry spell. The reason for that underperformance is clear to all - poor government policies. Yes, the natural drought has contributed to the country's problems, but the real crisis in Zimbabwe is that of lack of good governance. Indeed, when all is said and done and we as a nation soberly assess our problems, we will come to the conclusion that in Zimbabwe we have been hit by a drought of good governance. That is where our problems lie. This man-made drought has been allowed to go on unchecked for years, hence the seriousness of the situation we find ourselves in as a country. This is a drought that we cannot expect God to alleviate if we pray for rain. This drought of good governance requires us as Zimbabweans to take corrective measures through whatever means are legal. I stand to be corrected, but I want to argue that if Zimbabwe was facing a natural drought only, our economy would not have been battered to the extent it has been. Just taking a cursory look at the daily bungling by the government and the ad-hoc policies being implemented reflects a serious lack of basic planning.

The examples are endless: the handling of the doctors', teachers' and lecturers' strikes, foreign currency shortages and the imposition of a price freeze only days after one Cabinet minister admitted price controls had hit hardest on those they were supposed to protect - the poor and defenceless. The government has also not distinguished itself in the manner it has prepared farmers resettled under its agrarian reforms for the 2003 farming season. They have land but inadequate inputs, weeks after the start of the rainy season. All these are clear indications of a drought of good governance. I won't even go into the way the chaotic land reform programme has worsened the plight of ordinary Zimbabweans by slashing food production and contributing to the present shortages. Lack of direct foreign investment, escalating joblessness, worsening poverty and soaring inflation all indicate a leadership bereft of ideas to run a sound economy. The collapse of Zimbabwe's health, education and transport systems, among other services, all mirror a country hard hit by a drought of good governance. So, when the story of the demise of Zimbabwe is told or written in the future, we should not forget to record the 2002 drought or the drought of good governance that has entrenched itself in our country. It is also important to note that this drought of good governance has also manifested itself in legislation that has been enacted by the present leadership to muzzle ordinary Zimbabweans by taking away their right to express themselves freely. Legislation like the draconian Public Order and Security Act, and the infamous Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act are clear examples. Which brings me to a point I have stressed in the various social circles I frequent - that Zimbabweans are not asking for anything out of this world. They merely ask to be governed properly and to be provided with an enabling environment that will enable them to prosper. To achieve this goal, Zimbabweans must bring about a form of rain that will wash away this man-made drought of good governance. The challenge cannot be any clearer.

From AllAfrica.com, by Sydney Masamvu, 6 December 2002

African Ministers to Meet to Rectify AU Governance

Pretoria - Foreign affairs ministers of the African Union (AU) are expected to meet in Libya this week to consider proposed amendments to the Constitute Act of the union. South Africa's foreign affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma arrived in the country yesterday to chair the Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council of Foreign Affairs Ministers of the AU, from 9 to 11 December. South Africa's foreign affairs department said the amendments were tabled during the Summit of Heads of State and Government at the launch of the AU in Durban in July. The summit then agreed to convene the special session to clarify existing articles of the AU's governing document, which commits African states to clean governance, co-operation, and political and economic integration. Countries that have made proposals are South Africa, Libya, Senegal, Nigeria Cote d'Ivoire, Tanzania and Mozambique. After this consideration, the council is expected to wind its business by submitting their recommendations for ratification by the Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government scheduled for early next year in Addis Ababa. President Thabo Mbeki is the first chairperson of the AU transitional period from the OAU to the AU. The duration of the chairmanship is one year. As chair, South Africa is playing a constructive role in ensuring that the core structures of the AU commence their functions smoothly and the first year of the AU is crucial for South Africa, to set the pace and direction of the organisation for subsequent years.

From AllAfrica.com, by Veronica Mohapeloa, 10 December 2002

Government, Private Interest Necessary for Effective Governance

As the economy moves from state-owned public enterprise to privately managed entities, government has been urged to work with the private sector to improve the performance of the enterprises. The founding Managing Director /Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, Mr. Fola Adeola while presenting a paper titled " Transparent and Accountable Corporate Governance in the capital market" stated that an effective governance will improve the performance of the enterprises. According to him " to ensure economic growth and development in the country, it is necessary for government objectives and private sector economic interest to be interwoven." Therefore, he enjoined the government to tackle social issues such as poverty, health, education, and job creation in order to create a better society. Adeola explained that job creation cannot be successful without substantial resources, stressing that with the dwindling revenue from the petroleum sector, the main source of revenue for dealing with these issues remains taxation from corporate entities and individual s. In his words " the amount of tax revenue to government is invariably dependent on the profitability of the private sector, while the private sector is dependent on a favourable environment provided by government to thrive. Consequently, he said that a thinking private sector will report improved profits, rewards its employees and shareholders better, adding that such a situation will result in enhanced capital investment, boost purchasing power, create employment, reduce crime thus improve security and enhanced political stability. Adeola further stated that the private and public sector needed each other for survival, stressing that this can be reasonably achieved through proper understanding and acceptance of good corporate standards. " If the practice of corporate governance could be applied in running government and other corporate entities, the nation will be on the road to growth and sustainable development since government is the mover and shaker of the Nigerian economy today" he said. Adeola, also said that there has been a direct correlation between a country's performance and corporate practice, adding that good corporate governance increases the efficiency of capital allocation within an economy. He also stated that good corporate governance reduces the cost of capital for issuers , helps to broaden access to capital, encourages savings and serves as an effective tool in the fight against corruption. Adeola however, described macro economic growth as a process of improvement in respect of a set of criteria or values, chief of which is national income expressed by Gross National Product (GNP) or Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country. According to him " economic development occurs when sustainable change is added to economic growth".

From Vanguard, Nigeria, by Peter Egwuatu, 10 December 2002

Prime Minister Optimistic about Effective Governance

Angola`s newly appointed Prime Minister, Fernando Dias Dos Santos "Nando", expressed his conviction that all is set for effective government action. "Nando" expressed this view at a ceremony launching the book "Angola - A Paz e os Desafios do Futuro" (Angola - Peace and Challenges of the Future), produced by the country`s ruling MPLA party`s politburo. He said on the occasion that, "the suffering we went through until we achieved peace has made us all mature and gain new experiences. "Anyway, conditions are created so that from now on we can work towards solving our problems and providing conditions that are good for our people and country", the Premier assured. The Prime Minister also sent Angolans a message of hope and optimism about the future. On the other hand, he also warned all members of the Government about the need for discipline as, he added, "only with this, can we achieve good results".

From Angola News Index, Angola, 11 December 2002

Africa Set to Benefit in $5bn US Plan to Reward Good Governance

African countries will be chief beneficiaries of an annual $5bn US government programme to reward emerging markets that meet its criteria of good governance, Walter Kansteiner, the US assistant secretary of state for Africa, said yesterday. The US will reinforce Africa's financial infrastructure through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, an initiative launched last month by the Bush administration to boost private sector investment in developing countries. The corporation's remit will be to support capital market development and integration, loan guarantees and credit ratings. It will also assist portfolio investment from the US and help medium-sized and large corporations operating in Africa to raise debt. US companies have invested heavily in oil reserves off the coast of West Africa. But US investment banks have struggled to establish themselves in the continent's weak financial markets. Support will be channelled to countries which score highly on a system of 16 indices measuring good governance, economic liberties and delivery. US officials insist their measures will be objective and not allow discretion surrounding whether the US government favours a country's leaders. "What we are fighting for is Africa and to reward the good performers," said Mr. Kansteiner. "The private sector will get Africa up and going. It won't be just official development assistance. Governments must work together to set the table, but the private sector will deliver the meal." Some critics argue that the Corporation cuts across the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad).

Nepad is a plan forged by African leaders to promote good governance among themselves, in return for higher investment and development assistance. Its emphasis has been on African countries judging their peers rather than conforming to standards set by the west. However, US officials say the work of the Corporation will complement Nepad and the $10bn the US already hands out annually in development aid. "Rewarding the good performers makes sense. That's the Nepad theology. We truly do believe Nepad is what is going to make Africa work. But we are going to pull together the criteria we think are important," Mr. Kansteiner said. President George W. Bush is expected to champion private sector investment in Africa during a four-country visit there in January. He is also expected to promote the US steps taken to give African countries improved access to its market through the African Growth and Opportunities Act. With peace in many cases a prerequisite for economic development, the US has also played a part in negotiating the end to civil wars in Angola, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Representatives from the Sudanese government and rebel Sudan PLA are expected to meet in Washington soon to keep up the momentum on their peace process.

From Financial Times, UK, by James Lamont, 11 December 2002

IYM Scores Government Low on Governance

Igbo Youths Movement (IYM) yesterday observed its fourth global conference in Enugu where it gave the Federal Government hard knocks for failing to meet the expectations, of Nigerians in the last three and a half years of democratic rule, just as it restated its call for a Sovereign National Conference. President of the movement, Evangelist Elliot Uko, who expressed the group views on the performance of the government bemoaned the fate of the Niger Delta people, saying that injustice meted out to any man should be felt by all. "In the past three and a half years of our democratic rule, the Federal Government has failed the people woefully. In agriculture, roads, employment, power generation and all aspects that concern human welfare. it failed to address issues of well-being," Elliot charged. IYM, he said, was demanding no more than for government to make the economy grow and provide basic necessities, as well as secure the people's freedom to express themselves. The movement also threw its weight behind the agitation for resource control, condemning the practice whereby the environment of the people of the Niger Delta was degraded without their having any compensation in terms of development. "There is injustice not only on the Niger Delta but also the old South Eastern States, that is why we are in support of resource control," he said.

From This Day, Nigeria, by Ahamefula Ogbu, 17 December 2002

Good Governance Demands Participation of All - Clergyman

Rev. Dr. Robert Aboagye-Mensah, General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, had stated that the promotion of good governance is not the work of only the government in power but a social engineering that calls for the active participation of all citizens. He said the country need a strong and active civil society "that knows, understands and appreciates the complexity of governance and therefore able to offer constructive criticism." The General Secretary said this when he spoke on the role of the Church in demanding public accountability at the launch of the Ghana HIPC Watch and Lobby Week in Accra last week. He said that the church has a critical role to play in the nation's development both by supporting poverty reduction initiatives and sustainable development through social action, social service and evangelization, by actively seeking improved performance and service from the state. The General Secretary noted that policy formulation and decision-making process by the government has often lacked the due ingredients of broad-based participation and consultation to reflect the felt needs of the ordinary Ghanaian. He declared that most Ghanaians are ignorant of the Enhanced HIPC Initiative, the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (GPRSP) and other policies that are human centered and he therefore appealed to the government to strengthen the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) to educate the citizens about these policies and programmes. He also reminded religious bodies to develop the culture of dialogue, mediation and advocacy in searching for satisfactory answers to questions that affect public life and engage their members in discussions on national issues. He added that religious leaders should remind government officials of their responsibilities to the electorate and urged religious bodies to share the gospel with all. He charged the Ministry of Finance to hold more regular public interactions on economic issues, such as the budget, NEPAD, and the enhanced HIPC, through the media. In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Siapha Kamara, Chief Executive Officer of the Social Enterprise Development Foundation of West Africa and publisher of the 'Ghana HIPC Watch,' said that the aim of the national HIPC week is to lobby parliament and key ministries on the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy from the point of view of Northern Ghana, conduct educational workshops to sensitize and mobilize NGOs to get involved in the monitoring and evaluation of poverty reduction programmes and also to launch the Ghana HIPC updates. Mrs. Vicky T. Okine chaired the function.

From AllAfrica.com, Africa, by Joseph Coomson, 17 December 2002

Minister Open to Corporate Governance Shake-up

Institutional investors could find themselves having to vote at company meetings if the Government accepts a suggestion from a critic of New Zealand corporate governance. The compulsory voting idea is one of the suggestions in a book that Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel says she will ask officials to study. The book, Corporate Governance and Wealth Creation in New Zealand, was written by Joseph Healy and launched last week. Healy believes boards are often ineffective and self-perpetuating because institutions, the only organisations able to do anything about it, did not bother. Overseas the idea that institutions become more active as shareholders is gaining favour. The Economist recently reported that institutional investors were now pledging to act on corporate governance issues. In America, for example, those responsible for 14 state pension funds, together managing more than US$1 trillion of public pension money, have said they will actively seek to clean up corporate corruption. The magazine also cites similar moves by institutions in other countries and says if they band together they have the clout to demand change at companies whose shares they hold. Dalziel said she would buy and read the book, which says New Zealand business is suffering from a crisis brought on by substandard corporate governance in our biggest companies. He calls for Government and business leaders to bring about a new climate of corporate governance in New Zealand which emphasises transparency, performance and accountability. He puts up several proposals for the Government, businesses and the New Zealand Stock Exchange to consider.

Dalziel told the Business Herald she was especially interested in Healy's call for business groups and sector interests to come together - perhaps under the leadership of someone like Telecom chairman Dr Roderick Deane - to explain what needs to be done to grow bigger and stronger businesses. "I quite liked the suggestion of getting a group together to talk around those broader issues." Healy believes the Government should commit itself wholeheartedly to the view that it is in the national economic interest for businesses to grow and create shareholder value. He wants the Government to: * Make it compulsory for institutional investors to vote on shareholder resolutions, so they can achieve full accountability from boards. * Make anti-takeover devices - such as share caps - illegal. * Change tax rules so locked-in performance bonuses are not taxable until they are actually paid out. While Dalziel was noncommittal about the suggestions, she said Healy raised a number of issues worth exploring and she would seek advice. Healy suggests the Stock Exchange change its listing rules to require companies to use the Economic Value Added (EVA) measure in reporting results, so it is clear to investors if a company is creating or destroying wealth. He also charges that our sharemarket is among the smallest in the world in relation to the size of the economy (39 per cent of GDP, compared with 110 per cent in Australia). The NZSE is preparing to change its listing rules surrounding corporate governance of listed companies next year, but these do not include any EVA reporting requirement. NZSE chief executive Mark Weldon said there were many ways of measuring economic value in a company, with EVA being just one. The exchange had no plans at this point to make a listing rule that companies should disclose EVA.

From New Zealand Herald, New Zealand, by Kevin Taylor, 02 Dec 2002

It's a Battle Between Ideology and Governance

The Gujarat elections are, in my opinion, extremely significant and its results have the potential to dictate the future of the Indian polity for some time to come. First of all, the result will determine whether it is issue of 'governance' or 'ideology' that will triumph. Before Godhra the BJP was as good as lost in the State. Remember they had lost four important by-elections in the State. They were in a very precarious condition, until Godhra happened. Therefore, if the BJP were to win the elections by a reasonable margin it will legitimise and bring to the fore, the 'Gujarat Model' - of aggressive Hindutva, to be replicated for future elections. Also remember elections to five important State assemblies are just months away and the general elections are less than two years away. Gujarat has the potential to be for the BJP of today and the future, what the Ram Mandir was to the BJP of the 1990s. It will not only set the tone for the kind of tools for political agglomeration that the BJP will use, but will also impact the form of the generational shift in the leadership within the BJP. The new generation of BJP leaders is snapping at the heels of the old guard in the party's organisational rank and file. Based on the experiment in Gujarat, even Narendra Modi could be a claimant for the leadership, if one goes by the blatant way he has been projecting himself. In party posters in Gujarat, no other leader figures other than Modi himself. Faced with a more explicit and blatant position taken by Modi, Advani will be nudged to take a more Centrist position, which is already happening. Advani is already taking a stance akin to what Vajpayee has played in the BJP so far. Other than the period between 1987 and 1996, Advani has increasingly taken a liberal approach to ideological issues. Though most people see it as an effort to throw off his hawkish image and further his prime ministerial ambitions, it is also dictated by the emergence of a hawkish second generation. More and more, he will have to emerge as a balancer or moderator, exactly like Vajpayee has done in the days gone by.

So, if the BJP manages to win Gujarat with a good margin, then I can see a generational shift in its leadership and also a shift to a more strident ideological position in its politics. For the BJP, a lot will depend on how they are able to connect the issue of terrorism to what is happening in Gujarat and bring it to the consciousness of the voters in Gujarat. So far, it is not clear if they have been successful in that. However, the other side of the coin is that if they lose Gujarat, it will shake the very citadel of the Central Government. A loss will not fail to be part of a process in which the BJP and the NDA cookie at the Centre will begin to crumble. I think it is very significant that Advani, just recently, has exhorted his party leaders and cadres to go and campaign in Gujarat and not be complacent. Advani obviously realises that the stakes for the BJP in Gujarat are very high indeed! But the BJP is helped by the fact that the Opposition parties have not been able to get their act together. More than any other party, I think that the role of the NCP of Sharad Pawar will determine a lot in Gujarat. The NCP has great influence in considerable pockets of Gujarat and whom they will go for will also influence the outcome. Be that as it may, the Congress' campaign has been extremely timid and unsure. The party seems to be in a state of limbo. Congress has traditionally been a slow starter and it takes some time for the Congress' pitch to peak during a campaign. However, with one of the former architects of the BJP's spread in Gujarat, Shankarsinh Vaghela, at the helm of the Congress campaign in Gujarat, the party has not been averse to playing the BJP's game as well. One can discern streams of a Congress countering Modi's and VHP's hard Hindutva with its own version of soft Hindutva. While the Congress is 'steadfastly secular' at the Centre, it seems to be 'cautiously saffron' in Gujarat. But in my view that is a sign of a party in a fix. A party slightly unsure of itself. They have not been able to decide its campaign issues with any great conviction. Only the final leg of the campaign will tell us if the Congress can get its act together.

From Sify, India, by Mahesh Rangarajan, 4 December 2002

LTTE, Lanka Government Agree on 'Federal' Governance

Colombo: The agreement in Oslo between Sri Lanka's government and the LTTE to establish a federal structure in the country marks the first time that the two parties have explicitly chosen federalism as the framework for a solution to the long-standing ethnic problem. The word 'federal' has been taboo for many years in Sri Lanka, a self-proclaimed 'unitary state', and every past power-sharing package had been broadly described only as 'devolution', even when it envisaged creation of regional units of administration under a central government. For the Tamil Tiger rebels, who now seem to have come round to the view that Tamil aspirations can be met within a united Sri Lanka, it could be a double climb-down, as they have not only given the impression of shedding separatism as a goal, but also a confederal model as an alternative. Among the two main parties in the south, the ruling United National Party has described its proposed framework in the past as "asymmetrical devolution", that is, conferring on the north-east more powers than other regions in the country. With the country's mood strongly favouring continuation of the present atmosphere of peace, the development is seen widely as the best chance yet to evolve a negotiated settlement, but the parties, as well as Norwegian facilitators, have warned that there could be pitfalls ahead. Tamil United Liberation Front president V Anandasangaree said the credit should go to the LTTE for pressuring the government into agreeing to a federal model, shedding decades of opposition to diluting the unitary state. "It is now left to the opposition to support it. We cannot go to war again. This is the last chance for peace," Anandasangaree said, adding that federalism was also the goal of the late S Chelvanayagam, the founder of the federal party, the forerunner of the TULF. The Eelam People's Democratic Party had a dig at the Tigers for accepting power-sharing at the centre, and autonomy at the state level.

From Economic Times, India, 06 December 2002

Good Governance Through Inter Party Cooperation

'Voice Of Youth' a non-governmental organization conducting social development programmes with the participation of the youth conducted a workshop for young representatives of Local Government bodies in Anuradhapura District on propagation of good governance through inter party cooperation and collaboration. Dambulla Kandalama Culture Club was the venue of this residential workshop which was sponsored by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. Sri Lanka representative of this international agency based in Germany, Mrs. Marlies Salazar was present at the inauguration and delivered the inaugural speech. 'Voice Of Youth' programme director Senaka Dambawinne, DIG Elections and IT Sri Lanka Police Gamini Navaratne, editor of 'Ravaya' newspaper Victor Ivan, Consultant Sri Lanka Institute of Local Governance Dilan Fernandopulle and several eminent resource persons made deliberations on the relevant themes. Mrs. Marlies Salazar spoke on the theme 'Importance of Sustainable Development with Focus on Globalization' and told that the most important challenge in achieving development for the present generation is to not to take any measures endangering the future of the ones to be born. When we make use of the natural resources we have to consider its impact on the environment as well as the society. Speaking further the speaker pointed-out the norms of sustainable development: 1. Conservation of sociological base the working of man has to be limited to conserve the nature. 2. The relationship between the developed and developing nations, 3. Free economy. Post-war Germany was able to achieve fast economic growth with the help of the free economic policies. Respecting human rights is an essential element in the market economic system. It has to face many criticisms and challenges. Certain anti-globalization forces are working all over the world including in Sri Lanka.

Some people can lose their jobs. There could be negative impact on the culture and the society. Most of the people with no access to the new technology oppose the concept of globalisation. This kind of forces operate even in Germany. Globalisation is not a challenge, but is a chance to develop. Competitions open new vistas for development. The concepts of sustainable development and globalization has brought about advancement in many fields. The knowledge in international languages specially the English is very essential to reach the new technology. It is a sad situation that yet many people in Sri Lanka do not have sufficient knowledge of English. The authorities in the Education Department have to take suitable measures to overcome this backlog. The speaker also added: Every country needs at the least 25% of forest cover. There was 56% forest cover in Sri Lanka in the year 1956. This has been reduced to 18% by now. This has resulted in the lower water table in the ground resulting in the drop in the irrigation facilities and crop failures. Poverty will increase as a result. The German representative invited the local government representatives to pay attention to the development programmes carried out in their respective areas. They should check whether the forest cover and the water resources are conserved. They must influence to select the appropriate technology to the area. East Asian countries have achieved considerable progress in the recent years by correctly tackling those problems. The business community and the local government bodies have to maintain a good rapport and cooperation. Concluding the speech the speaker expressed her confidence that Sri Lanka would be able to find solutions to her problems and to achieve a balanced socio-economic development. "Voice of Youth" Director Senaka Dambawinne spoke on the 'Social Values and the Politicians' and said that it is an important thing for any society marching on the path of progress to safeguard its social values.

He gave the simple example that in our country some parents teach their children to tell lies in order to get them admitted to a prestigious school. Many people in high positions do not adhere to the rules and regulations. 'Ravaya' Editor Victor Ivan spoke on 'Good Governance and Peoples Aspirations' and first gave a brief background on the evolution of our society. The Western countries were first ruled by dictators and the people and to carry-out long struggles backed by the new ideological thinking. Gradually they were able to evolve democratic structures and the wish of the people is well reflected in their systems. The advent of the democratic system in Sri Lanka is different. Our country also was ruled by benevolent rulers who got their power by birth. The Western powers ruled our country for nearly five centuries and presented the parliamentary system at the time of leaving our country. Although our rulers are elected by the people they also think as kings and try use all the powers above the people. The speaker stressed the responsibility of the Auditor General to maintain the financial administration without leaving any room for misuse and corruption. Transparency should be in every deal. The final judgement should be from the people. The speaker traced many examples to prove that the judiciary as well as the auditing system in our country has not been functioning properly. He appealed to the young politicians to improve their knowledge and experience and not to be conditioned by the system, but to make every effort to modify the system to build a democratic just society suitable for living and promising the benefit of all the citizens.

From Daily News, Sri Lanka, by J. Gunadasa Jayawickrema Galewela, 06 December 2002

Philippine Business Group Rues Lack Of Good Governance

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry, or PCCI, the country's biggest business organization, Thursday said the lack of good governance in both public and private sectors tops the list of its concerns. The group said in its Philippine Business Conference Resolution that the issue of lack of good governance has become even more worrisome than terrorism, kidnapping, and the poor infrastructure in the country. Peter Favila, chairman of the PCCI's 28th Philippine Business Conference, said the group has underlined the importance of good governance following a slew of allegations of corruption in the government, revelations of corporate fraud, and greed in the country's top corporations. Among the recent corruption allegations to hit the government was the claim by Congressman Mark Jimenez, who is facing extradition to the U.S., that Justice Secretary Hernando Perez pressured him into paying a $2-million bribe last year. Perez, who is currently on 30-days' leave following the allegations, denied Jimenez's claim and has filed a lawsuit against the congressman. The corporate sector was also hit a heavy blow after the Supreme Court ruled last month that Manila Electric Co. (Q.MEL), the country's largest power distributor, should refund its customers excess charges dating back to 1994.

The utility firm is appealing the order. Former Board of Investments managing head Raul Hernandez, who oversaw the Philippine Business Conference resolution, said most developed countries have flourished mainly due to government initiatives on good governance. "For years, the government has urged the private sector to be globally competitive. We believe that we can only achieve this goal if the government is our partner and that it also reforms itself to be the best in its class," said Hernandez. Other issues identified by the PCCI in its resolution included promoting peace and order, infrastructure development, key legislation on business reforms, credit and financing for agriculture, and small- and medium-enterprises. Hernandez said the PCCI will adopt a scorecard to monitor the actions taken by the government and the private sector in addressing these issues. He said the conference resolution was culled from a series of business conferences held by the PCCI across the country over the last 12 months. He said most of the issues cited were geared toward addressing the high cost of doing business in the Philippines. Hernandez said it is crucial for the government to ensure a level playing field and effective competition by regulating natural monopolies to allow small businesses that comprise more than 90% of businesses in the country to thrive. The Philippine Business Conference, which began Wednesday, will be concluded Friday with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as guest speaker. (By Micheline R. Millar, Dow Jones Newswires; 632-885-0288; micheline.millar@dowjones.com).

From Yahoo Headlines, 12 December 2002

PM Dissatisfied with Pace of Reforms

New Delhi - Worried at the slow progress of economic reforms, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Friday declared that "we need to move rapidly" to end inspector raj through reforms at various levels of governance. "Let me confess that I am myself as dissatisfied as any of you over the slow progress in several areas," he said, adding that problems of fiscal consolidation, slow progress of power and labour reforms was worrying.

From Indian Express, India, 13 December 2002

Symposium Tackles Seoul-Centered Government

An old Korean saying goes, "If you have a horse, send it to Cheju Island. If you have a child, send him to Seoul." It refers to the country's educational system _ all the major universities are based in Seoul. Also, money and power is situated in the capital city. "One of the biggest problems is that the members of the provincial parliaments mostly live in Seoul and do not care about the development of the provinces," Park Chan-suk, the former president of Kyungbuk University, pointed out. Although Korea introduced the self-administration of regions and local autonomy in 1991, the nation still has a long way to go to complete decentralization, he noted. He spoke during a two-day international symposium held jointly by the Taegu Institute of Social Studies and the German Konrad-Adenauer Foundation Korea in Taegu last week on decentralization. German Amb. Dr. Hubertus von Morr pointed out that during the World Cup South Korea showed a perfect example of decentralization when 10 different cities and stadiums across the country hosted the soccer games. This could be seen as a successful way to encourage local autonomy, he said. The ambassador, and the organizers, was surprised by the participants' enthusiasm. They openly discussed their anger about the dependence of the provinces on Seoul. Among the speakers was Sim Dae-pyung, governor of South Chungchong Province; Lee Eui-geun, governor of North Kyongsang Province; and Hwang Dae-hyun, president of the National Association of Mayors; and professors from Keimyung University and Kyungbuk University in Taegu. "Democracy is a lousy form of government, but I don't know any better one," said Thomas Awe, the resident representative of the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation Korea, quoting Winston Churchill. "'Buergersinn' is the German word for citizen's participation in regional politics. The more often people of one region or city get together to reach common aims, the more direct democracy and the general contentedness people increases,"' said Awe. Politics does not have to be a spectator sport, he added. Uwe Krueger, head of the town clerk's office of Erkrath city, addressed the local autonomy of German districts. With the public petition and the citizens' initiative there are two ways for German citizens to take an active part in politics. Encouraged by the success of the symposium, the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation Korea wants to organize a follow-up gathering in 2003. a.sontowski@web.de

From Korea Times, Korea, by Anke Sontowski, 10 December 2002

National and United Future Clash Over Local Government Bill

The United Future Party is in the middle of a row over the Government's controversial legislation widening the powers of local councils. The Local Government Bill also provides for Maori seats on councils and ensures full consultation with Maori. It was reported back by a select committee yesterday with all its main clauses intact despite the National Party's nationwide campaign aimed at blocking them. National is now blaming United Future for backing the Government after earlier saying it opposed some of the bill's provisions. "Once again, United Future has proven itself to be all talk and no substance," National's local government spokesman Gerry Brownlee said last night. "The so-called `commonsense party' opposed this legislation when it was introduced but then helped it through the select committee." He said the only concession the Government had given in return for United Future's support was a review of the legislation in 2007. United Future leader Peter Dunne said Mr. Brownlee was "living proof that National has become increasingly irrelevant to Parliament and the voting public". He accused Mr. Brownlee of ignorance and said he seemed to think the only way to oppose any government measure was to vote against it, regardless of rational debate. The select committee tabled a majority report yesterday after hearing 391 public submissions over the past year. If it is passed it will give local bodies the same power as individuals and corporations to conduct any business they want to. Critics say that power could eventually see local councils competing against businesses as they expanded their abilities to fund future projects without raising rates.

From Stuff.co.nz, New Zealand, 10 December 2002

Kiran Bedi Outlines Action Plan for Good Governance

Ramon Magsaysay awardee Delhi police joint commissioner Kiran Bedi has called for formation of non-political citizen's forum in every 'mohalla' in the country to achieve good governance. Speaking after receiving the prestigious Pinnameneni Seethadevi Foundation Award here last night, she said ''good governance is invariably linked to the Right to Information. People have to shed the present passivism of voting every five years and patiently suffering bad governance after that. We all need to organise ourselves.'' On the entire political class circumventing the Supreme Court-directed Election Commission's order asking those contesting elections to disclose their assets, educational qualifications and criminal antecedents, if any, she opined that with the Lok Sabha elections due in early 2004, the media had a greater role in educating the public so that they elect the right persons. Without naming any particular political party, is also an IPS Mrs. Bedi expressed concern over the 'politics of hate and violence prevailing in the country' and asserted that the need of the hour is to defeat the 'devisive forces'.

From Deepika, India, 17 December 2002

Plan Panel Compendium On Good Governance

New Delhi - The Planning Commission, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has prepared a compendium of successful governance initiatives and implementation practices at the state level. The compendium, scheduled to be submitted on Thursday, has documented replicable success stories in effective implementation and delivery of public services, which could be used for experience sharing both at the national and state level. The Tenth Plan draft document had envisaged such a compendium to cater to the needs of the state governments which wanted to improve implementation and sought information on better ways of doing things. According to sources, the priority areas that have been taken up in the document include interventions in the delivery of social services, land and water management and areas of major public interface with the government. The objective is to describe practices and experiences in the implementation of programmes and projects that have successfully addressed real-life problems. The criteria used for identification of initiatives include its relevance to the poor, benefits to maximum number of people, quantum of funds being deployed, potential for productivity enhancement of target population, viability, level of community participation and commitment, sustainability of interventions and potential for replicability. Information is provided on geographical coverage, allocation of funds, target achievement, activities undertaken, institutional arrangements and evaluations as applicable. Contact details have also been provided at the end of each case study to help interested persons to contain information in greater detail from the authorities in charge of the project. Officials added this was a continuing exercise and during the course of the Tenth Plan, the Commission would bring out further editions including subjects and initiatives not covered in the first compendium.

From Financial Express, Bangladesh, by Amiti Sen, 17 December 2002

Road To Successful Governance Unveiled

Much has been written about the Bhoomi project, a part of the e-governance initiative of the Karnataka government. Introduced as an alternative to the manual system of management of land deeds, this system of online updation of land records has permanently altered the government-aam jantaa relationship. No more are rural communities subjected to harassment by government officials, touts, and village-level toughies. For, computerisation of land records and the setting up of information kiosks has facilitated transparency in dealings and improved accessibility to individual records. Happily enough, this isn't a lone success story - across the country, similar developmental initiatives have been performing miracles, revolutionising not only the public's interface with the government but also improving the economic and social status of the communities in question. Take, for instance, Himachal Pradesh's bottoms-up approach to sustainable development. Via its policy of joint forest management, it promises local communities a fixed proportion of 25 per cent of net timber sales from plantation areas and also secures their rights in using forests for fodder and fuel wood collection. These, and more, find mention in the 200-page compendium titled "Successful Governance Initiatives and Best Practices" released by Planning Commission deputy chairman, K C Pant, in the capital yesterday. Prepared in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, India country office, the report is a good first attempt at providing an account of those initiatives of the government sector which epitomise 'good governance'. The provocation for the publication, according to Mr. Pant, was the paucity of information in the public domain about models of effective implementation and delivery of public services provided by the State, especially at the state level. By detailing 20 case studies from 14 states, the Planning Commission hopes to enlighten state governments and, eventually, encourage them to learn from, adapt, and then replicate good governance practices at the grassroots level in their own backyard. A great idea, doubtless.

And the lessons that emerge are inspiring. As Ms K Seeta Prabhu of the UNDP puts it, "Partnerships between government and communities, good institutional mechanisms and proper monitoring - these together can make a real difference". The overall message, therefore, is a positive one - that problems of poverty, gender inequality, illiteracy, and unsustainable use of natural resources are not insurmountable. That decentralised decision-making, empowerment of women, devolution of power, application of sound economic logic are not just staples of public policy theory but are also evidenced in practice. That State-sponsored developmental schemes don't always end up as a waste of valuable resources. So, here is Yojana Bhawan hoping to achieve its cherished 8 per cent targeted GDP growth rate with some help from this publication. Indeed, the thinking is that as states are encouraged to better implement policies at the field level, they'll be on their way to achieving higher economic, social and human development indices, which will in turn favourably impact the overall GDP growth rate and also help tackle the problem of regional inequalities. Yet, disturbing questions continue to crop up: Will information, irrespective of how well it's disseminated, prove to be an adequate catalyst of positive change? Will the traditional laggards display political will to embrace good models served up on a platter? How far will the dismal state of state finances allow an improved focus on development expenditure? With ten states going to the polls next years, will populism continue to triumph over user charges? Watch out for the next compendium - and there will be one, Mr. Pant is quick to reassure - to see if new states make it to this progressive list.

From Financial Express, Bangladesh, by Parul Malhotra, 20 December 2002

MP: Plan Panel Lauds Governance Initiatives

Bhopal - Four schemes of Madhya Pradesh have been identified under the "successful governance initiatives" jointly identified by the Planning Commission and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Planning Commission has identified four schemes of Madhya Pradesh, followed by three of Tamil Nadu and two each of Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. Those identified in the state are - Education Guarantee Scheme of the Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Mission, Rajiv Gandhi Watershed Management Mission for Integrated Watershed Development, Rogi Kalyan Samiti for improving public hospitals through community participation and the Gyandoot scheme for providing citizen services through information technology. A compilation entitled 'Successful governance initiatives and best practices and experiences from Indian states' was released prior to the recent meeting of the National Development Council and circulated to all state chief ministers. According to the Planning Commission, the criteria used to identify the schemes are relevance to the poor, benefits to maximum number of people, quantum of funds being deployed, potential for productivity enhancing, viability, level of community participation, sustainability of interventions and potential for replication.

From The Hindu, India, 26 December 2002

Good Governance

Inspiring practices are replicable too - The Planning Commission's attempt to publicise successful governance initiatives of state governments is a commendable one, though it can be viewed as a logical follow-up to its National Human Development Report, 2001(NHDR). While the NHDR frequently referred to the concept of 'good governance' and elaborated on the tools necessary to achieve this objective, it failed to adequately highlight actual models of development unfolding across India. The recently released compendium "Successful Governance Initiatives and Best Practices: Experiences from Indian States", prepared jointly with a unit of the United Nations Development Programme, makes up for that shortcoming. The documentation of 20 successful programmes underway in 14 states brings to the fore the myriad outcomes of good governance: Be it the economic upliftment of local communities, their improved access to land and water and social services such as quality education and health care, or a qualitative improvement in their dealings with local administration. Subsequent editions can now be expected to widen the scope of their content and also include experiences of states not mentioned in the debut document. As far as this compendium is concerned, it does end up dispelling somewhat the widely prevailing cynicism associated with State-sponsored developmental schemes.

Indeed, several powerful messages emerge, foremost among which is that good governance is scarcely more than a combination of political vision, economic wisdom, focussed implementation and effective monitoring - the latter two achieved by co-opting non-governmental organisations and local communities into the schemes in question. That success stories have also emerged from northern and eastern states such as Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and Tripura - together with their southern and western counterparts, which have traditionally been at the forefront of the development process - is heartening too. That said, more than 50 per cent of the success stories emerge from just four states (Madhya Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh). Herein lies the publication's greatest relevance. Innovative education guarantee schemes, e-governance initiatives, sustainable forestry management practices, water supply and sanitation systems are approaches which have not only worked but can also be replicated. The Planning Commission has set the ball rolling by putting in the public domain these select experiences. It is sincerely hoped that they are replicated widely within and across various states. If 14 states can do it, there's no reason why 28 states and six union territories can't.

From Financial Express, Bangladesh, 22 December 2002

Swiss Opt for Stability, Keep Coalition Unchanged

The Swiss parliament replaced retiring Interior Minister Ruth Dreifuss with a colleague from the Social Democratic Party, keeping a coalition in place that has governed the country for the past four decades. With 131 votes out of 199, Micheline Calmy-Rey, 57, beat party colleague Ruth Luethi, 55, to the post in the seven-seat Cabinet. Lawmakers snubbed the Swiss People's Party, which sought a second seat in the government after doubling its share of the vote in less than a decade. Political stability has helped the country, which isn't a member of the European Union, attract the biggest share of assets managed outside investors' home countries. Financial-services revenue has helped make the economy Europe's seventh largest even though it has only 7.3 million residents. "The Swiss franc will remain a safe haven because the country has a stable government," said Jan Amrit Poser, head of fixed-income research at Bank Sarasin & Cie in Zurich. This might have changed in case of a "polarization" of politics. The People's Party, which opposes entry into the 15-member EU and campaigns against immigration, wanted coalition members the Radical Democrats and Christian Democrats to opt for one of its members and shift the balance of power to the political right.

The Social Democrats and the two centrist groups have two ministerial posts each, leaving one to the People's Party. The four parties together have almost 90 percent of all seats in the Swiss parliament, a reflection of the country's tradition of including the most relevant political groups in the government. 'Wrong' - "Now everything will be just as before: wrong," Christoph Blocher, the head of the Zurich branch of the party, said in an interview. "We need more tax cuts and not more revenue." The People's Party may use parliament's rebuff to push its claim to be the only true right-wing party at the parliamentary elections in October. After electing a new minister, the government also made Economics Minister Pascal Couchepin president, a post rotated annually among the seven ministers with mostly ceremonial duties. He may use his job to breathe new life into a flagging campaign to make the Swiss economy more competitive by removing regulatory hurdles and state support, analysts said. The election of Calmy-Rey came as little surprise after the centrist parties pledged to vote for one of the two official candidates. Calmy-Rey is finance minister of the canton of Geneva and has been credited with turning around the region's finances. Geneva traditionally has the highest jobless rates in Switzerland. Geneva Revival - Under the guidance of Calmy-Rey, the canton of Geneva returned to a balanced budget with a series of cost cuts and as the economy recovered from a six-year period of little or no growth. Geneva posted a deficit of 580 million Swiss francs ($394 million) five years ago.

Though Calmy-Rey replaces the interior minister, the government next week will decide which department the newest member of government will get. The ministers with the most years of service have first say and may want to choose a new post. "I'll be on the side of the ordinary people and the economically weak," Calmy-Rey told reporters after her election. Calmy-Rey, a native of Sion, is only the fourth woman to serve as minister, joining Justice Minister Ruth Metzler in the government. Calmy-Rey is an adviser to the Swiss National Bank. She has been a member of Geneva's regional council since 1997. The first Swiss female minister, Radical Democrat Elisabeth Kopp, was elected in 1984, more than a decade after women gained the right to vote. Dreifuss will retire at the end of the year after almost a decade in power. The 62-year-old became the first Jewish president of Switzerland in 1999. Calmy-Rey's party favors joining the European Union. Swiss voters last year rejected a bid to open membership talks with the 15-member bloc. "She will, of course, work for membership in the EU - that's one of the reasons why we elected her," said Mario Fehr, social democratic lawmaker, in an interview. "She's a symbol for an open Switzerland."

From Bloomberg-Politics, by Simone Meier, 4 December 2002

UNDP Launches the First Regional E-Government System in Armenia

On December 4, in Vanadzor city UNDP launched the first regional e-governance system in Armenia developed a pilot project for the region of Lori. The system is a component of a broader project "Support to Information Society and Democratic Governance" implemented by UNDP to assist Armenia in strengthening democratic governance through modern information and communications technologies (ICT), a press release by UNDP said. Lori was selected as a pilot region taking into account the existing supportive infrastructure, as well as the propitious and hands-on stance of the regional authorities towards the issue. Utilization of the e-governance system will create conditions to increase the effectiveness of the regional governing bodies, to enhance democratic norms and practices, and will promote state-citizen closer relationships. The system, reachable from the Internet, including from the public access center established by UNDP at Lori Governor's Office, facilitates access for the citizens and all the interested parties to diverse and accurate information and data on the following: structure of the regional administration, their rights and responsibilities; requirements for initiating entrepreneurial activities; members of the Parliament elected from the region; tax and other laws and regulations in force; services provided by the Governor's Office; local and international organizations operating in Lori, their projects, and numerous other issues. In addition, the system provides an on-line opportunity for the population to directly refer their letters and applications to the regional authorities and anticipate responses through the same system. "This system is key to enhance transparency and predictability, hence credibility in the manner regional authorities operate. We look forward to replicating it to all the provinces of Armenia," said Joel Boutroue, the UNDP Resident Representative. Taking into consideration the importance of this initiative, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) will support UNDP in expanding the e-governance system throughout Armenia.

From Armenian Daily, 06 December 2002

New Proposals to Reform European Governance

The Commission adopted on 11 December a set of measures for improving EU decision-making within existing Treaties and presented a report on progress made since its July 2001 White Paper on European Governance. Background: When taking office in 1999, Commission President Romano Prodi drew attention to the need for fundamental reform of the EU decision-making process and the way that the EU institutions function. Promoting new forms of European governance then was made one of the four strategic priorities of the Prodi Commission at the beginning of 2000. This current Commission initiative is the renewal of long-standing efforts for institutional and policy-making reform. The need to improve the quality of and to simplify regulation has been recognized at both at EU level and within individual Member States since the mid-1980s. The White Paper on European Governance and its ensuing action plans are intended to involve the Parliament, Council and Commission and Member State governments in improving the way in which legislation and policies are prepared and implemented under the existing EU treaties. The Commission has defined governance as "the rules, processes and practices that affect how powers are exercised at the European level" as defined by the treaties as they stand. The choice of promoting new forms of governance under the existing institutional framework became the only options available following the decision of the Nice European Council in December 2000 to call for an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on institutional reform in 2004. Some of the initiatives proposed in the Commission's White Paper on European Governance may be taken forward in the preparation of treaty amendments.

The Commission is also presenting separate contributions on the reform of the treaties to the Convention on the Future EU, drawing upon the contents and processes launched by the White Paper. A link is thus established to the work of the Convention and the IGC. Issues: The Report on European Governance reviews the progress achieved over the past 16 months with regard to governance issues. It shows that the Commission has already developed and launched the majority of the actions proposed in the White Paper. A public consultation had been launched following the publication of the White Paper and ran through 31 March 2002. The Commission reports that the response to its public consultation "was modest in numbers (260 contributions) but rich in content." It is worth noting that some EU institutions and Member States did not contribute to the consultation. Similarly, a geographical imbalance across the EU was in evidence as regards contributions, perhaps reflecting differences in public consultation culture and tradition. The Commission reports that the public response largely supports the White Paper's definition of the principles underlying European governance of openness, participation, accountability, effectiveness and coherence. Part of the public response regrets the apparent limits of the White Papers understanding of "governance" which focuses predominantly on the effectiveness and efficiency of the EU decision-making system. The Commission was seen to disregard issues of democratic legitimacy and democratic deficit in European integration.

The principles of democratic legitimacy and subsidiarity thus have been proposed as additions to the underlying principles. The public consultation supported the following key governance approaches of the Commission: ·improving bottom-up involvement in EU policy shaping and implementation; ·widening the choice of instruments to respond to new governance challenges more focused European institutions with clearer responsibilities; The Commission's new communications include proposals for: ·improved quality of control as regards the application of legislation: the duty of the Commission "as guardian of the Treaties" will become more relevant in the perspective of enlargement; a "more balanced" implementing committee system, or so-called 'comitology'; ·a framework for new regulatory agencies; the use of "tripartite conventions and contracts" with local, regional, national authorities for a more "adapted and flexible" implementation of EU legislation and programmes. Next steps:·In 2003, the Commission intends to pursue the agenda defined in the White Paper in light of the results of the public consultation. The Commission also intends to reach agreement on the initiatives already launched and to provide further governance inputs as part of the reform of the treaties under the Convention and the IGC.

From Euractiv, Belgium, 12 December 2002

Government Increases Local Government Funding for County Council

The chairperson of Limerick County Council, Cllr Brigid Teefy, has welcomed the Government's announcement that it is increasing its funding of the local authority by 6.9 per cent in the coming year.IN the announcement of the 2003 Local Government Funding allocation, the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, martin Cullen, has announced funding of 17,607,117euro for Limerick County Council for 2003. "This is a very significant increase and will play a major part in ensuring that the various work programmes, including improvements, can be maintained and continued in 2003," said Cllr Teefy in welcoming the funding and increase of just under 1.2million euro. Meanwhile there will be no decision on the proposal by the management of Limerick County Council to privatise the waste collection service in the county until Monday December 16 at the earliest. The issue has been discussed at two meetings of the county council but with no final decision taken on the controversial issue by councillors. The item is now down for discussion on the agenda for the council's meeting this coming Monday, when it is expected that a final vote on the matter will be taken by councillors. At a previous meeting of the council, director of services Paul Crowe warned councillors that people living in the county could face average annual domestic waste collection charges of 394euro if councillors vote to retain the service.

From Limerick Post, Ireland, 11 December 2002

Citizens and Governance in a Knowledge-Based Society

Part A - The European Commission has published a call for proposals for Priority 7 (part A) under the Sixth Framework Programme's 'Citizens and governance in a knowledge-based society' thematic priority (point 7 in the work programme). This is one of the areas covered by the 'Integrating and strengthening the European Research Area' specific programme. Integrated projects and networks of excellence will be used to fund projects selected under this call. The activities carried out in this thematic priority are intended to mobilise in a coherent effort, in all their wealth and diversity, European research capacities in economic, political, social sciences and humanities that are necessary to develop an understanding of, and to address issues related to, the emergence of the knowledge-based society and new forms of relationships between its citizens, on one hand, and between its citizens and institutions, on the other. Areas covered by this call are: - Science and technology in the knowledge based society; (area 1.1.3 of the work programme) - Societal trends in the knowledge based society and their implications for quality of life; (area 2.1.1 of the work programme) - Migration, immigration and multiculturalism as challenges for knowledge-based societies; (area 3.1.1 of the work programme) - Multilevel governance, democracy and new policy instruments; (area 5.1.2 of the work programme) - New approaches to security and the role of Europe (area 6.1.1 of the work programme). The total indicative budget for this call is 20 million euro. Citizens and governance in a knowledge-based society - Part B - The European Commission has published a call for proposals for priority 7 (part B) under the Sixth Framework Programme's 'Citizens and governance in a knowledge-based society' thematic priority area (point 7 in the work programme). This is one of the areas covered by the 'Integrating and strengthening the European Research Area' specific programme.

Projects selected under this call will be funded using the specific targeted research project instrument and the coordinated action instrument. The activities carried out in this thematic priority are intended to mobilise in a coherent effort, in all their wealth and diversity, European research capacities in economic, political, social sciences and humanities that are necessary to develop an understanding of, and to address issues related to, the emergence of the knowledge-based society and new forms of relationships between its citizens, on one hand, and between its citizens and institutions, on the other. Areas covered by this call include: - Understanding the knowledge based society (area 1.2 of the work programme); - The contribution of knowledge based entrepreneurship as a source of growth, employment and development potential in Europe (area 1.2 of the work programme); - The integration of social sciences and humanities (area 1.2 of the work programme); - Education challenges for the knowledge society (area 2.2 of the work programme); - Reinforcing the links between science and education (area 2.2 of the work programme); - Intergenerational inheritance of inequalities (area 2.2 of the work programme); - Insecurity (area 1.2 of the work programme); - Historical development of socio-economic development models (area 3.2 of the work programme); - Citizens attitudes, preferences, civic values (area 3.2 of the work programme); - Compatibility and tension - sustainable development and the knowledge society (area 3.2 of the work programme); - Knowledge for Humankind initiative (area 3.2 of the work programme); - Social, political and economic transformations in the candidate countries (area 4.2 of the work programme); - Corporate social responsibility (area 5.2 of the work programme); - Human rights (area 6.2 of the work programme); - Violent conflicts (area 6.2 of the work programme); - Active civic participation (area 7.2 of the work programme); - Assessments of the media's impact in the public sphere (area 7.2 of the work programme). The total indicative budget for this call is 33 million euro.

From Cordis News, EU, 17 December 2002

Palestinian Leader Calls for Shakeup

Barghouti: Old leaders should step aside - Influential Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, now sitting in an Israeli jail, said Tuesday that he believes the Palestinian national movement needs newer, younger leadership. According to one of Barghouti's lawyers, Barghouti told the Palestinian Legislative Council: "It is the time for many of the Palestinian leaders and officials to leave their positions after failing in their roles and responsibilities in this decisive battle," referring to the two-year-old Palestinian uprising. According to the source, he said Palestinian Authority officials should make way for younger leadership, but did not mention Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat by name. Arafat is 73. Barghouti is 43. "This should be done in a democratic and legal way as soon as possible," he said. The Palestinian Authority is scheduled to hold presidential and legislative elections in January as part of a plan to revamp its government. However, Palestinian officials have been saying it is unlikely that elections will be held as planned because Israeli troops encircling most of their cities have made it impossible for them to prepare. One of Barghouti's attorneys told CNN about the remarks. Recently, top Palestinian officials have said the armed uprising was a mistake and should stop. "Resistance is a holy right for the Palestinian people to face the Israeli occupation," Barghouti said. "Nobody should forget that the Palestinian people negotiated for 10 years and accepted difficult and humiliating agreements, and in the end didn't get anything except authority over the people, and no authority over land, or sovereignty." Barghouti, the West Bank chief of Arafat's Fatah movement, is accused of playing a central part in ordering deadly attacks against Israelis during the past two years. He faces 37 charges, including murder, attempted murder and involvement in a terrorist organization.

From CNN, 4 December 2002

University Senate votes on New Government Model

A 38-6 vote by the senate body allows for the adoption of compromise model. University Senate is preparing to flesh out a new governance structure after Thursday's meeting. With a vote of 38-6, the senate body adopted a skeleton of a compromise model over the current system. Four senators abstained. An intense discussion preceded the vote, creating divisions among students and between students and faculty. Student senator Chris Borkowski brought forward accusations that members of Student Government Association did not prepare student senators for their vote in October. "For the past two months, there have been questionable tactics to ruin any chance for the student senate to vote in favor or against the compromise model while having knowledge of all models and opinions," Borkowski said. SGA President Tolu Olowomeye said both models were presented to the students unbiased, and copies of the model structure were made available to student senators a week before the October SGA straw vote. She also said faculty had ample time to attend a meeting and present its case. Olowomeye called Borkowski's accusations "brutally disrespectful." The debate continued until visitor Eric Richardson encouraged senators to take action. "Your system doesn't work," Richardson said. "There is a faculty phobia here that if we let professors run us, we don't get a vote." President Blaine Brownell took the floor first in the discussion, voicing his support for the compromise model. "The current model has been in place for a long time," Brownell said. "But it is not an acceptable model based on what (university senators) have said."

Although Provost Beverley Pitts was unable to attend because of a death in the family, she sent Acting Assistant Provost Deborah Balogh to express her support for the compromise model. Professor Mark Popovich, author of the compromise model, said this was not a common occurrence. "In 30 years I can't ever remember a president or provost that have so emphatically supported a faculty vote in a governance system," Popovich said. "I thought President Brownell showed great statesmanship today, and I think he understood it was in the best interest of the faculty to do it that way." Despite the fact that Brownell and a majority of the senate showed support for the compromise model, a task force must be appointed before a final structure is adopted. University Senate Chairwoman Marilyn Buck said details like committee structure and proportionality would be worked out in the task force. The task force has not been appointed, an effort Buck said would surface in future senate meetings. "Everything below the council structure is up for arbitration," Popovich said. With the proportions of students, staff and professional personnel uncertain, student senators prepare for the next step in the restructuring process. "Now we have to fight for our seats," said Nick Zuniga, SGA president pro tempore. As far as the direct link to the agenda committee, SGA Vice President Megan Pickens remains skeptical. "It depends on the makeup of the agenda committee," Pickens said.

From Ball State Daily News, IN, by Lauren Phillips, 6 December 2002

Better Governance in Canada, Expert Says

The Canadian business sector enjoys better corporate governance and suffers from less misconduct than its U.S. counterpart, a key business figure said yesterday. Speaking before a Senate committee looking into corporate scandal, Purdy Crawford said Corporate Canada and the equity analysts that report on it operate under higher ethical standards than in the United States. Securities laws here are also at least as strong as those in the United States, he told the standing committee on banking, trade and commerce, although enforcement has traditionally been lax in Canada. "From my various experiences, I think we have better corporate governance in Canada than in the U.S.," said Mr. Crawford, a veteran Toronto lawyer and corporate director on both sides of the border. Despite its apparent advantage, though, Canada should take measures to boost investor confidence in the markets, he advised. The measures, he said, should be based around a "made-in-Canada" solution, not just a copy of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the sweeping corporate accounting reform legislation adopted last summer in the United States. He suggested that Canada should place greater emphasis on independent directors on all key committees, independence from management for a majority of directors and a "lead director" if there is no non-executive chairperson. He also endorsed Ontario's Bill 198, which calls for the securities regulator to gain the right to issue fines and order profit disgorgement, raises the maximum court fine to $5-million from $1-million and maximum prison term to five years from two, and calls for the certification of financial statements. He also called for two sets of rules: one for larger, established firms, one for startups.

From The Globe and Mail, by Simon Tuck, 6 December 2002

Reinventing Government: Will Romney's Plan Work?

Boston - Experts say the national economy is beginning to show some tentative signs of recovery. But conditions in Massachusetts are the worst they have been since the Great Depression, Gov.-elect Mitt Romney's budget chief warns, and there are few encouraging signs that state revenues will rebound anytime soon. Revenues have not kept pace with the cost of running the government, and the Romney team says Massachusetts is ripe for wholesale changes in the way government conducts business. "The most serious fiscal crisis in 60 years deserves the most far-reaching reforms in 60 years," Eric Kriss, who will serve as Romney's secretary of administration and finance, told business executives on Tuesday. And some experts see Romney's pledge to make sweeping change as the bright spot on an otherwise dark economic horizon. The fiscal crisis, coupled with the arrival of a new executive team and an apparent mandate for change from voters, create the perfect climate for reform, experts say. "Not only is it practical, but it's an absolute necessity," said Tripp Jones, executive director of the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassINC), a nonpartisan think tank. Jones, a member of Romney's transition team studying education issues, served under Democratic Gov. Michael Dukakis. "Too much of government hasn't changed," Jones added. "We're in a new century. We've got all kinds of know-how that we didn't have 10, 20, 30 years ago." Finances aside, Jones said the state is rich in other ways, such as technological innovation and brainpower. Romney has talked about merging the Turnpike Authority and the Massachusetts Highway Department. Kriss last week suggested changes to straighten out the "alphabet soup" of health and human service agencies.

The courts and higher education also have been mentioned. "Whenever you deal with government, don't you have the feeling that they go through too many steps?" wondered Edward Moscovitch, an economist and former state budget director under Gov. Frank Sargent. "I think it's great that they want to rethink that and say, 'Could we do that with fewer steps?' Are we doing stuff we don't need to be doing? Are there people there who have an attitude that 'You can't fire me, so I'm not going to work very hard?' The answer is yes. So I think it's great." Politically, reform has never come easy, given the clout of the state's labor unions, Civil Service laws, a web of state regulations to untangle, and the perhaps inevitable resistance from the political opposition. Jones admitted there are "effective, powerful forces that fight change," from the "well-intentioned" who resist reform for personal, practical, or philosophical reasons, and those who simply want to "bust the chops of a new administration." "Our system of government is set up, intentionally, to make these sorts of changes very difficult. And it's going to take a real compelling and creative form of leadership to make anything meaningful happen," he said. Romney acknowledged that it might be difficult to sell the public on sweeping reform. Some of those who rely on state government to survive may directly feel the impact of the economic conditions, he said. "Our economy is actually quite good and is quite strong," he said Thursday, citing recent, if small, upticks in job creation, and the prospect of strong holiday spending. "That's something which is hard, I think, for people to recognize. "But what people don't recognize is that there is quite a lag between the economy coming back and state revenues coming back, number one, and number two, this gap we have ... is not just an economic downturn issue.

The forecasts show this continuing indefinitely." Officials are predicting a budget deficit next year that will exceed $2 billion. Some say a wholesale restructuring is impractical and will take longer than Romney's four-year term. "Their main point of needing to take a fresh look at how government operates, how government does business ... we're in full accord that this is the opportunity to do that," said Michael J. Widmer, director of the nonprofit Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Widmer said Romney is in for a rude awakening if he expects to make the same quick changes he made at Bain Capital or the Olympic Games. "This isn't a political or a partisan issue. It's the reality of public sector management. It's true of most jurisdictions, and certainly in Massachusetts," Widmer said. Acting Gov. Jane M. Swift, who stepped aside when Romney decided to run earlier this year, said reform is never easy. Some critics say she and her Republican predecessors squandered opportunities to make significant change. But she suggested there is room for optimism. "I was a member of the Legislature in 1991 when Bill Weld did effectuate enormous structural change based on the severity of the fiscal crisis and the voter mandate that he was given," she added. "And I think Mitt Romney possesses both of those points of leverage in order to achieve structural reform." (Julie Mehegan's e-mail address is jmehegan@lowellsun.com).

From Lowell Sun, MA, by Julie Mhehegan, 08 December 2002

Cognos Awarded Prestigious Corporate Governance Honor

Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants Recognizes Cognos for Outstanding Corporate Reporting - Cognos (Nadaq: COGN; TSX: CSN), the world leader in business intelligence (BI), today announced that it has been named the Silver Winner in the High Tech category of the 2002 Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants Corporate Reporting Awards. The award recognizes Cognos for leadership and excellence in corporate reporting, specifically in the category of annual reporting. "At Cognos, we believe that the character and core values of a company are as important as its performance," said Tom Manley, Cognos senior vice president, finance and administration and chief financial officer. "We are honored to have been selected for this important award. It is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to corporate integrity, openness and good governance." Judges for this award included representatives from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Canadian Investor Relations Institute, and the Toronto Society of Financial Analysts. For further information on this award, please visit www.cica.ca. About Cognos: Cognos, the world leader in business intelligence (BI), delivers software that helps companies improve business performance by enabling effective decision-making at all levels of the organization. A forerunner in defining the BI software category, Cognos delivers the next level of competitive advantage - Corporate Performance Management (CPM) achieved through the strategic application of BI on an enterprise scale. CPM lets organizations measure execution against business strategy to ensure the two are aligned at all levels across the enterprise. Cognos provides a framework for CPM that links people, information, and decision- making processes throughout the organization, and enables the complete management cycle with integrated software for planning, budgeting, reporting, analysis, and scorecarding. Cognos serves more than 20,000 customers in over 135 countries. Cognos enterprise business intelligence solutions and services are also available from more than 3,000 worldwide partners and resellers. For more information, visit the Cognos Web site at http://www.cognos.com.

From CanadaIT.com, Canada, 11 December 2002

State, Local Government Must Improve Communication

There is a duality that is naturally created between the governing/taxing body and those whom are governed and taxed. On the one hand the needs of the community must be met, but on the other it must be done in as economical a fashion as possible. This has always been a strained relationship as people have debated the extent to which they can afford to pay for things such as education, sewers and the like. In recent years however, this relationship has reached a breaking point. Legislators, town officials, and school districts need to begin a discussion to examine how they can better communicate to people how the taxing structure works, what those taxes are to be used for, and the needs of the taxing body. It is essential for these groups to work together to achieve this goal. There essentially has been little change in the desire of all three governing bodies to achieve a state of frugality. What has changed, though, are the demands placed upon these bodies in the pursuit of maintaining and improving our schools, towns and state. And the cost to do all of this has risen as New Hampshire - and particularly the Seacoast - has grown. So then what to do? First, the state must examine making the statewide property tax a truly state tax. As it stands now, the tax is collected at the local level and then excess education monies, if there are any, are sent to Concord. The state needs to step up to the plate and take responsibility for administering and collecting its own tax.

There needs to be a separate bill and collection method for the statewide property tax. By delineating more precisely what the state demands, taxpayers will be better able to see where their money is going and know the difference between what the state is taking as compared to what the county, municipal, and schools are taking. We know that each of the four property taxes assessed on residents is portioned on the one bill that people receive, but the state needs to take ownership of its revenue-generating means and unburden the locality. Second, county, municipal, and school governing bodies need to communicate with each other when making decisions that will have an effect on their individual tax rates. We are not saying that they don't currently, but some do this better than others. For example, in Exeter, Plaistow and Hampton, the school districts and municipal governments have infrastructure needs that are going to compete for voter support during Town Meeting. Add Rockingham County's needs, and it is likely that none of the necessary improvements and maintenance will be passed. Delineating, balancing, and communicating the needs of all three in as strong a package as possible will help decision makers prioritize their needs, place their initiatives in scale with taxpayer affordability, possibly reduce redundancies, and ultimately save money for the taxpayers.

From Rockingham News, NH, 13 December 2002

Fiscal Forecast for State, Local Governments is Grim

Washington - Survey says fewer services and higher taxes are likely as resources dry up - The fiscal crisis now shaking state and local governments appears likely to grow even larger in the next budget year, bringing with it deep cuts in a range of services and mounting pressure to raise taxes, according to a survey of state budget documents by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. As state governments struggle to close current deficits - by slashing Medicaid spending, raising state college tuitions and, in some cases, releasing nonviolent prisoners - the survey of preliminary budget documents in 42 states shows that the fiscal outlook for next year is no better. And most states already have exhausted billions of dollars put aside during the boom years as a cushion against recession. "The states have done the easier things first, and now they're left with much starker choices," said Robert Greenstein, executive director of the center, a liberal research group. The study found that 11 states have adopted or proposed plans to eliminate health coverage for 1 million people living near the poverty level. The study is based on preliminary figures taken from working documents used by governors and legislators, and could change if the economy improves before most 2003-2004 budgets are enacted in June. On average, the states surveyed were anticipating deficits of 13 to 18 percent of their general fund budgets, or more than twice the gap faced in the recession of the early 1990s. Officials of national organizations that monitor state fiscal health said it is impossible to pinpoint the anticipated deficits for 2004.

But they generally agreed with the center's prediction of a continuing crisis for state governments, caused by plunging tax revenue and the steeply rising cost of Medicaid, which expanded dramatically in the 1990s to cover families leaving welfare. "Getting the real number is virtually impossible right now," said Scott Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers. "But given that, this is as good an effort as one can do." Some states - including Alabama, Alaska, California, Nevada and Oregon - face shortfalls close to one-fourth of their general fund budgets. Iris Lav, the center's deputy director, said that even deep cuts in basic services and tax increases probably would not overcome deficits of 25 percent. Only three governors have proposed or signed tax increases so far - in New Jersey, Connecticut and Arkansas - but Lav said that more than 40 states raised taxes in the 1990s recession, when deficits peaked at 6.5 percent of general fund budgets, far below next year's anticipated shortfalls. The report appeared likely to fuel debate over whether President Bush should include help for the states in his economic stimulus package. Montana Sen. Max Baucus, the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee, has proposed directing $75 billion to states to relieve fiscal crises. Economists have warned that deep cuts and tax increases at the state level would dampen the effects of the president's proposed tax cuts. White House officials have responded in the past that the federal government faces its own deficits. But one official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "The president will continue to look at options for securing economic growth, and constructive suggestions from the nation's governors will certainly be given consideration."

From Newark Star Ledger, NJ, by Dale Rusaakoff, 25 December 2002

Peru Hopes to Enhance Anti-Corruption Cooperation with China

Peruvian Prime Minister Luis Solari on Tuesday expressed the hope that the two countries could enhance exchanges and cooperation in the fight against corruption, drug trafficking and other crimes. In a meeting with visiting Chinese Procurator-General Han Zhubin, Solari said the two countries have separately tightened the screws on corruption and other crimes and that cooperation in this field would benefit both sides. "The crimes and criminal organizations could only be fought through international cooperation, with the goal of consolidating democracy, justice and social welfare," Solari said. He also hoped that the two countries could deepen cooperation in economics and trade, and tourism. Han said the Chinese government, which has declared war on corruption and drug trafficking, is interested in learning from the experiences of Peru. The two countries will sign a memorandum of understanding to promote the sharing of experiences and the training of personnel, Han said. Han and his delegation arrived in Lima on Monday for a four-day visit.

From EastDay.com, China, 17 December 2002

Modern Governance is not Conceivable Without Democracy, King Mohammed

Morocco's King Mohammed VI on Wednesday underlined that modern governance is not conceivable without democracy, calling for enforcing new forms of governance to adapt to the requirements of modern times. The king made the statement in a message read out on his behalf by Moroccan Premier Driss Jettou to the 4th Global Forum, currently held in Marrakesh. "Governance is not conceivable without democracy, as is economic and social progress without participation and development without liberty and respect of human rights, hence, the pertinence of the topic chosen for this meeting "Citizens, Businesses and Governments: Dialogues and Partnerships for Democracy and Development," said the king "If each of these actors: States, Businesses and civil society has a key role to assume within the society of tomorrow, it is on the way these roles will be understood, played and above all integrated, that will depend the efficiency of new governance in the fields of democracy, economic development and social progress," he added. The new realities in the world impose on governments to ponder other types of national and international governance, said King Mohammed VI, adding that the world is faced today with serious breaks and dangerous unbalances, despite the immense progress scored particularly in the realms of knowledge development, technology, economy or communication. "The most lethal break is that of violence that hits the planet and divides humanity," he deplored.

To traditional conflicts have added new forms of open or covert wars, ethnic conflicts, civil wars, terrorism, which are nurtured by motivations that we thought, are obsolete, drawn from ethnic differences and so called clash of civilizations or from abusive religious proselytism, the king underlined. King Mohammed VI stressed that the immense gap between the North and the South and unequal development of the planet are another break worsened by the great demographic unbalance which extends poverty and edging out in the underdeveloped countries and feeds the feeling of injustice and lack of solidarity and speeds up the currents of immigration. It is in this connection that dialogue between governments, businesses and citizens should blow a new breath, inspire alternatives and result in ways and means likely to lead to a fairer world of stronger solidarity and a planet better shielded, stressed the King. Touching on Morocco's experiment in the field of governance, King Mohammed VI underlined that the Kingdom started the redeployment of the State, reinforced democracy, promoted decentralization, sparked economic liberalization, privileged associative initiatives, encouraged partnerships between the private, the public sectors and the civil society. A Long path is yet to go to gain full benefits from the political, democratic, economic and social opportunities offered by the new forms of governance, he said.

From Arabic News, 12 December 2002

Annan Urges Greater Focus on Good Governance at Morocco Meeting

To make progress in building a better world, the international community should pay more attention to democracy, public administration and sound systems of governance, said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday, as suggested by a press release issued by the UN Information Center on Thursday. "Leaders and policy-makers need the tools and institutions that will translate the Millennium Declaration's broad goals into nationally owned strategies and actions," Annan said. The press release added that the Secretary-General delivered the remarks to the fourth Global Forum on reinventing government by the Executive Director of UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Africa, Mervat Tallawy. "Citizens need the transparent, responsive mechanisms through which they can voice their demands and participate in all stages of policy-making, implementation and evaluation," he added. According to the forum, the three-day forum in Morocco aims to make governments more responsive to citizens and private sector, modernize their operations and reconcile the values of local societies with the sweeping culture of globalization. In his statement, Annan also emphasized the involvement of private sector and civil society organizations in activities such as the delivery of public services traditionally incumbent solely on the states. "Such partnerships are critically important," he said. "While the state has a crucial role to play in development, it cannot accomplish its tasks on its own." Annan noted, the UN is deeply engaged in global efforts to 'reinvent government', particularly in developing countries and those with economies in transition and that some world bodies activities include policy research and analysis, training programs and advisory services.

From IRNA, 12 December 2002

New Language Policy for Civil Service Welcomed

Political parties have welcomed government's new language policy for state departments. The policy was announced by Ben Ngubane, the Minister of Arts and Culture, yesterday. Concern was however raised about the fact that departments should choose their own single language for inter- and intradepartmental use. The Freedom Front (FF) and Afrikaner-Eenheidsbeweging (AEB) felt that this would lead to Anglicisation. According to the new plan, all government departments will make use of at least six official languages in all external official correspondence within the next three years. Sydney Opperman, the Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson, said every contribution towards the protection of all aspects of South Africa's rich diversity should be welcomed with open arms. He said Ngubane demonstrated his commitment toward the development of language diversity with the announcement of the plan. Discussions around a workplace language for intra- and interdepartmental use must be conducted in a sensitive manner and would lead to compromises. Special attention paid to languages of the Khoi and San would help to save them from extinction, Opperman said. Cassie Aucamp, the AEB leader, said his party received Ngubane's announcement with mixed reaction.

He welcomed government's realisation of the cost of multi-lingualism and the willingness to budget for at the highest percent, additional cost for this. Also on the positive side were the inclusion of six languages instead of 11, which would have been impractical, said Aucamp. Criticising the prescriptions about internal language use, Aucamp said departments' language of choice would inevitably be English, as the majority of South Africans could "help themselves" in English on at least third-language level. "Strictly applied, this would mean that two Afrikaans officials would correspond with each other in English regarding official matters," he said. Ngubane said that government wants to establish a new culture of multi-lingualism in South Africa with the new plan. All government documents would have to be in at least six languages, chosen from the Nguni and Sotho groups, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans and English, if they were not available in the 11 official languages. Amounts budgeted for the additional cost of phasing in the plan, are R90 million in the first year, R95 million in the second year, and R142 million in the third year. The policy also provides for the establishment of language units in all national and provincial government departments. - Sapa.

From SABC News, South Africa, 4 December 2002

VP Malewezi Lambasts Civil Servants On Aids

Lilongwe Civil Servants received a stern dressing down for the Vice President, The Right Honourable Justin Malewezi last week at the launch of 'The HIV/AIDS Impact Assessment report on human resources in the public sector' for their tardiness at the function and their lack of appreciation of the pandemic. The launch, which took place strategically at the Capital Hill open space next to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was set to begin with the arrival of invited guests at 8 am. Civil servant began arriving well after the VP had arrived at 8 am and the programme had started. Chairs that were placed under tents were unoccupied and one of the tents was completely empty. At the end of his statement which he delivered at the launch, the VP said he had arrived at 9 am and found most of the seats empty. 'I came here at 9 o'clock and found all these chairs empty. I would like to ask the SPC, the deputy SPC and the Principal Secretaries to instil some sense of discipline, and part of that discipline is punctuality,' the visibly concerned VP said berating the civil servant and telling them of the importance of the launch saying: 'We can not allow ourselves to handle things so loosely as if this is not an important thing. This is probably the most important single issue that the civil service should be addressing itself to' he said. The VP stressed the importance of the civil servant's support in the effort that the government is making in the fight against HIV/AIDS adding: 'I hope the next time we have functions, particularly here at Capital Hill when the offices are just around the corner we could find time early enough to come and listen and participate and support the effort that government is making in order to combat this disease' After Malewezi's address to the civil servants, some guests were overhead saying 'People should know the VP is always on time.

The civil servants have no excuse' UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident Co-ordinator Ms. Zahra Nuru said the launch had taken place at Capital Hill in order to make it accessible for the civil servants to attend. 'As the report was centred around the Public Service and with the government as a partner, we though that the Capital Hill was the best place to launch it.' When asked if she was pleased with the turn out of the civil servants, she said: ' At first there were a few people standing around but once they were seated, we had quite a good crowd.' The report, which was funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and compiled by the Malawi Institute of Management (MIM) was commissioned in an effort to find out the impact that HIV and AIDS has on development efforts, and on the central role of the public sector for development management. The report has revealed that approximately K10 million which is not budgeted for is being spend by the government on it's workers because of the level of the epidemic. Government departments that were involved in the study were the Ministry of Water Development, the Malawi Police Service, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Population. The report also concluded that there was sufficient evidence of a high magnitude of human resource capacity erosion in the public service between 1990 and 2000 and that HIV/AIDS had contributed significantly to the capacity erosion in the five sectors of government that participated in the study.

From Malawi Here, by Pushpa Jamieson, 6 December 2002

Niger Government Disburses N200m Motorcycle Loan to Civil Servants

The sum of N200 million has been set aside by the Niger State government to be disbursed as car and motor-cycle loans for civil servants in the state. The secretary to the state government (SSG) Adams Erena made this disclosure while speaking in an interactive forum with newsmen in the state Ministry of Information. Erena explained that the committee set up by government to work out the modalities for the disbursement of the loans has submitted its report, adding that the report was being considered by the state executive council. The secretary explained that 70 per cent of the beneficiaries were drawn from the field workers while the remaining 30 per cent would cover non-field workers. Erena, said the loans were aimed at providing efficiency in the civil service, stressing that official cars were no longer available in the service. The SSG pointed out that the state housing corporation was working in conjunction with the Federal Mortgage Bank to provide low cost houses for civil servants on grade level 06 and 17, on owner-occupier basis. Erena regretted the negligence of the civil service at the early life of this administration, adding that the situation has new changed for the better. He frowned at the use of youths by politicians for thugery and called on the state ministry of information to use its machinery to educate and sensitise the youths on the need to avoid violence during the electioneering period.

From Daily Times of Nigeria, by Aideloje Ojo, 05 December 2002

Ondo Finance Commissioner Charged with Fraud

Akure-Ondo State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Segun Ojo was yesterday arraigned before a state High Court on a two count- charge of conspiracy and fraud. But Mr. Ojo pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges from the dock and was granted bail in the sum of N500,000, on self-recognition. The arraignment, yesterday, of the embattled Finance Commissioner followed assumption of jurisdiction on the criminal matter by the presiding judge in the case, Justice Deji Akinwalere. The Finance Commissioner had a couple of months, ago been dragged by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) before the State High Court, alleging criminal offences against the public officer. But counsel to the Finance Commissioner had challenged the jurisdiction of the court. Following the preliminary objection raised by the Finance Commissioner, Justice Akinwalere asked both parties in the matter to address him. Arguments were taken for weeks from both the ICPC and the accused person in the matter while ruling in the matter was fixed for July this year. But the High Court judge could not deliver the ruling in July following industrial action embarked upon by personnel of the state judiciary over unpaid salaries. Before proceedings commenced yesterday in the matter, the High Court judge threw out the application by the accused person, challenging the court's jurisdiction to entertain the case. On his assumption of jurisdiction in the matter, Justice Akinwalere ordered that the two count charges of conspiracy and fraud pressed against the public officer be read to him. Mr. Ojo, who responded from the dock that he understood the charges pressed against him, pleaded not guilty to them.

The charges specifically read: That you Mr. Segun Ojo did conspire with others to purchase a property at Plot 90, Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island, Lagos at N500 million from Ventures and Trusts Limited for Ondo State government in 2000 without budgetary provision for such during the year. According to the charge, the act violated section 22(40 of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act 2000 since it was without government approval and cash backing. But immediately the charges were read to Mr. Ojo, and his pleas were taken, his attorney, Dr. Tunji Abayomi made an oral application to the presiding judge for his client's bail on self-recognition. Justice Akinwalere did not ask the prosecutor- ICPC, in the matter whether it would object to the oral bail application before granting it. The development however caused serious furore as attorney to the ICPC, Mr. Kado accused the judge of not being fair to the commission. Kado who wondered why he had to grant such application without asking whether he would object to it alleged that he did not even hear the opposing counsel, ask for bail for the accused person. Not until Senior Counsel in the court intervened, the presiding judge could not continue with the proceedings as both opposing attornces in the matter were exchanging words. Justice Akinwalere however fixed hearing of the matter for between February 10 and 13, 2003. Meanwhile, counsel to ICPC in an affidavit to the court alleged that the accused person Mr. Ojo attempted to travel outside the country to Milan, Italy on November 12 but was stopped by security agents.

From Vanguard, Nigeria, by Dayo Johnson, 11 December 2002

Last Pay Hike for Civil Servants

Zimbabwean civil servants' 80 percent salary increases in January could be their last for 18 months while their annual bonus could for the first time be replaced by a performance-related 13th cheque, if Cabinet approves a wage freeze proposed by the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. Sources in the ministry said although Cabinet had yet to approve the proposal, the government had already taken a position on the wage freeze, which would complement a blanket freeze on prices introduced last month. They said once negotiations with labour and employers were concluded, a statutory instrument would be gazetted and the salary freeze, which would also apply to the private sector, would be effective from January 2003. "After the increases in January, we are looking at a period of between 18 to 24 months of salary freeze," a government official told the Financial Gazette. "That is at least up to July 2004 to achieve the desired results of combating the inflationary high cost of living from our side." Officials in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare said the government had invited other members of the Tripartite Negotiating Forum to a meeting next Monday to work out the implementation of the wage freeze. The forum comprises the government, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and the Employers' Confederation of Zimbabwe (EMCOZ). The secretary-general of the ZCTU, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Public Service and Social Welfare and the director of EMCOZ will meet today to work out the agenda of next week's discussions.

Labour and Social Welfare Minister July Moyo told the Financial Gazette yesterday that he could not provide details of the proposed wage freeze because key stakeholders were still being consulted. But sources said in preparation for the January 1 implementation of the freeze, the government had directed all National Employment Councils (NECs) to conclude and submit their collective bargaining results by December 31. Most NECs have already concluded their negotiations but are still awaiting Cabinet approval for the agreements reached. The sources said the government was banking on employers supporting its proposal because they had been hard hit by escalating production costs, including inflationary increases in wages. However, ZTCU president Lovemore Matombo said his organisation would not support the salary freeze, saying it was a futile exercise that had not worked anywhere in the world. "We don't support that move of a salary freeze, it's nonsensical. Our mandate is not to negotiate for people's poverty," he told the Financial Gazette. "Government should deal with stabilising the economy, the issue of good governance and implementing sound policies. Those are the problems the country is facing. It's not about salary freezes," he added. Analysts said a freeze on wages at a time workers were battling the soaring cost of living as well as serious shortages of basic foodstuffs would trigger social unrest and further destabilise Zimbabwe's economy. The country is facing unemployment of over 70 percent while at least eight million Zimbabweans need emergency food aid, which the analysts said were already recipes for massive social unrest.

From Financial Gazette, by Sydney Masamvu, 12 December 2002

BULGSA Calls for Transparency in Promotions, Appointments

BULGSA president Gabatsoswe Lebitsa has called for transparency and strict adherence to laid down Ministry of Local Government promotion and appointment procedures. Addressing the 28th annual general conference of the association in Francistown, Lebitsa said allegations of maladministration and nepotism in Local Government should be thoroughly investigated to avert large-scale corruption. The BULGSA president said activities that threatened the performance of local authority employees must be uprooted, adding that public service reforms like Performance Management System (PMS) could only be successful if implemented by a contented work force. "We called upon the government earlier in the year that - in the interest of public service - government should appoint a commission of inquiry to look into these issues but our call has been ignored and we wish to make a similar call today," Lebitsa said. He appealed to the government to listen to their plea that the job evaluation exercise and White Paper be completed as a matter of urgency. Lebitsa said BULGSA had been waiting for the outcome of job evaluation for 14 years during which time the association showed goodwill, patience and respect for the rule of law. "Our meeting with President Festus Mogae filled us with optimism and hope, but the response to our petition by the Ministry of Local Government has brought desperation and hopelessness because it is unspecific and non-committal," Lebitsa said. BULGSA chief reiterated his plea that the implementation date of the White Paper be communicated to BULGSA. He said the ministry's intention to grade all jobs already graded by the grading team, representing local authorities management and staff, be discouraged since it "serves only to delay completion of the job evaluation exercise". He called on workers not to lose sight of their needs but to be wary of those seeking to neutralise and tame them. "As workers we cannot make it without the solidarity of workers, our democracy cannot flourish if we become a nation of 'yes men and women' and psychopaths who survive by always pleasing the powerful and singing praises for the gratification of their whims," Lebitsa said.

From Republic of Botswana, 17 December 2002

Last Pay Hike for Civil Servants

Zimbabwean civil servants' 80 percent salary increases in January could be their last for 18 months while their annual bonus could for the first time be replaced by a performance-related 13th cheque, if Cabinet approves a wage freeze proposed by the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. Sources in the ministry said although Cabinet had yet to approve the proposal, the government had already taken a position on the wage freeze, which would complement a blanket freeze on prices introduced last month. They said once negotiations with labour and employers were concluded, a statutory instrument would be gazetted and the salary freeze, which would also apply to the private sector, would be effective from January 2003. "After the increases in January, we are looking at a period of between 18 to 24 months of salary freeze," a government official told the Financial Gazette. "That is at least up to July 2004 to achieve the desired results of combating the inflationary high cost of living from our side." Officials in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare said the government had invited other members of the Tripartite Negotiating Forum to a meeting next Monday to work out the implementation of the wage freeze. The forum comprises the government, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and the Employers' Confederation of Zimbabwe (EMCOZ). The secretary-general of the ZCTU, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Public Service and Social Welfare and the director of EMCOZ will meet today to work out the agenda of next week's discussions.

Labour and Social Welfare Minister July Moyo told the Financial Gazette yesterday that he could not provide details of the proposed wage freeze because key stakeholders were still being consulted. But sources said in preparation for the January 1 implementation of the freeze, the government had directed all National Employment Councils (NECs) to conclude and submit their collective bargaining results by December 31. Most NECs have already concluded their negotiations but are still awaiting Cabinet approval for the agreements reached. The sources said the government was banking on employers supporting its proposal because they had been hard hit by escalating production costs, including inflationary increases in wages. However, ZTCU president Lovemore Matombo said his organisation would not support the salary freeze, saying it was a futile exercise that had not worked anywhere in the world. "We don't support that move of a salary freeze, it's nonsensical. Our mandate is not to negotiate for people's poverty," he told the Financial Gazette. "Government should deal with stabilising the economy, the issue of good governance and implementing sound policies. Those are the problems the country is facing. It's not about salary freezes," he added. Analysts said a freeze on wages at a time workers were battling the soaring cost of living as well as serious shortages of basic foodstuffs would trigger social unrest and further destabilise Zimbabwe's economy. The country is facing unemployment of over 70 percent while at least eight million Zimbabweans need emergency food aid, which the analysts said were already recipes for massive social unrest.

From AllAfrica.com, Sydney Masamvu, 14 December 2002

'Civil Servants Will Not Face Aids Stigma'

The Secretary of State for Health, Dr. Yankuba Gassama has said that civil servants will not be removed from the civil service because they have AIDS. [The] pandemic is the archenemy of the society that continues to frustrate developmental programmes. Speaking at the annual celebration of world AIDS Day, SOS Gassama said the war against the AIDS pandemic should be intensified to eradicate the scourge, because of its effect on the socio-economic development. He said the disease, which poses a potential threat to development should always be seen as the number one enemy of the generation. As a result of its menacing effects, he said the government has undertaken lot of programmes for the prevention and control of the endemic. 'Another significant development registered in this area is the support rendered to the government by the UN system, MRC, and WEC for the people living with HIV/AIDS', he disclosed. 'The people living with the virus should not be discriminated or removed from their positions, but rather encouraged to participate and involve in activities for the prevention and control of the pandemic', he said. 'Government is aware of the fact that people living with or affected by Aids should be part of the solution and not the problem', said SOS Gassama. Deliberating on this year theme, "live and let live", he said people should recognize the importance of partnership, and collaboration in fighting the scourge of the AIDS pandemic. In his remarks, Dr. James N. Mwanzia, WHO Representative said stigma and discrimination are two deeply rooted vices, which undermines and threatens the intervention prevention, care and support for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. He lamented that women are often blamed for the transmission and spread of the disease, because of the low status accorded them in the society. "Women who are infected with the virus are often accused in families and communities of being prostitutes or living a promiscuous lifestyle', he added. Accordingly, he said the men are not spared from HIV/AIDS related stigma and discrimination. 'The impact of HIV/AIDS on children demands particular attention, and the degree of discrimination and stigma they encounter are directly or indirectly evident', said Dr. James Mwanzia. Finally, he said efforts should be consolidated to devote lot more resources on stigma reduction within the context of HIV/AIDS prevention and control in line with Abuja Declaration and the United National Declarations, adopted by the United National General Assembly special session on HIV/AIDS in June 2001.

From AllAfrica.com, 16 December 2002

Exercise to Determine True Size of Civil Service

The Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs, Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, on Tuesday said there is an on-going exercise to determine the true size of the Civil Service. He said this would enable the government to realise the needs of the Service within the process of re-organisation to improve its conditions. Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey said this when answering questions in Parliament. Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, NDC-Kumbungu asked the Minister the number of Special Advisers and/or Special Assistants (Personal Assistants) to the President, Ministers, Regional Ministers and District Chief Executives so far recruited or employed. The Minister said as at now there are 27 Special Assistants and Advisers in the system. Eight of them are presently at the Castle, while the rest are attached to the Ministries, Departments and the Regions. Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey said the Civil Service would need about 37 Chief Directors as its full strength at the national and regional levels to man it but as at now only eight of such officers are at post, half of whom are on contract. He said this means that the top of the bureaucracy of the Service was woefully understaffed and the situation has put much pressure on Ministers to wrestle with their mandate to implement decision with despatch to usher in the "Golden Age of Business". Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey noted that it was such a situation that has led the Government to accept the need for Ministers to have Special Assistants in their offices to assist them and to some extent to help Chief Directors in the speedy implementation of policies and in the discharge of other ministerial duties and commitments. He said for the Civil Service to play its role more effectively, it must be staffed with persons with integrity, knowledge and skills and they must also function under conditions of service that are seen to be attractive. Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey noted that the Service of today is not as effective as it should be, adding that its capacity for initiative and policy implementation has been weakened by low morale, weak management and the failure of the system to ensure that the skills of Civil Servants are upgraded through periodic courses in capacity building. "An equally important factor which explains the weakness and lethargy in the Civil Service derives from what we all recognise to be poor conditions within the service, including poor salaries and wages," he added. He said government acted quickly to identify many of the problems and various initiatives are being considered to address them. He assured Civil Servants of Government's support as long as they carry out their duties impartially and with integrity, adding that the government has also given the issue of remuneration some attention and "in the less than two years of the NPP administration, Civil Service salaries have been raised by 60 per cent."

From GhanaWeb, Ghana, 18 December 2002

FCC Addresses Employment Disparity in Civil Service

The Federal Character Commission (FCC), established in 1996 to work towards equal representation of each state of the federation in the federal civil service has began moves to address the dispute in the civil service. According to its Chairman, Alhaji Suleiman Lawal, the commission has started collecting data from each government ministry, parastatal and enterprise on the number of Nigerians on the pay list and state of origins of such employees. The chairman, who paid a courtesy visit on the Women Affairs Minister, Hajiya Aisha Ismail, yesterday appealed that the ministry should give his commission co-operation in its assignment. He said the decree establishing the commission gave it the power to sue ministries which employed more than the stipulated number of Nigerians from any particular state to the detriment of other states. He explained that in the decree, no state should have up to three per cent of its indigenes in any of the federal ministries or establishments. Alhaji Suleiman stressed that the commission would insist that each government ministry and establishment complied with the provision of the FCC law, saying, however: "We are not going to use the provisions of the law to promote mediocrity in the federal service." According to him, the commission would do all its best to ensure that the much talked about marginalisation by various states in the area of job creation and distribution of social amenities was properly addressed. Responding, Hajiya Aisha promised that the data on the staff strength of her ministry would be ready for collection at the end of this month and credited the coming of democratic government into the country for the flourishing of the commission "which was muzzled by the military for long." She appealed to the commission to give women and youth great consideration as disadvantaged sections of the society in employment opportunities.

From AllAfrica.com, 18 December 2002

Corruption is Costing Kenya Dearly

In a previous article, I offered suggestions, as an interested, but non-partisan outside observer, on the rather technical subject of information and communications policy in Kenya and how minor, largely cost-free changes could help stimulate Kenya's economy. While information communications technology (ICT) affects many people, its economic impact on individual Kenyans is as yet largely indirect. By contrast, corruption, especially by public officials, high and low, touches every Kenyan and should be the priority for the new Kenya government, whoever wins the coming election. From Kitu Kidogo to the inflated cost of medicines, telephone calls, and repairs to pothole-ravaged cars, average Kenyans pay the cost of corruption from their own pockets each and every day. And the chai is not small change: Studies conducted in 2001 on Government expenditures from 1990 to 1997 suggest that Sh475 billion was lost to public coffers during that period as the direct result of corruption and laxity by public officials. That works out to an average of Sh68 billion each year! Large-scale corruption and waste - Most Kenyans understand all too well how bribery works. Beginning with the Sh20, Sh50 or Sh100 handed at the roadside along with a driver's licence or paid to jump a queue at the emergency room or offered to cover the cost of "copying" an official form, the costs go up quickly when parents apply for birth certificates or seek public school enrollment for their offspring or when intending travellers apply for their first passport. And obtaining justice is always an expensive proposition, whether at the office of the local chief or in courts of law. While no one can condone such practices, I do understand how petty bribery arises from a tight and unpredictable economy and how minor officials press all the advantages they can out of the positions they happen to hold. It's wrong and it degrades the fabric of everyday life, but with all the high-stakes corruption going on - call it Kubwa Kidogo - it's hard to focus just on the underpaid traffic policeman.

Large-scale corruption and waste by senior Government officials and the public institutions they manage is enormously damaging to the economy and has become a pernicious cancer weakening the foundations of society. Official corruption also sets the tone and pattern for all the petty graft mentioned above and has increased the cost of doing business in Kenya, tarnished the image of the country and led to many of Kenya's serious problems with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and bilateral donors. To turn the situation around, the next government must institute a policy of zero tolerance to corruption in high places. Nor is corruption only an internal problem. Each year, the respected, independent non-governmental organisation, Transparency International, based in London and Berlin, surveys businesses and governments worldwide to compile its annual "Corruption Perception Index." In 2002 Kenya ranked as the sixth most corrupt country in the world to conduct business in, in a survey of 102 countries (and was the fourth most corrupt in Africa.) The report cited corruption and kickbacks paid to Kenya's political elites and their cronies, a view confirmed by the Kenya office of Transparency International in its own recent survey which found that "certain public sector institutions displayed the highest incidences of bribery." In fact, Kenya's law enforcement institutions - police, Judiciary, prisons - and local authorities, including Nairobi and Mombasa, were cited as six of the 10 worst offenders in Transparency International's 2002 Urban Bribery Index. Whether it's the procurement of overpriced and poor quality goods and services, the evasion of taxes and customs duties, the submission of false invoices by politically-connected Government contractors (who then have the nerve to collect interest when the false bill is not paid on time), or out-and-out bribery - such corruption remains largely hidden from wider public view. Destructive ideological agendas - But just like the roadside bribe, the cost of this corruption comes straight out of the pockets of those least able to pay. Corruption aggravates income inequalities in a country where more than 50 per cent of the population already live below the poverty line. It reduces public and private investment, undermines economic growth, acts as a powerful disincentive to productive economic and business activity, and results in huge losses of tax revenues.

Corruption also aids and abets international terrorism and undermines Kenyan national security. Immigration officials who steal and sell Kenyan passports to foreign nationals and who take bribes to issue illegal visas could open the door to persons such as the men who perpetrated the heinous attack on Paradise Hotel on November 28, the destruction of the American Embassy on August 7, 1998, and the bombing of the Norfolk Hotel on December 31, 1980. When international terrorists know that money and greed are more important to officials than national pride, they are able to use corruption to advance their very destructive political and ideological agendas. So, how should Kenya tackle its most vexing economic and social problem? Allow me to offer a few very candid suggestions on the subject to the next President. These are all steps which can be taken quickly, with virtually no cost to the public purse. * He should publicly pledge that any Cabinet member, senior official, civil servant or parastatal head who is indicted or taken to court on corruption charges will be immediately dismissed or, at a minimum, suspended from his or her position. Retaining such officials would tarnish the image of the Government and that of any new President at precisely the moment when Kenya needs to restore domestic and international confidence. Never again should a minister accused and indicted for embezzling millions in State funds ride to the courthouse in a Government limousine flying his ministerial flag. This type of behavior is an insult to honest and law-abiding citizens and demonstrates a lack of integrity in Government. * He should introduce in Parliament, as one of the first orders of Government business, a constitutional amendment to establish a new Anti-Corruption Authority with full prosecutorial and investigative authority. Parliament, in turn, should swiftly pass and implement the long-stalled Public Ethics and Anti-Corruption legislation consistent with the new constitutional provisions.

However, as an interim measure and without waiting for legislation or constitutional amendments, the Government should adopt and widely publicise a new code of conduct for civil servants and Cabinet officials. The code of conduct should make it absolutely clear that conflict between a public servant's personal business interests and official responsibilities will not be tolerated. This means that the provisions of the Ndegwa Commission report, which allows civil servants and politicians to own and operate the businesses that give rise to these conflicts of interest, should be quickly repealed. And no longer, for example, should a Permanent Secretary responsible for road contracts, housing or any other economic sector contract be able to sit as co-owner or partner in a private or family-run company that routinely bids on, and wins, tenders overseen by his ministry and his office. This type of behaviour should no longer be acceptable or legal. * Finally, the next Government should propose and introduce legislation requiring every registered company in Kenya to list by name all of its principal financial shareholders. Shell companies and proxy ownership should not be tolerated; instead the Government should adopt tough rules that mandate full and unambiguous disclosure. If the next Government undertakes these measures, corruption will not end overnight, but it will no longer be acceptable, and I believe the impact of the government's action will be felt all the way to the roadside encounters we see everyday. For, if ministers can no longer get away with it, what chance does the poor traffic policemen have? Mr. Carson is the American Ambassador to Kenya.

From Daily Nation, Kenya, 20 December 2002

Engineers Demand Higher Entry Point in Civil Service

Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has asked that the entry point into the civil service for fresh graduate engineers be raised from grade level 08/3 to grade level 09/5. Dr. Musibau Salau, chairman of Lagos State chapter of the NSE, made the call at the close of the society's 2002 gala award night on Wednesday in Ikeja. "Because of the long period of their studies, I am recommending here that the starting salary grade level of an engineer should be 09/5. This will boost the morale of the engineers," he said. If the call was implemented by the Federal Government, he said, the productivity level of the Nigerian engineer would rise tremendously, while the nation would reap good fruits. "The Nigerian engineer needs to be encouraged. They should be assisted in procuring lona switch minimum interest, short or long-term," Salau added. He sought the assistance and co-operation of the press to enable the NSE to achieve its objective of changing Nigeria for the better. At the gala night earlier, Mr. Olubunmi Peters, chairman of the occasion, urged the Federal Government to make engineers heads of parastatals and other establishments. "If other professionals were tried as heads of government parastals and did not succeed, why not try engineers?" he queried. Peters also urged engineers to participate in politics instead of staying glued to their profession. "Engineers should contest all levels of politics; these are where policies are made. You should not be sit tight Nigerians who only think of their profession," he said. Peters is the zonal co-ordinator, highways construction, south west, of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.

From AllAfrica.com, 21 December 2002

Public Service Association Applauds House for Passing Bill

The Public Service Association has applauded Parliament for passing the Labour Relations Amendment Bill, saying this will create a conducive environment for collective bargaining in the civil service. The Bill, which seeks to harmonise the country's labour laws, was passed by Parliament recently. Association executive secretary Mr. Charles Chiviru said in an interview the Bill was one of the most important pieces of legislation to be passed by the House since independence in 1980. "Now that the Bill has been passed we are eagerly waiting for its implementation as this will facilitate the establishment of a National Employment Council and workers committees in the civil service," he said. "We are aware that this implementation exercise cannot be done overnight as this is a process." Mr. Chiviru said Government workers had over the years been short-changed in collective bargaining negotiations due to the absence of favourable legislation. He said before the passing of the Bill collective bargaining negotiations between the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Joint Negotiation Council representing civil servants were not binding. "The Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare had the final say in the negotiations, thereby rendering the whole exercise of little value," he said. Mr. Chiviru said although his association was applauding parliament for passing the Bill there were still some grey areas that needed to be addressed in the near future. He singled out the issue of approval through a popular vote by the workers in the event of them resorting to an industrial action. "We feel this section must be amended and we are going to lobby for that in the near future," Mr. Chiviru said. The association, he said, would next year embark on an extensive exercise to educate civil servants on the contents of the Bill. The Bill, passed after a stormy debate between the ruling Zanu-PF and opposition MDC Members of Parliament, was a product of on-going democratic reforms of the labour market that started in 1980. MDC legislators opposed nearly every aspect of the Bill. The Bill was one of the longest pieces of legislation to be debated in the House as it had taken about 10 years for it to sail through. Last year, the Parliamentary Legal Committee issued an adverse report, saying some of the sections of the Bill violated constitutional rights such as freedom of expression. The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare later addressed the concerns raised by the committee, leading to smooth passage of the Bill.

From Harare Herald, Zimbabwe, 30 December 2002

Brunei Moves To Craft Human Resource Development Plan

Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei will craft its own National Policy in Human Resource Development Plan within the next nine months starting next month. Towards this end, the Professional Services Agreement was signed yesterday between the Department of Economic Planning and Development and the foreign experts. The signing of the agreement will facilitate the appointment of experts on policy formulation and planning of Human Resource Development (HRD) for Brunei. Signing on behalf of the government was the Acting Chief Director of Economic Planning and Development Awang Haji Kassim. Dr Charles Bedet, represented the foreign consultants. Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office Dato Haji Abdul Wahab witnessed the signing ceremony.Pengiran Haji Osman, Acting Director of Administration and Information Technology at the Department of Economic Planning and Development, said human resource is the sultanate's top priority to ensure the future of the nation. He added that the Department of Economic Planning and Development has been entrusted in managing and handling of matters pertaining to HRD.

Pengiran Haji Osman also said arrangements have been made to ensure that policies with human resource development will be formulated and a department will be tasked to monitor it and become a centre of HRD activities. "This is very vital for the development of Brunei," he said. He added the preparations of policy and plans for HRD have four phases, the first of which began on November 17.The second phase is scheduled for February next year, the third in May and the final phase calls for the experts to forward reports to a steering committee in July. In the first phase, the experts gathered information and familiarised themselves with matters related to human resource development in the sultanate. In the following phase, several workshops will be conducted and studies will be continued. During this period, they will draft the policy report, recommendation and preliminary report. For the third phase, the researchers will again forward their report to the steering committee. "Hopefully, several policies will be drafted in the third phase leaving the fourth phase only for adoption and endorsements," he said. "Brunei prioritises the development of human resource towards achieving progress in national building." Human resources are not only the main focus of the sultanate's development but also to ensure that its future is secured," he said.Brudirect.com

From Bru Direct, Brune, 28 November 2002

Compensation for First Time to Public Servant Under Employment Diseases Benefits

R. M. Kamalawathie, a nursing officer attached to GH Kurunegala who became disabled after being infected with a tuberculosis germ while serving the hospital was given Rs. one lakh as compensation. It was handed over by P. Dayaratna, Minister of Health, Nutrition and Welfare. Kamalawathie thanked Minister Dayaratna, Vajira Abeywardana, Minister of Public Administration and Ven. Muruttettuwe Ananda Thera, Chairman, Public Services Nurses' Union for the assistance. This is the first time such a compensation was awarded to a public servant. Kamalawathie will also receive pension up to 55 years and retire thereafter.

From Daily News, Sri Lanka, 4 December 2002

Government Roles Urged to be Clarified as WTO Required

China will clarify the functions of its central and local governments to ensure the uniform practice of its economic and trade laws and policies as required by the World Trade Organization (WTO). China will clarify the functions of its central and local governments to ensure the uniform practice of its economic and trade laws and policies as required by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The clarification of functions will be achieved through deepened reform of its public administrative sector, said Wang Feng, division chief of the State Commission Office for Public Sector Reform. The WTO requires that within a single country, goods and services from home and abroad must be treated equally in its administrative system, procedures and actions. The divisions of power between central and local governments still needs to improve in China, Wang said. Some functions overlap and some are failing to meet their responsibilities. "That may lead to local protectionism, monopolies, market separation and policy inconsistence, which will hamper the uniform implementation of China's commitments to the WTO,'' Wang said. He said future reform of the public administrative sector will clarify the functions of the central and local governments to form a system with rational division of power, co-ordinated operation and effective supervision. "Macroeconomic regulation is exclusive to the central government and economic management powers by city, county, town and village departments are being gradually weakened,'' Wang said.

Wang was speaking at an international symposium held Thursday on how to innovate the Chinese public administrative system in the post-WTO era. "Deepening the reform of the administrative management system is not only a requirement of the WTO, but is also critical to the need for establishing and improving a socialist market economy and promoting economic and social development,'' said Li Tielin, minister of the office for public sector reform. China watchers also agreed that reform in this area is needed. "How the government is put together often determines how well it can work,'' said Odile Sallard, an official with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an international organization that helps governments tackle the economic, social and governance challenges in a global economy. China is now working with the OECD in its reform of the public administrative sector. China conducted four major institutional reforms in public administration along with the country's economic development in 1982, 1988, 1993 and 1998. "These reforms, particularly those since 1998, strengthened the government's macro-regulatory functions, promoted independent decision-making by State-owned enterprises, rationalized relations between central and local governments, downsized government and more importantly - created an enabling environment for a government which meets the demands of a market economy,'' said Leitner Kerstin, a resident representative from the United Nations Development Programme. The two-day symposium, organized by the National Academy of Public Administration, attracted more than 150 scholars and government officials from home and abroad.

From People's Daily Online, China, 6 December 2002

Civil Service Reform Must Hew to International Labor Standards

It has become clear that the government's plan to reform the civil service system bumps up against international labor standards. Taking up appeals filed by Rengo (Japanese Trade Union Confederation) and Zenroren (National Confederation of Trade Unions), the International Labor Organization has issued an advisory opinion to the Japanese government which contains unusually harsh criticism of the civil service reform plan, raises suspicions that it violates international labor standards, and recommends reforms. We support the conclusions of the ILO. Its advisory opinion is based on a thorough examination of the process which led to the Cabinet's approval of the "civil service reform outline" at the end of last year, and makes many valid points. The ILO maintains that the government's insufficient dialogue with the labor unions representing civil servants working in the central government raises procedural issues. While the government convened numerous hearings with labor unions, there is no evidence that it has made an effort to reach an accord with them. The ILO also recommends that the government reconsider its decision to continue its traditional policy of restricting the basic labor rights of civil servants. The Constitution recognizes the basic labor rights of working people, but civil servants are the only group of workers whose collective bargaining rights are restricted, and who are prohibited from striking. The power to set wages and determine salary rankings for civil servants was instead delegated to the National Personnel Authority. But the government's reform plan seeks to reduce the authority of the NPA as much as possible under the banner of meritocratism, and to expand the discretion and authority of the agencies and ministries. The attempt to gut the NPA could very well violate the Constitution and ILO treaties that guarantee basic labor rights.

As the ILO points out, if the government is going to clip the wings of the NPA, then it ought to restore basic labor rights to civil servants. The government maintains that the ILO does not "fully understand conditions in our country" and that civil service reform is a domestic matter. While the government's response may appear to be reasonable, the ILO's advisory opinion is based on a deep understanding of conditions in Japan. Moreover, Japan is a member of the ILO's standing committee, has ratified 46 ILO conventions, and has played a central role in the organization. Japan must have joined the ILO because it accepts its basic principles. If there is a basis to the ILO's concerns, then Japan has a duty to afford them the appropriate level of respect. What is to be made of the government's refusal to lend an ear to the ILO's advice? And what is the reason for putting special Japanese circumstances ahead of international labor standards? Hewing to international labor standards does not merely guarantee the rights of working people. Ensuring that working conditions are protected and uniform around the world can help to put the brakes on excessive competition in the international marketplace. Globalization makes such efforts even more important. Unfortunately, the Japanese government's posture flies in the face of such trends. We have on several occasions pointed out the dangers of allowing a handful of bureaucrats and politicians to determine the shape of the civil service system, and to impose self-righteous reforms.We urge the government to view the ILO as a bearer of precious advice, and to begin a debate in the Diet to redo its reform plan.

From Mainichi Shimbun, Japan - 27 November 2002

Entrepreneur Urges Reform of Selection Process for Civil Service Jobs

After speakers from Canada, Japan and Germany shared experiences on their countries' public service reform, panelists invited by the Examination Yuan urged the government to target Taiwan's civil servant selection for reform to match the needs of future governments. Entrepreneur, Luis Ko, president of I-Mei Foods Co, suggested that the government must not merely aim at abandoning existing imperfections of the current civil servant's selection system, but instead should embark on creating a framework that could respond well to the needs of the civil service system for future generations. "The new selection system should get rid of entrance examinations that select unneeded human resources for the government's future development. At the same time, training and selection of professionals for the government's future administrations should start now," Ko noted. He proposed that, on the one hand, a review should be made to determine whether the country's political warfare system should be maintained. On the other hand, the government should start training and selecting civil service professionals for its future administrations such as the planned aboriginal autonomous administration. Another panelist, National Taipei University Professor Wong Seng-lee, agreed with Ko's view that it is worthwhile to review contents of the current selection system while the government's promoting the reform. "Along with civil servant selection reform, the Examination Yuan could start by separating worthwhile national examinations from those unneeded," said Wong, adding that it is a waste for the government to make every effort to have a fair, efficient examination and then choose professionals that they will not need.

Professor Jay Shih, Chengchi University, and member of President's Commission on Government Reform, was speaker who presented the fourth session at the forum. During his address on the second day of the "International Symposium on the Development of the Civil Service System in the 21st Century," Professor Shih spoke on a policy evaluation of Taiwan's effectiveness of the civil servant selection system. Shih suggested that the civil service examination system must emphasize the strategic human resource management function more than the prevention of political interference. A centralized and independent Examination Yuan established by the Constitution has indeed made a great contribution by running a generally open competition under an authoritarian regime, Shih pointed out. The system has helped Taiwan recruit many good people into government service and, more importantly, has prevented the emergence of a spoils or political patronage system of the type so often seen in developing countries, he noted. Shih nevertheless reminded listeners that past successes should not lead the nation to ignore the challenges that Taiwan's civil service examination system now faces. The professor of public administration singled out three challenging issues ahead - continuing to strengthen the examinations' procedural justice, setting the enhancement of substantive justice in the selection system as the top priority, and making organizations play a greater role in selection. He strongly advised that test validity (substantive justice) and organizational work force needs are two main goals that should drive the civil service examination system in the future. Ko also advocated that the Examination Yuan play a major role in human resource planning for the country's future development as well as constructing syllabus for the national education system.

A major problem Ko pointed out is that the current top ranking administration will have trouble mapping out future plans simply because they were selected by the same system, twenty or thirty years ago, the very system they need to change. A shortcoming of the system Ko, reiterated is that the current system does not provide officials with the tools to plan the government's future. The conferees also discussed the possibility of implementing restrictions on an examinee's highest educational background for certain selection examinations, a method which Singapore has applied to some of its basic national examinations. Chang Kow-lung, vice minister of the Examination Ministry and the third panelist of the session, disclosed that the administration "does" consider putting boundaries to the examinee's educational background in some national ordinary exams. The administration figured out the majority of successful examinees for the junior and elementary exams were highly educated examinees. This conflicted with the government's motivation to divide the national examinations into three levels to try and assure citizens with different educational backgrounds would have equal access to the civil service system, said Chang. The two-day symposium concluded with the Examination Yuan's president Yao Chia-wen's pledging continued reform, including creating the neutrality within the administration. Yao also said the Examination Yuan will start to undertake self-reform, "the Examination Yuan will proceed with internal reform while it's going to move ahead with restructuring the country's civil servant selection system."

From eTaiwan News, Taiwan, by Fiona Lu, 22 November 2002

Will The Real Civil Service Please Stand Up?

When I visited Hongkong in the past, my fellow civil servants there used to sigh and tell me how much easier my job was, compared to theirs. As a free and democratic society, they had to face attacks from the media, politicians and trade unions all the time, whereas in the disciplined society in Singapore (they were too polite to call us authoritarian), people would comply obediently. The next time I visit Hongkong, I can also show off some battle scars and sigh in unison with them. In 1976, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew stoutly defended the civil service of the day in a speech in Parliament. It is worth quoting what he said at some length, because it gives you an idea of what has changed in the public perception and expectations of the public service over the last 25 years. In his inimitable style, he said: 'A civil servant who can both do his job as an administrator and be good at the public relations side of it, who is able to say 'No' to an obstreperous, vehement and insistent constituent who wants the answer to be 'yes' and wants his MP to bend the rules in order that the answer is 'yes', would have learnt the secret of politics... I am glad that this is the maximum of criticism. There is no charge of dishonourable, corrupt or other practices; if MPs come here and complain of discourtesy, inadequate toilet or canteen facilities, tatty signboards, all this is in part a reflection of our relatively healthy state of affairs.' MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES - IN 1976, CIVIL servants were expected to be honourable and incorruptible. They were forgiven if they lacked courtesy. Their job was to administer, not manage the ground. Today, being honourable and incorruptible is not enough. The Government wants, and the public expects, civil servants to be innovative, courteous, open and responsive. The public also expects civil servants to show compassion and behave with humility. They not only want them to admit their mistakes but also to be contrite about it. They want civil servants to acknowledge that they do not have all the answers, take on board public suggestions and give credit to the source of the ideas. The private sector wants the Government to facilitate, not regulate.

The question is: Can the civil service be all things to all men and are all the demands consistent with each other? Can civil servants be efficient and save taxpayers' money as well as be innovative and experiment with many (some wasteful) ways of doing things? Can civil servants make bold decisions and take calculated risks, and yet ensure mistakes never happen and things never go wrong? If civil servants are completely responsive, taking in all suggestions, can they formulate coherent policies? Is the public service doing anything to improve its performance? Is it doing enough? If you have read what Mr. Lim Siong Guan, the head of the civil service, and I have been saying to civil servants and noted the measures that we have rolled out in the last few years, you would have realised that we are both acutely aware that the civil service needs to change. Mr. Lim's PS21 initiative, started in 1995 when he was in charge of the Public Service Division (PSD), was meant to instill in all civil servants the need to anticipate, welcome and execute change. When I took over PSD, I added two new strands in view of Singapore's need to position itself for a new phase of economic development and Singapore 21's findings of what Singaporeans want for Singapore. These two strands are innovation and responsiveness. With innovation, the PS21 movement is now asking the civil servant not only to improve the process or product but also to do things in a different way. Different ministries have been encouraged to start their own innovative agendas by implementing measures to encourage innovation. It could be an activity that opens the mind of participants to new options and possibilities. Or a space in the office to which officers can retire, to think out of the box. Responsiveness is trickier to instill. We can start with improving service delivery, and we are using the vehicle of e-Government to do so. By ensuring that all government departments come on board and offer as many services online as possible, we hope to make service delivery faster, more convenient and more accessible to the public. Yet another useful device is an independently conducted opinion survey on public service. This identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the various departments polled, as perceived by citizens who actually use the services. The shallow department head will trumpet the strengths of his department and ignore its weaknesses.

The wise department head...will be shamed into studying how he can improve his department's service delivery, so that in the next survey, the weaknesses will diminish. IS THE GOVERNMENT LISTENING? Some members of the public say the Government does not really listen. They point to the fact that when the Government chooses to consult, the policy is already well-cooked - too well-cooked - and the public's views are ignored. They regard consultation as a sham because they say that policies are never changed. It is impossible for any government to fulfill the desires and respond to the demands of every citizen. However, no government should ever ignore the ground or fail to address growing cynicism among the electorate. As Singaporeans show their ability to contribute constructive views, even contrary ones, it would also be foolish for the Government to refuse to listen. Some views are taken on board and policy decisions do get changed, but the Government is not very adept at admitting or communicating this. I believe that consultation is likely to expand to more and more areas in the years ahead. You can argue about the pace and the extent, but I think the direction to consult more is set. Where there is broad consensus of opinion among Singaporeans, such as in the economic arena, the Government is more consultative and responsive. Where there are deep divisions of views, values and culture, such as in the social and political fields, the Government is not inclined to move too fast, lest our society pull apart. It will consult, but where there is no consensus, it is difficult for the Government to be responsive. When citizens are asked to be active and when they, in turn, demand that the Government listen and be more open and transparent, we have moved beyond the realm of service to that of governance. Issues of governance are complex and difficult to resolve. They are also delicate because they involve the issue of where power resides among various groups - between government and the people, the public and civil servants, and between politicians and civil servants. We are still sorting this out, but if we acknowledge that the direction is towards a more open, transparent and responsive government, then certain guidelines can be laid down to help civil servants change their mindsets and ways of doing things. For instance, shouldn't civil servants now think about what can be communicated to the public rather than what can't be?

The new rule requiring all Cabinet Memoranda to include a section on public communication is a first step in that direction. This seemingly bureaucratic requirement has already caused civil servants to consider more explicitly and systematically what impact a particular government policy will have on the public and how the policy can be better explained. LOYALTY CHANGES MEANING - But the requirement does not exhort civil servants to think of releasing as much information as possible to the public, subject to the constraints of security, accuracy and the national good. Civil servants are still grappling with the challenge of balancing responsiveness with responsibility. Giving the civil servant more flexibility to decide, including empowering the street-level bureaucrat to make more decisions on day-to-day issues, will affect our system of ministerial accountability and responsibility. If it further diminishes the ability of the minister to know what the civil servant does, should the minister still be responsible? Or should he be accountable, but not responsible? If the civil servant is responsible, it must be because the mistake is his and his alone. Otherwise, he and his fellow civil servants will find it difficult to remain loyal to the government of the day. The old system worked well when civil servants had permanent tenure and pensions. But if employment in government becomes contractual, and civil servants have no pensions and lifelong employment, will their concept of loyalty change? The older generation of civil servants would uphold the concept that blame is usually borne by civil servants and public credit should go to the politicians. To them, civil servants were supposed to be professional and give advice to their ministers without fear or favour, according to the merits of the case and following their conscience. But while integrity was crucial, loyalty was equally important. They would be horrified by the idea that there should be 'whistle blowers' within the public service to inform the public about what goes on inside - this would be sheer disloyalty. They would not believe that governance is advanced by leaks and counter-leaks of confidential government memoranda as individuals and departments battle each other in turf wars.

Their belief in the Cabinet form of government meant that the Government should speak with one voice and disagreements should be subdued once a decision was taken. Whether younger civil servants will continue to feel the same way in the future, remains to be seen. There is a concern among some of us that the old civil service ethos is being eroded and more thought should be put into what will replace it. The old culture emphasised that government operated on the basis of certain clear principles and a fixed value framework. People knew their roles and responsibilities and how they should behave. There were rules and regulations to ensure compliance and many civil servants were happy to follow the rules and let the politicians take the responsibility of explaining to the public if mistakes were made, or if they wished to overrule the civil servants for being inflexible. I am not saying that that is the better way or that it is feasible and possible to go back to 1976. But as we move into the new Singapore, the civil service will have to re-examine its ethos and come up with a new value system more befitting of the society we have become or are becoming. When I last met the then head of the British Civil Service, Sir Richard Wilson, I asked him how he succeeded in arranging for busy ministers to attend policy seminars with equally busy senior civil servants. He told me that his good fortune was that he became Civil Service head at a time when the Labour government first took office after many years in the political wilderness, and the incoming ministers needed to be brought up to mark quickly on policy issues. As that day may never come in Singapore, we will have to find some other way of churning up such an interest. The writer is permanent secretary in the Prime Minister's Office. This is adapted from a longer version published in Ethos, the Civil Service College's quarterly journal.

From Straits Times, Singapore, by Eddie Teo, 6 December 2002

Civil Service Fears Insurance Scheme Will Collapse

The civil service is in a state of worry that their Public Service Group Insurance Scheme will collapse soon if it continues in the same manner, with 60 per cent not insured. Not only civil servants can afford to pay the premiums for the current insurance where there is also "hardly any returns". Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase has refused to comment on the issue saying he has nothing to say. The current Group Insurance Scheme was established in 1989. The Daily Post was informed the GIS under Marsh Company is of a voluntary nature where there are "very low returns unlike the local Colonial Health Insurance Scheme". The PSC employee who preferred not to be named said another Health Insurance provider, based in New Zealand made a presentation to the PSC promising a 100 per cent in premiums. "It was not considered even though it's cheaper. We were told this was because Marsh has been with us since 1994," the employee said. Government had turned down a $4 million budget requested by PSC specifically for the health insurance of civil servants. They have, however, allocated $780,000 for short-term support for those already under the insurance scheme for local hospitalisation or overseas medical evacuation. This, the employee said is for $65,000 per month for the current members of the scheme.

From Fiji's Daily Post, Fiji, 04 December 2002

'No Decision Yet' on Civil Service Pay Cut Next Year

The government says it has yet to decide whether to cut civil service pay next year, despite a pledge by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa to slash HK$20 billion off the budget and balance the books by 2006-7. Secretary for the Civil Service Joseph Wong yesterday rejected rumours the administration had already drafted a proposal to introduce further pay cuts next year. The government has not made a decision on pay adjustments for next year," he said. "Before we make a final decision, we will consult our civil service fully and extensively." Tung said after meeting senior officials on Saturday the government's annual spending would be cut from a projected HK$219.7 billion to HK$200 billion by the 2006-7 financial year. Speaking at a press conference at SAR government headquarters yesterday, Wong said the Civil Service Bureau would consult the staff side of the Central Consultative Council and "every civil service union, and indeed every civil servant ... will have ample time and ample opportunity to express their views". He also rejected suggestions that long-service payments for civil servants would be reduced. "I would like to point it out clearly, the government has never considered, and does not intend to consider adjusting the long-service payment of civil servants," he said. This expense was exempted from the government's expenditure reduction programme. Salaries for the 170,000 civil servants account for about 70 per cent of government spending. After Saturday's meeting, Tung also said the government would revive the economy, raise revenue and cut spending to attack the deficit - which stood at HK$72.4 billion for the first seven months of this fiscal year. Several ministers who attended the meeting later declared themselves willing to accept a 10 per cent pay cut. Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works Sarah Liao said yesterday although spending cuts would be difficult to achieve, she would ensure her bureau's services and morale would not be affected. "There is a basic requirement ... that important services must not be reduced," she said. "But for some services like obtaining and renewal of driving licences, the availability of on-line application services provide room for us to consider shutting some licence offices." Liao also vowed to communicate with staff before any pay cut proposals were endorsed.

The Standard, Hong Kong, by Michael Ng, 9 December 2002

Proposal To Raise Retirement Age For Civil Servants To 58 Rejected

Shah Alam - The proposal to raise the retirement age for civil servants to 58 was rejected because it would entail a huge expenditure by the government, Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Tuesday. "We have to cut the coat according to the cloth. We cannot spend without taking our income into account. We can give more money to the people, repeatedly raise wages but when the country goes bankrupt, there'll be problems," the prime minister said. He said the government had considered the matter before deciding to raise the retirement age from 55 year to 56 recently. "That's one more year's salary that we have to pay," he told a news conference after opening the 22nd World Fellowship of Buddhists General Conference and 13th World Fellowship of Buddhist Youth General Conference here. He said this when asked to comment on proposals by the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Service (Cuepacs) and the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) to the government to raise the retirement age for civil servants to 58 from the current 56.

From Bernama, Malaysia, 10 December 2002

China's Zhu Calls on Hong Kong Civil Servants to Take Pay Cut

Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji has called on Hong Kong civil servants to take a pay cut to help ease the government's swelling budget deficit, local newspapers reported on Tuesday. "I don't think all of them are opposed to cutting a little bit of pay," the South China Morning Post quoted Zhu as saying in Beijing at a meeting with Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa. "Senior civil servants could receive a higher pay cut while the reduction for the middle-ranking civil servants could be smaller," said the Chinese economic tsar. Zhu's comment was the first official acknowledgement that Hong Kong's administration may be planning another round of pay cuts for its 175,000 civil servants, who had their wages reduced by up to 4.42 percent in October. A local newspaper reported last week that another cut may be in the works as the administration struggles to close the gaping budget deficit, but top Hong Kong officials quickly denied there was such a plan. Legislator Lee Cheuk-yan, who is also general-secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, said Zhu's comments would give no room for civil servants to negotiate. Worse, private sector bosses may get even bolder in cutting costs. "It's almost certain the government now has got the mandate from heaven to cut pay and civil servants will have no say. Bosses in the private sector will even take the cue and use Zhu's words to cut salaries," Lee told Reuters.

Zhu's comments were also seen as interfering in the internal affairs of Hong Kong, which was promised a high degree of autonomy under the 'one country, two systems' concept agreed when Britain returned the territory to Chinese rule in 1997. "I think he's overstepped the boundaries of the 'one country, two systems'. How Hong Kong solves its deficit is Hong Kong's own problem. But he seems to be helping Hong Kong silence its civil servants," Lee said. Cecilia So, president of the 100,000-strong Hong Kong Chinese Civil Servants Association, urged talks with Tung's administration to avoid a repeat of the acrimonious row that preceded the pay cut in October. Some 35,000 civil servants took part in one of Hong Kong's largest protests in years to denounce the pay cut in July. "Other than cutting pay, there must be other ways to cut costs. We hope the government can cooperate with civil servants and not cause further divisiveness between the people and the civil servants," So told Reuters. Zhu also said he was confident that the Hong Kong government would solve its budget problems in three years. When asked if he was interfering in Hong Kong's internal affairs, Zhu was quoted by newspapers as saying: "You should listen to what Mr Tung is saying". Tung vowed on Saturday to slash public spending to reduce the territory's budget gap, one of the highest in Asia. The administration has set a new target to cut public spending to HK$200 billion (US$25.65 billion) by the 2006/07 fiscal year, HK$20 billion lower than the original goal. Hong Kong's budget deficit ballooned to HK$72.36 billion for the first seven months of the fiscal year ending in March, or about 60 percent higher than its target for the entire year.

From Reuters, UK, 10 December 2002

'Take Moral Highground', Civil Servants Told

Former prime minister Anand Panyarachun yesterday expressed concern that political and business activities had weakened bureaucracy to the point that conflicts of interest could become a serious problem. Giving a speech on "ethics of policy-makers" to mark the 60th anniversary of the Bank of Thailand, Anand also urged government leaders to listen to the opinions of bureaucrats and other groups. He said he was worried to see civil servants and state-enterprise officials becoming weakened and losing their courage to argue with politicians in power or do things that were right but against those in power. "Although there are still good officials, they are spineless, and they are too worried about their own future and themselves to argue [with politicians in power]," Anand said. He added that the country's future was not bright if these officials failed to improve their role and stand up to protect the country's interest. "The past 60 years have taught us that our country survives because of good officials. I have served in the bureaucracy for 23 years, the business sector for 23 years and the political sector for two years, and I've seen a lot. Let me put it straight that I am really concerned about the bureaucratic system," Anand said. "In the past, when the political sector or the military were not good, the country survived because of a good bureaucratic system. Now the military has distanced itself from politics, but political and business interests dominate and have weakened the bureaucracy." He said policy-makers should search for different and varied views by sounding out people both affected and not affected by the policies. The former prime minister said it was dangerous for politicians in power to refuse to listen to other people's opinions and think that they were always right. Anand urged the government to realise that policies which were beneficial to the public were not merely the "total sum of private sector's interests" and that the public interest did not automatically depend on the wishes of most people.

On the contrary, he said, the public interest rests on ethics and social justice. "We cannot survive without the power-balance system. [The government] needs to be reminded and reprimanded by a civil society," Anand said. He said the issue of conflict of interest could become a serious problem because politicians and businessmen still did not understand the issue. "Conflict of interest will become an important issue ture and will make it complicated for policy-makers to work," Anand said. He cited his own experience, giving an example of how a conflict of interest could happen. He said he had been working for Saha Union for 20 years and the company needed an export quota for clothes. He said he had been offered a position on the government's committee setting the export quotas but had declined it because it would create a conflict of interest. "Had I accepted the position, I would have created a conflict of interest immediately. I could not resign from my company to accept the position either, because I had worked for the company for 20 years and had an attachment to it and wanted to help it," Anand said. He said the administration and lawmakers needed to work with transparency and must refuse any form of bribery. "It is wrong, despite the fact that the bribes are accepted - Taking commission is wrong and granting benefits to someone you love or to your relatives is also wrong," Anand said. He said Thai people should be taught integrity from childhood so that they grew up ethically and refrained from taking advantage of other people. The former prime minister also reminded BOT officials that they had to have the courage free themselves from dominance by politicians and continue working as a key pillar of society.

From The Nation, Thailand, by Anoma Srisukkasem, 10 December 2002

4% Public Works Cut Eyed

The Finance Ministry plans to cut fiscal 2003 public works spending by about 4 percent from the previous year's budget, up from the 3 percent reduction target stipulated in guidelines for budgetary appropriation requests submitted by government ministries and agencies in August, sources said Tuesday. According to the sources, the ministry has decided to take the unusual measure of seeking additional cuts in public works outlays due to the shortfall in tax revenues resulting from the prolonged economic downturn. As a result, the budget for public works in fiscal 2003, which was estimated at about 9 trillion yen, likely will be slashed by tens of billions of yen, the sources said. However, the ministry is expected to consult with the ruling coalition parties over the cutbacks as some members of the coalition have urged the government to place priority on combating inflation in the supplementary budget for this fiscal year and the initial budget for fiscal 2003, and to take a cautious approach toward public works cutbacks. Fiscal 2002 outlays for public works, including telephone and water services, were cut by 10 percent from the previous year to about 9.3 trillion yen. A 3 percent expenditure reduction in accordance with the budgetary request guidelines therefore would have reduced such spending to about 9 trillion yen in fiscal 2003.

From Daily Yomiuri, by Yomiuri Shimbun, 10 December 2002

Civil Servants Can Help Suhakam

Kuala Lumpur - The work of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia will be more effective if senior government officials understand the importance of human rights and view Suhakam's recommendations positively. "All we need is for senior members of the ministries to study our recommendations and submit an appropriate report to the political masters," said Suhakam chairman Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman after receiving a memorandum from the Civil Society, a group of NGOs, at his office here today, "Short of that, it makes the work of Suhakam very difficult. "We need the co-operation of everyone - the Government, non-governmental organisations and the silent majority." Abu Talib cited the case of the commission's recommendation for the amendment of the Suhakam law to be comprehensive and effective, which had yet to receive any response from the Government. He said the failure by MPs to debate Suhakam's 2000/2001 reports which were recently tabled at Parliament was most unfortunate. "Many issues were raised with regard to human rights in the report which if debated at Parliament, would help to further create awareness of human rights in this country. "On the basis of the report and silence of Members of Parliament, the NGOs got together and debated on the function of Suhakam in those two years (contained in the memorandum)." Abu Talib said the media should also help the Suhakam cause by publicising its recommendations, thus putting the pressure on the Government to accept them. Datuk Param Cumaraswamy, who led the the NGO group, said as Suhakam was set up under a Government-sponsored legislation, it was expected that the Government accepts the recommendations made by the commission. "Some recommendations might be difficult for the Government to accept."

He said it is only proper for the Government for purposes of accountability and transparency to give reasons why these recommendations or part of the recommendations cannot be accepted." This is extremely important, otherwise over a period of time, people will lose respect for Suhakam." Cumaraswamy, who is United Nations Special Rapporteur, said the NGOs had made it clear in their memorandum to Abu Talib and the members of the commission that they would work together in the promotion and protection of human rights in Malaysia. "We would also like to see human rights policies of the Government to be consistent with international standards, treaties and obligations of Malaysia. "We once again call upon the Government to ratify the main covenants on civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights and convention of torture in accordance with international standards, on this day when the whole world is commemorating World Human Rights Day." Cumaraswamy said it was unfortunate that Malaysia having held important positions on international forums particularly the chairmanship of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations, was not complying with these covenants. He added that there was a need for an amendment to the legislation on Suhakam as the legislation was far from satisfactory and not in accordance with the international standard.

From New Straits Times, Malaysia, by Sarah Butcher, 11 December 2002

Status Change for Officials Gains Support

Doctors, pharmacists seek civil service roles - The Ministry of Public Health is supporting doctors and pharmacists who want to be employed as civil servants rather than state workers as required under bureaucratic reform. Deputy Prime Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng said though the government has a policy of cutting the number of civil servants, most doctors and pharmacists who worked in rural hospitals wanted to be employed as civil servants, not state workers. "The ministry is concerned about boosting the morality of its staff, many of whom feel more secure as civil servants," he said. They believed civil servants enjoyed better benefits. Uncertainty about employment could explain the high number of doctors resigning from the ministry, said Mr. Chaturon. This year alone, 300 doctors had quit the ministry, 30% more than the number of new doctors being employed. Most doctors were still concentrated in the city areas. While the ratio of doctors per head in Bangkok is 1:800, in Kanthrarak district in the northeastern province of Si Sa Ket it is 1:34,000. Mr. Chaturon said the ministry would also look into drug quality and the patient referral system. Hospitals where patients are registered are responsible for paying the cost of treating patients, even when patients are transferred to other hospitals. Mr. Chaturon said he also wanted greater public acceptance of drug addicts. They should be treated as patients rather than criminals. If the policy did not change, it would be difficult to control people who had been rehabilitated from getting into drugs again. Mr. Chaturon said school students who were addicted to drugs should be treated with discretion, for their future could be affected. They should also be given a chance to continue their education.

From Bangkok Post, Thailand, by Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, 11 December 2002

Change the Mindset of Civil Services

Hyderabad - Eight years ago, when Estonia broke away from Russia, it had no computers, and had only one mobile phone in the Ministry of Finance! And today it can proudly boast of 60 per cent Internet penetration, and belonging to the top ten countries in terms of Internet penetration and e-governance practices! And we have the extreme case of a Cabinet Minister who logged in from his laptop in Seattle to participate in a Cabinet meeting taking place in Estonia! All this was made possible because they `de-politicised' and created a non-profit organisation (foundation) for putting the country `on-line'. In Singapore most people file income tax returns online, while in India most wait in long queues and special counters are opened as the deadline approaches. Everyone goes around with computers even in shopping malls and help with e-governance. Even in a country like Coasta Rica and Lebanon, people go around with `mobile' equipment offering e-mail and other services. This is the world of e-governance, of mobile equipment, of technology transforming the way societies function, and are examples of how governments have begun to offer services. While Estonia is an example of a small country `leapfrogging' and benefiting from technology developed by others, for other countries which are already into the concept of e-governance, it is a question of changing the mindset of their administrative machinery, and concentrating on a few services that really make a change in the lives of the people. "Every country, every city and its people are different. Each has to adopt something that is most suitable to it in providing the seamless services," says Douglas Holmes, the well-known author of the book on "e-gov: e-business strategies for Government", which has become a handbook for governments the world over on how to implement digital governance. As Editor of Microsoft's E-Government News, Mr. Holmes travels extensively interviewing and discussing e-governance with public, officials and technology companies, just as he did in Hyderabad today. Sharing his experiences with The Hindu here, he was of the opinion that there was no standard success formula for e-governance.

Every country has to decide what is good for it. For example, Australia has made incredible progress in taxation, while it is Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in the case of Canada. And a small State like Spain, which is not on anyone's radar, has the most advanced portal on tourism, because it considered tourism its most important industry and decided to concentrate on it. "Governments have to look at what is important for them and concentrate (prioritise) and not generalise e-governance concepts," he says. Moreover, e-governance should not be viewed from the point of view of rendering services only, but as an instrument to drive the economy, he feels, adding "Adopt a model most suitable for that country, culture, geography and economy". Significantly, he says, a case has yet to be made to show e-governance as an instrument for saving administrative costs. However, in specific segments savings could be seen immediately. These are in areas like e-procurement, on-line tax filing and collection of customs and excise duties. In short, wherever revenues and business dealings are involved, savings and cost effectiveness is visible immediately. What about areas such as healthcare where developing countries like India use it for a social purpose, to take medicine and specialisation to the doorstep of the needy in remote areas? No one can argue that there are no social benefits. However, this area continues to be a neglected one. Even in France only half the doctors have a computer! For most people, dealing with a government is considered a waste of time, a precious commodity. "You deal with government because you have no choice," he says. Then how to smoothen the process? Change the mindset of civil services and changing business processes is what is required, though most challenges are technological. He concedes that the problem of mindset persists in developed countries also, and not in developing countries alone!

From The Hindu, India, by P. Vikram Reddy, 11 December 2002

India Shares End -2: Market Awaits Privatization News

Bombay - Indian shares ended higher Wednesday on significant gains in Infosys Technologies and state-run bank shares. The 30-share benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, or Sensex, ended up 13.59 points, or 0.4%, at 3303.27, but off its intraday high of 3324.23. Volume on the BSE was worth INR19.90 billion, higher than the daily average of INR12 billion to INR15 billion in the last month. On the rival National Stock Exchange, the 50-share S&P CNX Nifty ended up 6.05 points, or 0.6%, at 1069.75. Infosys was the star of the day with heavy buying by investors and funds. Infosys closed up 3.8% at 4,671.75 rupees, but off its intraday high of INR4,714. Dealers said an 8.2% rebound in Infosys's ADRs triggered the buying in local shares. "I see Infosys going up by another INR200 over the next few days" to further bridge the gap between local shares and ADRs, said a strategist at a foreign brokerage. Dealers said the company's decision to convert some of its local shares into ADRs will increase the float on the Nasdaq, and eventually reduce the current over 40% premium that the ADRs are trading at. State-owned bank shares also moved up sharply with investors looking for growth stocks. Bank shares were in demand because of the new securitization law, which is expected to push up their profits. "Banks with large non-performing assets will gain as they look attractive now," said a dealer at a Bombay brokerage. State Bank of India closed up 3.3% at INR279.25. Among other bank shares, Bank of Baroda closed up 10.8% at INR68.50 and Bank of India was up 3.9% at INR33.50. Indian Overseas Bank was up 3.8% at INR13.85 and Syndicate Bank was up 3% at INR15.50.

India Shares End -2: Market Awaits Privatization News - Dealers said there is good buying support at lower levels, and with any positive news from the government on its privatization program shares are expected to gain further. "I think the next resistance for the Sensex is at about 3350 levels," said Sanjay Thakkar, chief dealer at private brokerage Marison Finvest. He said the Sensex is expected to get good support at over the 3240-point level on any correction or profit-taking. Dealers said they are awaiting the outcome of a meeting of the Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment Wednesday. Any news on the size of the stakes to be sold in Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum with a time schedule will potentially move the entire market up, they said. Hindustan Petroleum closed down 0.3% at INR270.05. Bharat Petroleum closed up 2.9% at INR205.90. Bharat Petroleum saw good buying on speculation the company may declare a high dividend, and also on news reports that the government is considering a proposal that will include an issue of American Depositary Receipts or Global Depositary Receipts as part of the privatization of Bharat Petroleum. Meanwhile, Punjab Communications closed up 2.6 at INR69.85, but off its intraday high of INR78 and Punjab Alkalies closed up 9.7% at INR13.60. Both these shares moved up on divestment hopes. Mahanagar Telephone closed up 2.4% at INR107.75 on news reports the company will be on the next list of privatization candidates. "The government is progressing further (on privatization), and has not stopped at one point," said Khandwala Securities strategist Gurunath Mudlapur. Shares among Sensex heavyweights closed mixed. Reliance Industries closed down 0.4% at INR292.50 and Hindustan Lever was up 0.4% at INR179.90. ITC was down 1.8% at INR648.80. (By Raghavendra Upadhyaya, Dow Jones Newswires; 91 22 22884212; raghavendra.upadhyayadowjones.com).

From Yahoo Headlines, 11 December 2002

Boon for Public Service Workers

ACT Public Service workers look set to receive extended maternity leave as part of a substantial enterprise-bargaining breakthrough announced yesterday. ACT Minister for Industrial Relations Simon Corbell said the Stanhope Government was keen to deliver improved salary and conditions for ACT public servants. The maternity leave provision would give the ACT workers an edge over their Commonwealth and interstate colleagues. Mr. Corbell said, after the union's in-principle agreement to Common Core Conditions, the Government had offered: A 10.5 per cent pay increase over 18 months with the agreement expiring on March 31, 2004, and 6.5 per cent backdated to the expiry date of current agreements - September 30, 2002, for most; with a further 4 per cent paid from July 1, 2003. The new offer includes a package of maternity leave initiatives, including: An increase in paid maternity leave for ACT Public Service staff from 12 to 14 weeks. An entitlement for employees returning from maternity leave to access regular part-time employment for a period of up to two years from the birth of their child. An option for the leave period to be doubled at half pay with the additional period to count as service for all purposes. Access to annual leave and long service on half pay, when taken in connection with maternity leave. Access to "primary care-giver leave" where an employee, the primary care-giver of a newborn or adopted child and who is not entitled to maternity leave, will have access to equivalent provisions. "From the Government's perspective the ACT now will have an edge over the Commonwealth on these issues," Mr. Corbell said. "The Commonwealth does not offer this level of paid maternity leave so that's an advantage for the ACT Government both in terms of recruitment and retention of staff; but it also demonstrates our capacity to be a best practice employer and puts us in line with the International Labour Organisation standard," he said. "The extension of this provision puts ACT Public Service staff ahead of the majority of their interstate colleagues."

Mr. Corbell said the matter of how to pay for pay parity had yet to be resolved but he was optimistic all parties would reach "a satisfactory conclusion within a week". The State of the Service Report 2001/2002 records the ACT Public Service as having 9952 employees, of which 68.9 per cent are female and 31.1 per cent (4481) are male. CPSU assistant national secretary Margaret Gillespie said she was happy with the offer "at this point" and should it go ahead, there would be additional benefits. "What it means is that the Government will be able to arrest the problems it has with recruitment and retention of staff, given the percentage of ACT employees that are women; it will also increase loyalty to the employer," she said. "Women will want to stay and the flow-on from that is a career path and eventually more women in senior positions." MLA and former chair of the Select Committee on the Status of Women Katy Gallagher said yesterday she applauded the move to 14 weeks' paid maternity leave in the ACT public sector. "This actually goes further than that recommended by the select committee. "It can only help to encourage women to return to the workforce and to support families who are trying to balance personal and working lives. It's a fantastic result and puts the ACT out in front of the Commonwealth and every other state other than the Northern Territory," Ms Gallagher said.

From Canberra Times, Australia, 11 December 2002

Government Assures Transparency In HPCL Bidding Process

New Delhi - The government would ensure that there is maximum competition in bidding for Hindustan Petroleum Corpora-tion Ltd (HPCL). Speaking to FE, officials of the ministry of disinvestment (MoD) said there was no question of disqualifying, directly or indirectly, any private company from bidding for HPCL. Disinvestment minister Arun Shourie had informed Parliament on Monday that the oil major would be privatised. Reacting to a news report which said domestic companies would be barred from bidding for HPCL, MoD officials said such a bar was ruled out for two reasons. Firstly, it would be legally untenable. Secondly, it would be politically difficult, for the Swadeshi lobby would criticise the government for selling national property to foreigners. On the issue of public sector undertakings (PSUs) being allowed to bid for other PSUs, MoD officials said the Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment had already decided in its meeting on September 7 that PSUs and government-controlled co-operatives would not be allowed to participate in any participation process, as this defeated the very purpose of privatisation. This decision came in the wake of Indian Oil Corporation aggressively bidding for IBP Ltd and acquiring it, paying up almost double the price what the second largest bidder was willing to pay. But there was a rider to the September 7 decision: PSUs can bid for other PSUs if the CCD gives them special permission to do so. The petroleum ministry has never been comfortable with this decision. Petroleum minister Ram Naik has made it clear that his ministry would consider proposals of ONGC and Gail for the take-over of HPCL. Meanwhile the MoD has sought a meeting of the CCD, which is subject to the availability of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. While the Centre has resolved the issue of disinvestment in HPCL, some important issues are still be addressed. The most important among them is that of allowing ONGC and GAIL bid for HPCL. In fact, this is becoming a new contentious issue between the petroleum ministry and the MoD. Did the informal meeting between the concerned ministers on oil sector privatisation on December 6 reach any consensus? Mr. Shourie and his officers are absolutely tight-lipped about this.

From Financial Express, Bangladesh, by Ravi Kapoor, 12 December 2002

140 Public Servants Apply for Packages

More than 140 public servants have applied for separation packages under the State Government's plan to shed 600 staff this financial year. The Government set aside $42 million for the program and so far only 122 of the applications have been accepted. Those who have taken packages worked in eight different agencies which the Government will not identify. However, it is known that up to 40 redundancy packages could be offered in Primary Industries. The decision to offer the packages was announced in the State Budget this year as part of the Government's plan to cut back state spending to fund election promises. Some public servants, especially those in the transport sector, are understood to be unhappy about the decision. Workers at TransAdelaide who have been on the redeployment list for years want to take packages but their requests have been rejected, along with a number of other applications in other departments. The Government will grant packages only in instances where it can be demonstrated that the shedding of a staff member will save the department money. Normally, packages are offered simply to reduce public service numbers and many people have taken them, resulting in a loss of experienced senior public sector workers. Public Service Association general secretary Jan McMahon said the public sector had been decimated over the past decade. "We can't afford the loss of any more experienced staff," she said.

From South Australia Advertiser, Australia, 03 December 2002

Public Service to Slash Admin Jobs

More than 1200 jobs will be cut from Queensland's public-sector workforce under a plan for government departments to share administrative staff. State Cabinet on Monday approved the Shared Service Initiative, under which seven clusters of departments will share centralised finance, human resources, property, facilities-management, document and records-management units. Departments and agencies currently use their own corporate services units. Under the Shared Service Initiative, to be implemented by July 2006, three major clusters will service 20 government departments. Two minor clusters will be set up to service smaller agencies such as the Office of the Governor and the Queensland Audit Office. The two largest departments, Education Queensland and Queensland Health, will retain their own units. Treasurer Terry Mackenroth last night said the new system would cut down on duplication and reduce administration costs, freeing up more money to pump back into services for the community. "Obviously through the economies of scale we can achieve with this initiative, not as many staff will be needed to provide the same level of service," Mr. Mackenroth said. About 1250 jobs would be cut by July 2006, but Mr. Mackenroth said no bureaucrats would be forced to leave.

Surplus administrative staff who wanted to continue working in the public service would be given work outside the corporate services environment within their own departments or other agencies. Queensland Public Sector Union assistant general secretary Brett McCreadie said the decision meant a cloud would hang over the homes of 5000 bureaucrats during Christmas as they waited to see if they would have a job next year. "This shows how mean and nasty the Government has become," Mr. McCreadie said. "In their desperate attempts to recover their budgetary position, they're happy to ruin Christmas for thousands of families." Opposition Leader Mike Horan said Cabinet's approval of the scheme just a week before Christmas was "a nasty present to be leaving in the stockings of Queensland's public servants". "People should be under no illusions - these job cuts are being made because the Beattie Government cannot afford to pay the wages of the public service," Mr. Horan said. Liberal Party state leader Bob Quinn said the new system was an attempt to reverse an alarming trend of unsustainable growth in the public service. "The Government has allowed the public service to grow substantially in the past few years and now is looking for ways to trim it back because the growth in expenditure has outstripped the growth in revenue," Mr. Quinn said. The Shared Service Initiative was recommended after a review of corporate services under the Aligning Services and Priorities Program.

From Brisbane Courier Mail, Australia, by Chris Jones, 17 December 2002

Be People-Friendly, Sarawak Civil Servants Told

Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George han has urged the Sarawak Civil Service to be more people-friendly to ensure that the government policies are implemented on the right track. Dr Chan, who is also the Sarawak Finance and Public Utilities Minister, said this approach, to win the "heart and mind" of the people, could cut back on unnecessary red tape. "Such good governance will ensure that policy-makers give and receive the right feedback and information from the public to help improve customer services," he said at the ministry's Clients' Day and community service project held at the Wisma Bapa Malaysia's car park, Petra Jaya here. He said the public's positive attitude and response to government programmes would also ensure that projects did not stall due to lack of public feedback. The civil servants should not be too rigid and instead exercise discipline and ethics when executing their duties apart from practising teamwork, he said. At the open day, Dr Chan joined the ministry's staff to wash cars for the public with all the proceeds to be chanelled to charity bodies.

From Bernama, Malaysia, 14 December 2002

Civil Servants on Better Ground

Aggrieved civil servants have a better chance of winning legal battles if they acquire the services of lawyers employed by the Attorney General's Office. But, the worry is despite knowing this, some public service administrators are shying away from seeking help from the legal advisory service and this is not to their advantage. Opening the Attorney General's Conference 2002 at The Naviti Resort yesterday, Solicitor General Nainendra Nand said, "such a move by civil servants results in bad or wrong decisions being made." "Often the matter is challenged in court by the aggrieved party. We are then called upon to defend action where our advice had not been taken." Mr. Nand said this in many occasions resulted in the aggrieved party losing the case, which the Attorney General's office would have won. "More often not the taxpayers ends up footing the bill for the bad decision taken by the administrator," he said. "That is why I sincerely hope that public servants around the country who make decisions will take heed of this and consult a lawyer before taking decisions in the future." Mr. Nand said acquiring the services of Attorney General's office lawyers was not hard because the office boasted the services of close to 40 lawyers.

From The Fiji's Daily Post, 12 December 2002

Corrupt Public Servants (Forfeiture of Property) Bill

The 166th Report of the Law Commission on 'The Corrupt Public Servants (Forfeiture of Property) Bill', which also contained a draft Bill on the subject as well as its main features, was laid on the Table of the House on October 27, 1999. The Report was examined in consultation with legal experts who have expressed their opinion that instead of enacting a separate legislation it would be appropriate if the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 is amended in such a way as to make it more deterrent. It was felt that it would be a better way to achieve the objective of rooting out corruption. This information was given by the Union Minister of Law and Justice, Shri K. Jana Krishnamurthi in a written reply to a question from S/Shri Kripal Parmar and B.J. Panda in the Rajya Sabha today.

From Press Information Bureau, India, by Rajya Sabha, 16 December 2002

Civil Service Unions in Accord After Pay Talks

Civil servants and the government have reached an agreement on a new mechanism for pay adjustments while not ruling out a salary cut next year. A first round of talks between civil servant groups and the government went through smoothly yesterday. "We have agreed not to rule out a pay cut," Secretary for the Civil Service Joseph Wong said. "Of course, having taken into account other spending cut measures." The government has, over the past two decades, used private sector pay trends to determine civil service pay. Wong said a new mechanism would be established if pay adjustments became inevitable. "We have agreed on a legal and rational pay adjustment [mechanism] should it be necessary. We also agreed on the setting up of a mechanism for pay adjustment and the government would follow this mechanism," he said. Senior Non-expatriate Officers Association chairman Paul Pang said a pay adjustment mechanism was necessary. "We will not accept government cutting civil servants pay simply by talking it over," Pang said. "The government said it will fully consult the civil servants on whether to use new or existing mechanisms for pay adjustments, and we will co-operate with the government." The deficit cannot be solved in one step, he said, adding that government should not target civil servants. Federation of Civil Service Unions chairman Leung Chau-ting was satisfied with the meeting. "Civil servants can't afford to take a 6 per cent cut this year, and yet another 6 per cent cut next year.

There has to be an indicative [mechanism] accredited by all, or civil servants will not accept any pay adjustment," he said, adding that the government would set up a committee soon to work on the new mechanism. Disciplined Services General Union chairman Stephen Wong warned the government not to impose a pay cut. "If the government decides on its own to cut our salaries next year, our relationship would be broken." Lau Kam-wah, a representative of the staff side of the police force council, said they had ``heard about [pay adjustment] long time ago''. "We are absolutely willing to talk to the police force management and find a way to cut spending," Lau said. He warned that if the government kept changing its policy, it could cause a flood of resignations and, since police officers aged between 45 and 55 could resign at any time, Hong Kong's law and order could be adversely affected. Chinese Civil Servants' Association vice-president Wong Ho said a pay cut was the last resort and the government should first call on department and bureau heads to cut spending. "If, after all other options [were] exhausted, [and] a pay cut was still necessary, civil servants would understand," he said.

From The Standard, Hong Kong, by Matthew Lee, 13 December 2002

Civil Servants Split $8m Backpay Today

Retailers around Fiji are expecting their cash registers to start ringing in Christmas from today when Fiji's 18,000 civil servants share $8 million in back pay. Most retailers said the festive season so far had not translated into the spending normally associated with the season. Suva Retailers Association president Himmat Lodhia said sales should definitely increase from today. "When we started off the Christmas sale at the beginning of the month, sales were average," Mr. Lodhia said. "But we are expecting sales to double or be higher because import figures are expected to rise." Mr. Lodhia said individual retailers would be raking in the cash but was not in a position to say how much money change hands over Chrsitmas and New Year. One shop owner in Suva said Christmas sales for the past two years "have not been like before". "I think parents instead of buying children presents spend more on groceries and save money for the back to school sale," he said. Another shop owner who sells clothes said she had done "okay" so far. "A lot of my customers are coming to buy clothes, mostly summer wear because it is getting warm and evening wear for parties and cocktails." She said women spent more than men on clothes and accessories. "It gives them a sense of belonging and puts them in the festive spirit." A Indian sweets dealer who sells from a "bean cart" said business was booming "because of lot of teenagers are in town buying bean, peanut and mango skin". "Before I used to make about $25 a day but now I make about $50." The bean cart seller said he hoped to collect enough money by Christmas to buy a cooler to store cold confectionaries like ice blocks. "Ice blocks and sun pop will sell quicker because children cannot afford to buy expensive stuff." Most major supermarkets in Suva and other urban centres will open for extended hours until Christmas Eve.

From Fiji's Daily Post, 19 December 2002

Health, Power Lead Corruption List in India

According to the perception of the public, the most corrupt sector is found to be police followed by health, power, and education. However, on the basis of actual experience of the common man, the most corrupt sector is found to be health sector, followed by power and then education. A large number of poor people seek health services in India, and since most have to pay bribes, this sector ends up as the most corrupt out of the 10 sectors surveyed. The survey also reveals that the least corrupt sectors in India are railways and telephone. India ranks among the top 30 most corrupt countries in the world out of 102 surveyed. This is based on business-class perception. To formulate a policy and implement a programme to combat corruption a national survey based on hard data has been carried out after experience-based opinion poll from recipients of public services, the common man. The World Economic Forum Survey ranked India 45th out of 49 countries on the honesty of its officials. The Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International has depicted India as becoming more corrupt in recent years. This study looks at the prevalence of corruption in 10 sectors - Education, health, police (law and order), power, telephone (communications), railways (transport), land and building administration, judiciary, taxation and ration (public distribution system).The total estimated outflow due to corruption in these sectors in a year is Rs 26,728 crore. This works out to about 10.5 per cent of the total compensation of Rs 235,496 crore made to public sector employees in a year. Of this, the North zone contributes 39 per cent (Rs 10, 449 crore), the East zone contributes 28 per cent (Rs 7,421 crore), South contributes 22 per cent (Rs 5,867 crore), and West contributes 11 per cent (Rs 2,992 crore). In the health sector an estimated bribe of Rs 7,578 crore was paid, and 25 per cent of the people surveyed had paid bribes. In the power sector, an estimated bribe of Rs 5,764 crore was paid by 18 per cent of the people who interacted with the sector. In education sector palm-greasing touched a high of Rs 3,552 crore. In the judicial sector, a small percentage of population paid a bribe of Rs 2,510 crore.

Interestingly the 'speed money' disbursed in the Public Distribution System was a 'low' of Rs 1,210 crore only. In police the bribe takers accounted for Rs 1,803 crore, even though only 4 per cent of the surveyed population interacted with keepers of our laws. The sector wise comparison of total financial outflow leads to several interesting revelations. What is most damaging is that the total outgo due to corruption in the health sector is close to 40 per cent of the GDP contributed by it. Power stands next with outflows totaling 14.23 per cent of its contribution to the GDP. Education follows with outflows of 5.9 per cent. Corruption in telecom results in outflow of 3.5 per cent of its contribution to the GDP, while the railways sector has outflows of 1.99 per cent. The metros are responsible for a substantive 18 per cent (Rs 4,932 crore). The urban contribution is 56 per cent (Rs 14,927 crore) and the rural contribution is 44 per cent (Rs 11,801 crore). Health, power, and education sectors contribute the largest quantum of corruption: Rs 7,578 crore, Rs 5,764 crore, and Rs 3,552 crore respectively. Although total outgo in payments made by lower strata is relatively lower, the social impact is still very high given their lower earnings. Rs 1,200 crore flows out annually from the lowest urban SEC compared to Rs 2,698 crore from the rural SEC. Perceptions also vary according to zones. While Health is perceived to be the most corrupt sector in the East, police is perceived to be the most corrupt sector in the West. Ration in the South and power in the East are perceived the most corrupt. Health and power sectors are perceived to have the maximum impact on society taking into consideration their extent of interaction with the public. Region wise corruption scores reveal South and North urban sees railways as the least corrupt sector. In the East, especially in the rural East, health sector clearly dominates other sectors in the corruption front. In West police, power, and education are seen as most corrupt. North sees power, police and health as most corrupt. East sees health, police and education as the most corrupt, while South sees police health and ration as the most corrupt. The overall impact of corruption on common man can be only be calculated depending upon the level of interaction of the specific sector with the public.

This is reflected in the overall impact score of two extreme values - health and police sectors. Overall, corruption score of police is the highest, yet its impact is relatively low because of the low interaction of a common man with this sector. Therefore, per se, although the corruption in Police sector may be very high, but it does not impact the common man so much as not many people interact with this sector. On the other hand, the corruption score in health sector is the second highest but its impact score is the highest, due to the high level of interaction of a common man with this sector. Thus, corruption in this sector impacts the common man the most given that maximum people interact with this sector. The extent of public interaction is maximum in the health sector, followed by power, ration, education, railway, telecom, land administration, taxation, police, and judiciary. Thirty-two per cent of the respondents have interacted with the health department, followed by power (30 per cent), and ration (28 per cent). Judiciary has an interaction level of 3 per cent while police has an interaction level of 4 per cent. Perception on the existence of corruption in a sector varies significantly from actual level of interaction. For example, police was perceived to be the most corrupt department, and hence has the highest corruption score of 6801. But only 4 per cent of the respondents had interacted with the police (highest interaction is for health at 32 per cent).The overall impact of a sector depends upon the extent of interaction as well as the extent of corruption in that sector. Hence, even though the overall corruption score of taxation is the highest with a score of 6801, its overall impact is amongst the least. Education follows taxation in overall corruption levels, and then come health, telecom, power, police, land administration, judiciary and railways. But, in terms of the overall impact, health comes first, followed by power, education, ration, police, railways, land administration, telecom, taxation and judiciary. In this perspective, health and the power sectors become the sectors responsible for largest quantum of corruption in the society.

The health sector has an overall impact score of 1,671 while that of power sector is 1,305. Further, the impact on the poor is profound given their lower earnings although total outgo in payments is lower than the rich. Health sector - The percentage of people affected by corruption in health sector is about 8 per cent of the entire population of India. Payment of money through hospital staff is the dominant irregular process encountered for admission, followed by direct payments being made. Payments made for admission to hospitals are higher in the South. The dominant corruption after getting admission is non-proper care by doctors and nurses and also in terms of non proper medicine, food etc.. Twenty-five per cent of those who have interacted with the health sector talk of money being demanded and it is especially high in the South (38 per cent). The key actors leading to corruption in this sector across zones are allegedly doctors (77 per cent) followed closely by hospital staff (67 per cent). Power sector - The percentage of people affected by corruption in power sector is about 5.9 per cent. Improper supply of electricity and payment of excess bill were the key corruptions faced. About 50 per cent respondents who had interacted with the power sector in the past one year had to pay bribes to the office staff. Of these, 50 per cent, in most cases (67 per cent) money is directly demanded. About every second person having interacted with the power sector has to make repeated visits to the office just to get their complaint registered or addressed. The incidence of this experience was much higher in West zone (72 per cent). The key actors in corruption in this sector are linesmen (37 per cent), officers (24 per cent), meter readers (23 per cent), and billing clerks (22 per cent). Education sector - The percentage of people affected by corruption in the education sector is about 5.3 per cent. The key process that seeds corruption in this sector is the admission process. The study shows that 18 per cent of those who interacted with this sector, got admission through irregular process. This trend was the strongest in South (39 per cent) and lowest in East (6 per cent). The two main dominant modes of corruption in the admission process are donation (57 per cent), and use of an influential relative (19 per cent). Receiving donations is a custom strongly rooted in the South zone (70 per cent).

Ration sector - As many as 4.76 people have been affected by the corruption in the ration sector (PDS). Instances of corruption were cited such as money being demanded for new cards and faulty (less) weighing for different items. About 17 per cent claim to have paid money due to corruption. The average amount paid was about Rs 274 per annum. This translates into an outflow of Rs 1,210 crore per annum. This outflow was higher in the East (Rs 710 per annum) and lower in the North (Rs 54 per annum). Police sector - Two per cent people are affected by corruption in the police sector. Fifty-three per cent have said that political intervention has been the key corruption faced. Fourteen per cent have pointed out that money has been demanded for making an FIR and 50 per cent admit having paid. However, this is lower in the West (36 per cent) and the metros (39 per cent). The duty police officer (54 per cent) is seen as the chief beneficiary. Other beneficiaries are the investigation officer, officer in charge, and clerk in the police station. Railways sector - The percentage of people affected by corruption in the railways sector is about 3.3 per cent. The study does not reveal any dominant corruption faced. However, about 15 per cent talk of paying money for corruption directly or indirectly to the railway department. The ticket checker (55 per cent) and the clerk (36 per cent) are the key beneficiaries. Land Administration - The percentage of people affected by corruption in land administration sector is just about 3 per cent of the total population. There are two main forms of corruption faced in this sector. The first is waiting for a long time for getting documents and the second is an offshoot of the money involved in various activities such as mutation, services, and tax. On an average, 36 per cent talk of money being demanded. This incidence is the strongest in the North (58 per cent). In 59 per cent of the cases money is directly demanded. The key beneficiaries of corruption in this sector are perceived to be Surveyors (45 per cent), revenue officers (30 per cent), and Tehsildars (23 per cent). Telecom sector - About 3.12 per cent of the population is affected by the corruption in telecom sector. This figure is significantly high in view of the fact that a very small fraction of our population has access to telephone lines. The study does not reveal any dominant type of corruption. To some extent, money has to be paid to linesman for installation or for restoration of faulty line when phone goes dead. About 26 per cent people talk of money being paid.

The incidence of this form of corruption is somewhat higher in South (37 per cent). The linesman is seen to be the key beneficiary by about 78 per cent of those who interacted. Taxation sector - The percentage of people affected by corruption is taxation sector is about 0.66 per cent. Surprisingly, this sector has garnered a lower corruption score as compared to the other sectors. In the North zone and metros, over 50 per cent of those who have interacted claimed to be paying income tax. On the other hand, Municipal tax (>>80 per cent) features strongly in the West and South. The key corruption faced is 'paying for getting reduced or corrected assessment'. However, only about 11 per cent talk of paying money. The tax officer (44 per cent) and the clerk in tax department (35 per cent) are the key actors in the corruption in this sector. Judiciary - The percentage of people affected by corruption in judicial sector is about 1.29 per cent. The key form of corruption prevalent in this sector is predominantly paying money to the court official. To add to justice seeker's misery, money sometimes needs to be paid to the public prosecutor and even the opponent lawyer. Forty-three per cent talk about having paid money. This figure is slightly lower in the West (35 per cent). The key beneficiaries of corruption in this sector include Court employees (44 per cent) and the judicial officials, public prosecutor / opponent lawyer at about 15 per cent. Interestingly, the higher the interaction with a sector, the lower is the percentage of people having paid money for corrupt in that sector (except for health). Health is the sector with the highest public interaction and also has the highest percentage of people having to pay money due to corruption. It is therefore, no surprise that the largest quantum of corruption outgo occurs in this sector. It can be inferred that corruption is higher in sectors, which assume higher importance for a particular set of people. The North and Urban areas where agriculture is the primary source of income, land administration assumes a great importance. Interestingly, the average outflow of money for corruption in this sector is the highest in the North and rural areas only. Food procurement is a major problem in the East, which has the highest proportion of poor people in India. The average outflow of money for corruption in ration sector is among highest in East. South zone basks in the glory of the highest number of educated people. The money outflow for corruption in the education sector is also the highest in this zone.

Though the interaction with the public with police, judiciary, land administration, and taxation are low, nearly one third to half of those dealing with these sectors have to face instances of corruption and the per capita outgo due to corruption is also high. The Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2002 ranks 102 countries in terms of the degree of which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. Of the 102 countries surveyed, seventy countries - including many of the world's most poverty stricken - score less than five out of a clean score of 10. Corruption is perceived to be rampant in Indonesia, Kenya, Angola, Madagascar, Paraguay, Nigeria, and Bangladesh, countries with a score of less than two. Countries with a score of higher than nine, with very low levels of perceived corruption, are predominantly rich countries, namely, Finland, Denmark, New Zealand, Iceland, Singapore, and Sweden. India has a score of only 2.7 out of 10 and ranks 71st amongst 102 countries in 2002. India's score has declined from 2.9 in 1999 to 2.7 in 2002. The survey also reveals that there is a very high correlation between Corruption Perception Index and Human Development Index. The delivery of services in sectors like health, education, power, public distribution system have a strong impact on the quality of life; a very logical correlation between CPI & HDI. Corruption lowers investment and hinders economic growth and human development by limiting access to basic social services as well as increasing the cost of their delivery. It also increases poverty, subverts the financial system, and undermines the legitimacy of the state. Thus, corruption is anti-poor, anti-development, anti-growth, anti-investment, and inequitable. Adverse effects of corruption on growth have been statistically corroborate from cross-country data. A one standard deviation improvement in the Corruption Index is estimated to be associated with an increase in the investment rate of about 3 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product. Methodology A detailed structured questionnaire was prepared. ORG-MARG conducted the field survey with participation of Transparency International India. The survey sample was scientifically identified to bear the best possible representative character across the country in the North, South, East, and West zones. The results were also analysed according to the urban, rural, and metro populations.

From EconomicTimes.com, 20 December 2002

Public Servants' Super Draining $6.5m Each Day

The NSW Government's superannuation fund, which pays the state's 180,000 retired public servants, continued its slide in the first four months of this year, losing another $1 billion. Having posted a $2.25 billion loss on its investments last year, State Super has now lost more than $6.5 million a day, every day, for the past 16 months, a report has shown. And according to the Budget mid-year review, released by the Treasurer, Michael Egan, on Monday, the Government expects even worse to come, with unfunded superannuation liabilities hitting $13.7 billion by June. The mid-year Budget review predicts that investment returns for 2002-03 for State Super will be zero, although this appears optimistic, given that losses over the past 16 months have been about minus 10 per cent. Details of State Super's low investment returns have emerged a fortnight after the Auditor-General, Bob Sendt, tabled his last report of the year, in which he said State Super's administration costs per member had ballooned, and were nearly 5 times what they were in 1996, when the structure of the fund was changed. However, the Treasurer's office said the ballooning costs were partly explained by a two-thirds drop in membership. Mr. Egan said Government liabilities did not stop at super, and Government debt was just as important. "In June 1995 net financial liabilities, which add debt and unfunded super together, were $32.7 billion. At June 2002 they had been slashed to $24.2 billion as a result of seven years of surpluses and canny debt management. "They are expected to fall further to $23.8 billion by June 2006."

Mr. Egan insisted that just reporting super liabilities would seriously misrepresent changes in taxpayers' liability. The Opposition spokesman on Treasury, George Souris, said the latest figures on State Super's investment losses showed that unfunded liabilities were $1 billion higher than the $12.68 billion when Labor came to office in 1995. The first round of losses in investment were revealed in State Super's annual report, tabled in Parliament last month. This showed that the total amount of State Super's assets in 2001-02 fell by $3.95 billion, while the fund increased its investment in international equities from 25 to 33 per cent of its portfolio, despite offshore market volatility. Public sector superannuation schemes are extremely complex, but it is important to differentiate between State Super, which is Australia's largest fund and is known as a defined benefit fund, and First State Super (FSS), which is an accumulation fund. State Super holds the retirement assets of about 180,000 retired NSW public servants, including teachers and nurses. As a defined benefit fund it pays a guaranteed set benefit to its members, and has been closed to new members since 1992. It guarantees members set payments. However, if the fund's investment performance is bad, the Government must cover the liability. FSS, on the other hand, is not guaranteed by the Government. The investment strategy is chosen by its members, and if it does not perform well the member pays the price.

From Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, by Paola Totaro, 25 December 2002

'Amakudari' Still Rife in Civil Service

More than 300 senior government officials who retired in the 12 months to Aug. 15, 2001, were hired by foundations, according to an annual government report released Thursday. Many of the foundations have ties with the ministries and agencies at which these officials worked. The report relates to 1,273 bureaucrats at the senior assistant level and above who retired during the 12-month period. Of this total, 1,136 found new jobs, it says, and 315, or 24.7 percent of the total, were hired by foundations. Another 202, or 15.9 percent, became self-employed. Profit-making corporations hired 183, or 14.4 percent, while aggregate corporations hired 146, or 11.5 percent. This year's report is the third of its kind compiled by the government. It features an expanded scope, covering senior assistants as part of a civil service reform drive. According to the report, the number of civil servants who obtained posts at institutions connected to their former ministries and agencies - the practice known as "amakudari" - was roughly the same as in previous years. Amakudari is widely viewed as a source of corruption, as retired public servants typically try to obtain favors from governmental offices on behalf of their new employers. The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry recorded the largest number of retired officials during the year, at 321. Of these, 103 were hired by foundations with strong ministry ties. The Finance Ministry had the second-largest number of retirees, at 289. Of these, 287 found new jobs, 14 of them at aggregate corporations and special corporations.

From The Japan Times, 27 December 2002

Anti-corruption Drive in China Fruitful

China's anti-corruption campaign has achieved noticeable results in recent years thanks to the Communist Party's determination to fight the scourge and also the effective work of its anti-corruption body - the Party's Central Discipline Inspection Commission. China's anti-corruption campaign has achieved noticeable results in recent years thanks to the Communist Party's determination to fight the scourge and also the effective work of its anti-corruption body - the Party's Central Discipline Inspection Commission. "The Party has always taken a clear-cut stance on combating graft and building a clean and honest government," retired official Liu Liying told China Daily. Liu Liying, now 70, stepped down from the post of commission deputy secretary at last month's 16th Party Congress. She is known as a staunch fighter at the forefront of China's anti-corruption crusade. The concerted efforts of the whole Party and people have helped check the growing tendency of corruption in some Party and government organs and this has been welcomed by the Party and the public, Liu said. In recent years, a lot of effort has been put into exploring and improving the Party's work style and enhancing its discipline work to build a clean and honest government. A considerable number of corrupt officials have been ferreted out and disciplined or punished in the courts, Liu said. Liu revealed that, between October 1997 and September 2002, more than 861,900 cases were filed by discipline inspection and supervision organs at different levels across the country, and 97 per cent of the cases have been wound up. As a result, 137,711 people were expelled from the Party and 37,790 of them were also punished in the courts. Among them, 98 were leading officials at or above provincial and ministry level while 28,996 were senior officials at county level, Liu said. These people include former Vice-Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee Cheng Kejie, former Vice-Governor of Jiangxi Province Hu Changqing, former Governor of Yunnan Province Li Jiating, former Deputy Governor of Hebei Province Cong Fukui, former Vice-Minister of Public Security Li Jizhou and former Shenyang Mayor Mu Suixin and Deputy Mayor Ma Xiangdong. "The sentences meted out on these corrupt officials have sent a strong message that the Party is firmly determined to root out corruption, no matter who has committed it," Liu said.

China has also carried out institutional