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ISSUE 55
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| October 2003 |
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World Bank Nods Poverty Reduction
Programmes
The World Bank has acknowledged recent
successes scored by Government in its poverty reduction programmes.
The bank, however, challenged Government to strengthen the
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and other corporate bodies
on good governance to improve on accountability in the public
sector. Director for Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi Hartwig Schaffer
said yesterday Government also needed to deal with factors
responsible for the poor performance and accountability of
the sector if poverty reduction programmes were to succeed.
Mr. Schaffer was speaking yesterday on behalf of the donors
at a donors' briefing on the status of the Public Service
Reform Programme (PSRP) at Mulungushi International Conference
Centre (MICC) in Lusaka. "Clearly, without real progress
on good governance and accountability in public sector management,
the likelihood of sustained progress elsewhere will be low.
"For instance, macro-economic stabilisation, which in
turn is key to stimulating private investment, is largely
a function of prudent Government fiscal and monetary policies,"
he said.
He said a number of poverty reduction
reform programmes had been launched and had since been progressing
despite some shortcomings which Government was addressing
during implementation. Mr. Scaffer assured Government that
donors would always support good programmes that aimed at
development but accountability needed to be adhered to in
the use of foreign aid. Finance Minister Ng'andu Magande said
it was a pity that Zambia continued to lose a lot of money
arising from the weak financial management and accountability
systems. He said it was for that reason that under the 2004/08
strategy and action plan, Government had identified public
expenditure management and financial accountability reforms
as one of the highest priorities.
From AllAfrica.com, Africa, 1 October 2003
NSE, Stockbrokers Fault
OPS on Pension Reform
Lagos - As controversy rages over the
planned reforms of public and private sector pension scheme,
the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and Chartered Stockbrokers
have rejected the opposition mounted by the Organised Private
Sector (OPS) which faulted Federal Government's move to harmonise
the public and private sector pensions in the draft pensions
reforms bill. The NSE and Chartered Stockbrokers, reacting
yesterday to the rejection of the harmonisation of the pension
scheme by the OPS, said the group's stand was selfish, as
it did not consider the benefit of the integration of the
private and public sectors to the economy as a whole. President
of the NSE, Alhaji Abdul Razaq, commenting on the response
of Chartered Stockbrokers calling for the outright rejection
of the OPS' views said the NSE would send a powerful delegation
to the National Assembly to lobby the Assembly members to
accept the planned reform. Speaking at the 42nd Annual General
Meeting (AGM) of the NSE, Managing Director of BGL Securities
Limited, Mr. Albert Okumagba, who spoke the mind of Chartered
Stockbrokers said the move by the OPS was capable of disrupting
government's goals of reforming the pension scheme in the
overall benefits of the nation. He noted that government's
plan was in order, especially after the submission of the
amended draft bill to the National Assembly by the Adeolu-led
Committee.
From Vanguard, Nigeria, by Funmi Komolafe,
Emmanuel Aziken, Rotimi Ajayi, 3 October 2003
Forum Seeks Public/Private
Intervention in Healthcare Celivery
The need for the public and private
sectors to come together to promote the fortunes of healthcare
delivery in Nigeria and the African continent as a whole has
been identified, just as the right of the child to be protected
from infectious diseases has again been stressed. In a chat
with Good Health Weekly about the importance of the public-private
sector interaction, Mrs. Claire Omatseye, a pharmacist with
Aventis Pasteur and member of the African Health Forum - a
partnership of about 30 stakeholders from the public and private
sectors - said it was the most acceptable option if quality
of healthcare is to improve within the continent. Omatseye,
while relating activites of the Forum towards hosting the
first ever African health summit billed to come up November
2-4 at the Nicon Noga Hilton Hotel, Abuja, said the first
objective is to have the partnership. "Government is
doing its best, but no one party can do it alone,we all need
to come together and interact at a higher level so as to give
quality to health in Africa," she affirmed. "The
public sector is challenged with making sure that Nigerians
and Africans are generally healthy. The private sector on
its own, looks after the basic few but you notice that there
is a mixture between the two activities. What we'd like to
do is take the best of both worlds- the mass appeal of the
public sector and the more efficient accountability that is
associated with the private sector and have a mix through
which we can have better health gains."
Highlighting the role of the Forum
in disease prevention, she said the Abuja Summit is being
put together at its (Forum) by bringing together renown speakers
an other stakeholders on healthcare in Nigeria and Africa.
"If we can take this partnership and move it to the next
level, we'll all be able to do better in improving the quality
of healthcare in Africa and Nigeria. The expectation at the
end of the day, is that people will be able to walk into a
hospital and come out healthy, that children born daily have
a chance of life without them dying in their first year of
life from malnutrition or malaria, or their mothers dying
during pregnancy or labor. This is what we'd like to do to
achieve health for all." Debunking myths and rumours
associated with the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), Omatseye said
such rumours were unfounded. "A vaccine is a drug used
to prevent disease and therefore will not cause another or
be used as a contraceptive or source of HIV transmission.
There are three things to look for in a vaccine. The first
is tolerance or side effects. These could be systemic side
effects (like fever) or local side effects (like redness or
swelling at site of administration). Second is immunogenicity
(need for antibodies ) and third, efficacy. Still punching
holes in the alleged rumours about the OPV, she assured that
all the vaccines produced by the pharmaceutical company are
WHO certified.
"Nigeria is one of the few countries
where the wild polio virus is still circulating. Why should
children get crippled when there are adequate preventive measures
available? It is the right of the child to be protected. There
are so many diseases that are not vaccine preventable, but
for the ones that are, it is the right of the child to be
vaccinated against them" Dr. Ebun Aleshinloye, also a
member of the Summit organizing committee allayed fears raised
about he safety of the OPV: "Government had done quite
well in disease prevention especially in the area of immunization.
More children are getting immunized and we are preventing
diseases that would have crippled more children and made them
more of economic hazards. The polio vaccine is very critical
to preventing a mortal, deadly and debilitating disease. In
the past we used to have a lot of cripples on our roads, but
the children we are having today are tall and well formed.
They are also well fed, thanks to prevention and better feeding."
Personal Secretary to the Lagos State Commissioner of Health,
Dr Jide Idris, and Chairman of the African Health Summit,
says while the collaboration will foster interaction between
the public and private sectors with the overall aim of enhancing
the status of healthcare delivery in the nation today. He
added that with the level of poverty and illiteracy in the
country, more emphasis needs to be placed on awareness and
education.
From Vanguard, Nigeria, by Sola Ogundipe,
21 October 2003
Public Sector Reform
Is the Solution
The lively exchange between Planning
Minister Peter Anyang'-Nyong'o and various commentators -
notably Jaindi Kisero and J. T. Mukui - addresses matters
of considerable interest and importance. The question is how
to get the economy out of "recession". To conduct
a productive discourse on this matter, and much else besides,
it seems to me necessary to be sure that we are agreed on
what it is that the economy is to recover from. This is difficult
to do without a plausible theory and persuasive evidence.
To be sure, Prof Nyong'o has postulated the problem as a "balance
sheet" recession (in plain language, a financial crisis).
But neither he nor his opposition has brought any evidence
to the debate. This article attempts to do so. What exactly
is a "recession"? It is a cyclical economic downturn.
Although definitions vary across countries, recessions are
identified by durations, usually quarters, of falling output.
Conversely, a recession is declared over if the economy expands
for a specified number of consecutive quarters. The operative
word here is "cyclical". It implies that the downturn
is known to be temporary. The duration from the bottom of
one recession to the bottom of the next is referred to as
a business cycle. The purpose of a stimulus, either fiscal
or monetary, is to create demand for goods and services.
The objective of policy interventions
is well understood to be to reduce its severity, that is,
to hasten recovery and mitigate unemployment. Underlying the
entire intellectual discourse on the conduct of macro-economic
policy is the question of how effective either of these policy
interventions is in smoothing out business cycles. This has
been the subject of the debate so far. The more pertinent
question, however, is: Is Kenya's economy suffering from a
"classical" recession? From the short view, the
economy went into recession in 1997. Growth fell from 4.2
per cent in 1996 respectively to 2.4, 1.8 and 1.4 per cent
in 1997, 1998 and 1999. It can be said that recession bottomed
out in 2000. Thus, in the short run, the economy has been
on a recovery path since 2001. Figure 1 above plots GDP growth
for the last three and a half decades (1967-2002). From the
long view, two important trends are evident. First, something
akin to business cycles is, indeed, evident. It shows five
significant troughs, one in the mid-70s, which bottoms out
in 1977, a second smaller one at the turn of the decade and
bottomed out in 1981. A third big one followed in short order
and bottomed out in 1984, a fourth one in the early 1990s
bottomed out in 1993, and the most recent, which seems to
have bottomed out in 2001.
But are these really classical business
cycles? Yes, the patient is prone to bouts of fever and headache,
but is it malaria, typhoid or something else? Let us bring
events into the picture. The first "recession",
comes in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis. The small one is
explained by the second oil crisis of 1979 and the coup attempt
in 1981. The third one is explained by the major drought in
1984, the fourth by the adverse events - aid freeze, political
turmoil and money printing - in the transition to the multi-party
system. The most recent one has been brought about by similarly
adverse effects - political violence, in particular - in the
aftermath of the 1997 General Election, compounded by drought
and political uncertainty. Thus, what looks like a cyclical
trend is, in fact, a reflection of independent negative shocks,
both domestic and external. In fact, positive shocks are also
at play: the two sharp peaks a decade apart, in 1977 and 1987,
are explained by coffee booms. From a stabilisation policy
perspective, "shocks" and "cycles" are
as different as the proverbial chalk and cheese. In economic
jargon, cycles are endogenous (i.e., a self-propagating dynamic
of the economic system), while shocks are "exogenous"
(i.e., independent and unpredictable). Drought is a good example,
the travel advisory shock on tourism a case in point.
An economic stimulus, fiscal, monetary
or any other kind, is unlikely to make an impression on the
heavens or the potential tourist. The second and, to my mind,
the most pertinent observation to be made is that each recovery
from a shock has been weaker than the preceding one. This
is clearly revealed by the dotted trend line in the graph
above, and even better in the second graph, which shows five-year
averages of both GDP and GDP per capita (i.e., adjusted for
population growth) growth rates. Quite evidently, the economic
performance has been deteriorating for much longer than many
of us like to admit. The long view suggests that the economic
recovery challenge is of a structural, not a cyclical, nature.
As of 1999, the date of the most recent national labour force
survey, there were over two million unemployed Kenyans. They
are predominantly young. The critical observation is that
the vast majority, over 90 per cent, had no job skills of
any kind, either by training beyond primary or secondary schooling
or by vocational experience. What, then, would be the impact
of an economic stimulus when the unemployed have no job skills?
A stimulus will generate demand for goods and services. To
the extent that this creates job openings, it will be jobs
that require skills. But since the supply of skilled workers
is, in the short run, fixed, this will bid up wages as firms
compete for skilled workers.
The higher wages will be reflected
in the price of goods and services. Kenyan goods will be dearer
both at home, relative to imports, and in our export markets.
In effect, stimulating the economy is more likely to translate
into trade deficits, as opposed to jobs. This is, in fact,
exactly what has been going on in Kenya over the last two
decades - unemployment and real wages rising in tandem. The
law of the market dictates that if something is in excess
supply, the price should fall, not rise. In a background paper
prepared for the Government's economic recovery strategy,
my colleagues identified three dimensions of the challenge,
specifically: open unemployment, productivity of the working
poor, under-employment. The plight of the open unemployed,
as shown above, is brought about by lack of job skills. If
Kenyans are too poor to send two million children to primary
school, it follows that they are too poor to finance skill
formation. This suggests that a publicly-funded job skills
programme for the long-term unemployed ought to be one of
the top priorities in the economic recovery effort. This would
attack both unemployment and crime.
The current policy which provides public
money for university loans and nothing for vocational training
is bad from every perspective - economic, social, political
and moral. In the pre-election proposals, there was a mention
of an employment think-tank. It is an idea that the Government
might want to give serious consideration to. The working poor
dimension is best illustrated by the informal sector. We postulated
that the principal constraint on the informal enterprises
is lack of secure property rights. With such rights, informal
enterprises would not only be able to access capital to grow,
they would be drawn into the formal sector where they can
be taxed. This suggests that the Government might want to
consider directing some of the resources it has pledged to
invest in 150,000 residential housing units into "site
and service" infrastructures for small enterprises. The
latent demand for this is self-evident: I would like to believe
that the hundreds of entrepreneurs manufacturing excellent
furniture and metal products by the roadside in Nairobi would
be willing to take out mortgages on permanent workshop sites
of appropriate scales if they were made available.
We argued that under-employment is
primarily manifested by over-establishment in the public sector.
The economic cost of over-establishment in the public sector
is more deleterious than is commonly appreciated. First, the
opportunity cost of the wage bill paid to unnecessary employees
is investment in infrastructure. Second, unnecessary workers
amount to misallocation of scarce resources, that is, "hoarding"
of skilled labour that could be much more productive in the
private sector. As we all have had occasion to experience
or observe, speed is a function of load. Government weight
is one of the key explanations of the economy's secular decline.
The solution to this is public-sector reform. It is a political
choice: to muster the resolve to shed some of this load to
make haste, or to continue to use public employment for patronage
and ethnic affirmative action until we drop dead. The choice
is ours to make. Mr. Ndii is Executive Director, Kenya Leadership
Institute.
From Daily Nation, Kenya, 23 October 2003
Pension Fund Reform:
How Not to Formulate Public Policy
I was privileged, in the course of
my duty, to have interacted with some non - governmental personalities
who had, by their claim, been patriotic enough, at no cost
to the government, to accept an assignment from Mr. President
to reform our pension system. Mr. President has, of recent,
been making reference to the formulation put together by these
"patriotic Nigerians" as the antidote to the embarrassing
plight and pains of pensioners, particularly in the public
sector. Let me say right away that it is not my intention
here to dwell at length on the appropriateness or otherwise
of pension fund reform in Nigeria. The main purpose of this
piece is to encourage the government to embrace best practice
in policy articulation and formulation. There is no doubt
about the fact that Nigeria requires a functional and effective
pension fund scheme. The pension fund system in the public
sector has virtually collapsed, and the schemes in the private
sector have limited coverage. However, comparatively, the
private sector has fared better through existence of effective
pension/provident fund schemes in some private sector companies.
Most private sector employees equally enjoy a bonus in view
of their membership of the NSITF, which, if the law setting
up the body had been effectively implemented, would have provided
a good social security and pension cover for all employees
in the private sector.
Therefore, government's intention to
institute a National Pension Fund Scheme is indeed commendable.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the modalities the
government has adopted to realise this noble objective. First,
the Organised Private Sector (OPS) was presented with a finished
meal of a draft law at a meeting summoned by the Presidency
within 48 hours notice, at which organised Labour, represented
by the NLC, was also present. The OPS and Labour were expected
on the spot to give a nod to this "messianic" piece
of legislation that will put an end to the woes of pensioners.
Organised Labour saved the day by expressing surprise on the
turn of events; moreso when this messianic" piece ran
contrary to the report of an earlier Committee, the Fola Adeola
Committee, set up by the government to guide it on the way
forward for pension reform in Nigeria. Interestingly, the
Chairman of the said Committee, whose report is still being
studied by the government, was present at this meeting and
unbelievably, introduced to us, as the leader of the team
that had put together this draft law. Questions streamed in:
What has become of the Adeola Committee report? Is this draft
law based on the committee report? Why was a copy of the draft
law not sent to stakeholders in advance? etc, Thank God for
the wisdom of Mr. President who brought the meeting to an
end by mandating the Fola Adeola - led team to consult with
labour and other stakeholders on the new draft law.
From this point onward, the Fola Adeola
- led advisory team became the door to the government on this
important issue of pension fund reform. All submissions must
be channeled through this advisory team. The team became government's
contact point on the reform. The advisory team went to work.
It consulted on a one - on - one basis with identified stakeholders.
The leader of the team brought his natural charm to bear and
fully utilized his gift of the gab. The team welcomed comments
on the draft act but not a total rejection of the proposed
dispensation because it considered the reform, as packaged
by it, the only way forward for the country. The team picked
from the various submissions that were sent to it only that
which fitted its expectations. It conducted informal interaction
with the legislators to sensitize them on what is in the pipeline.
Eventually, a second draft of the law emerged. In all this,
at no time was a formal meeting held with the Organised Private
Sector. At no time was a common forum held with all the Stakeholders
present to debate issues and buy in into the new policy thrust.
There are quite a number of matters
arising from this encounter, which should be of interest to
the government and the public at large: What role should private
advisers to Mr. President play in formulating major public
policy? Where there is a role, how should they be utilized
and whom should they report to? Would it be right for consultants
or private advisers to government to serve as link between
it and the public? What should be the government's approach
in soliciting the input of stakeholders and the public into
its policy? How should feedback be communicated? What is government's
acceptable code of behaviour for those charged with the responsibilities
to relate with the public? In all these, we can surely learn
from best practices around the world. Certainly, the way and
manner the government went about the pension fund reform falls
short of best practice. Apparently, in this instance, the
entire machinery of the civil service was ignored in preference
for a so-called advisory team of technocrats that consistently
touted itself as "working for Mr. President and not the
government". There was no robust public debate on the
issue by all affected parties. While there might be nothing
seemingly wrong for government to set up an advisory team
to guide it on crucial issues of national interest, the real
problem lies in the conduct of those who have been so recognised
to serve government.
Where such a team sees itself as "all
knowing", "all powerful". "most patriotic,
"most altruistic" and others as "selfish",
"scared of change", "uncooperative", e.t.c,
then there cannot be meaningful and genuine interaction. Where
an issue is of national dimension with multiple interests,
it would be more appropriate for the government to set up
a committee comprising representatives of all stakeholders,
rather than place the fate of the nation in the hands of a
cabal of technocrats that does not appreciate the values of
openness, robust public debate and the right of people to
a position contrary to theirs. The committee set up by the
government on the reform of the tax laws stands out as a best
practice in the use of experts to shape public policy. To
a large extent, the Ogunsola Pension Review Committee and
the later day Adeola Pension Reform Committee (not the advisory
team) also qualify as a practice worthy of emulation. That,
unfortunately, cannot be said of the Adeola Advisory Team,
which crafted the controversial draft Pension Act. We must
insist that those that have been charged with public responsibilities,
in whatever capacity, display humility in service, shun contemptuous
behaviour and refrain from unnecessary touting of their distinguished
business pedigree.
They should be made to realise that
they are duty-bound to exude the best in etiquette and mannerism
in their relationship with the public. There is another lesson
here: those who cannot operate in a committee and be bound
by consensus do not deserve the privilege of appointments
as private advisers to Mr. President. Back to the controversial
draft bill on pension reform. Why would the government want
private sector employees to finance the pension fund liability
in the civil service? Where is equity and fairness in all
this? By this intended action, is the government not robbing
the dutiful and efficient Peter, the private sector pension
fund, to reward the irresponsible and inefficient Paul, the
debt -ridden public sector pension fund? The government also
plans to scrap the NSITF and place it under the supervision
of the Federal Ministry of Finance while the body winds up
its operation and metamorphose into a pension fund administrator.
Given the fact that the NSITF assets belong to the private
sector, the right thing is to allow the stakeholders in the
private sector to oversee its winding up process.
Whatever might be the laudable objective
of the pension fund reform, the mere fact that government
is targeting 500/0 of interest earned on contributors' investment
to settle public sector's pension fund debts clearly exposes
its main reason for embarking on this reform, which is to
source cheap fund to bail itself out of the embarrassing liability
of funding the public sector pension scheme. The next phase
of the controversy surrounding the pension fund reform will
soon shift to the National Assembly. Already, the executive
arm of government is celebrating its victory because of its
conviction that the legislators will merely rubberstamp the
draft bill. Time will tell if this indeed is true. The National
Assembly owes Nigerians the duty of ensuring that this draft
bill is subjected to a thorough public debate, involving all
the stakeholders, before endorsing the bill. oMr. Olusegun
Oshinowo is the Director-General of the Nigeria Employers'
Consultative Association (NECA).
From Vanguard, Nigeria, by Olusegun Oshinowo,
21October 2003
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Eastern Regional Organisation for
Public Administration (EROPA) Holds Its 19th General Assembly
and Conference
The Eastern Regional Organisation for
Public Administration (EROPA) is holding its 19th General
Assembly and Conference on "Public Administration and
Globalization; Challenges, Opportunities and Options"
in New Delhi from 5th October to 10th October, 2003. The Deputy
Prime Minister, Shri L.K. Advani will inaugurate the Conference
on October 6, 2003. The weeklong Conference will deliberate
on various aspects of Public Administration at the backdrop
of the present Globalization and Advance in Information Technology
and related Opportunities and Challenges, Globalization in
the context of Human Resource Development and Public Sector
Reforms, bringing in Transparency and Ethical Governance -
Promoting Accountability in Administration and also Enhancing
Public-private Collaboration in Public Service Delivery. The
EROPA endeavors to achieve its objective through General Assemblies,
Regional Conferences, Seminars, Training Programs and Research
& Publication. It also serves as an umbrella organization
for the training institutions of the member countries of the
Asia-Pacific region involved in training of Civil Servants.
The Objective of this Conference is
to enhance co-operation between Member countries of the EROPA
by providing an avenue for academic discussions and interaction
with individuals involved in the field of public administration.
The Conference will deliberate on the challenges and opportunities
and options spawned by the globalisation in the 21st Century
through the following dimensions: Enhancing Public-Private
Collaboration in Public Service Delivery through direct attention
to the experiences of various states and institutions in bringing
together state and market mechanisms to introduce new forms
of producing and delivering public services which were traditionally
delivered through purely state mechanisms. Globalistion, Human
Resource Development and Public Sector Reforms focus on various
aspects of human resource development, specially in the field
of: a) public management training and education; b) performance
evaluation ;c) compensation ; and d) sustaining the merit
system in the public sector.
It will document efforts at improving
these aspects of human resource development. Globalisation
and Information Technology which will address questions like
how Information Communication Technology can help solve poverty
within and across nations even as it facilitate the movement
of information and capital across national boundaries. Transparency
and Ethical Governance by examining and documenting efforts
through greater access to information in the field of fiscal
management, procurement and related areas such as the installation
of systems that provide the public more direct access to public
information. This organization had come into being in 1960
in response to a common desire among developing countries
in the Asia Pacific region to promote regional cooperation
in improving knowledge, systems and practices of Government
administration. It was the first organization in this region
devoting to development of public administration for advancing
economic and social progress of countries of this region.
The last Regional Conference of EROPA was held at Bangkok
in November, 2002, and in this Conference it was decided that
the 2003 Conference will be held in New Delhi.
From Press Information Bureau (press release),
India, 3 October 2003
A Fresh Look into the
Study of Public Administration
The study of Public Administration,
as an academic discipline, now-a-days has gained a distinct
position. However, the study has been considered as applied
rather than a theoretical one. For this reason, the analysis
and research of Public Administration is mostly directed towards
different problems and their immediate remedies. In theory,
Public Administration, for the most part, gives less importance
to the philosophic, historical and social basis of problems
enclosed to it. Mohammad Shamsur Rahman, Professor and Chair
of the Department of Public Administration, Rajshahi University
and country's pioneer in the study of Public Administration,
in his book, Lok Proshason Totto O Bangladesh Proshason has
attempted a tough job of assimilating the theory of Public
Administration and its functional part in Bangladesh context.
The book comprises 19 chapters, six schedules and a bibliography.
In the first chapter, the author has given a critical overview
of Public Administration concept. He stresses herein the weight
of Public Administration as: i) importance of Public Administration
to the people; ii) necessity of Public Administration in modern
welfare state; and iii) significance of Public Administration
as an academic discipline. Doing so, he further notices that,
Public Administration is not merely an administrative device,
rather a system of enhancement and protection of public culture.
The ideological foundation of a state
may perhaps be better; however, its implication is largely
executed by the administration too. Viewing this, he assumes
that Public Administration is a living social process of achieving
greater good. To him, it is an integral part of economic,
social and cultural life of modern state. Thus, the author
focuses a new approach of understanding Public Administration
to us. The book also contains an inventory to the study of
Public Administration in the Universities of Bangladesh. It
is designed primarily by following the syllabus of Public
Administration for the Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chittagong, Shahjalal
and the Islamic University. It is also intended to meet the
need of students of Political Science of different affiliated
colleges of National University for their Public Administration
courses. Considering the paucity of quality textbook on Public
Administration the book has a separate value too. Public Administration
is closed to Political Science and Management as well. Moreover,
it cannot ignore Sociology also. In theoretical part, the
author attempts to conceptualise Public Administration lucidly.
While discussing the origin and development of Public Administration
he also shows a close link of other Social Sciences to it.
Policy Planning and Decision Making are the key concern to
Public Administration.
Giving due attention to above matters
the book also illustrates some pertinent problems of Public
Administration like, administrative authority and leadership,
development planning for administration, bureaucracy, administrative
law, administrative control and administrative responsibility.
Discussion of Bangladesh's politico-constitutional background
along with a brief note on Bangladesh Constitution is one
of the attractive parts of the book. It includes matters related
to 11 parts on Bangladesh Constitution and a table of constitutional
amendments in detail. A table, featuring a detail of governmental
systems since the creation of Bangladesh certainly improves
quality of the book. The book gives a detail account of administrative
structure of Bangladesh, determined by the Rules of Business
made under the authority of Article 55 (2) of Bangladesh Constitution.
Thus, it designates the constitutional basis of Bangladesh
public administration. The book discusses regional settings
of Bangladesh public administration like, Divisional, District
and Thana administration, and diverse existing structures
of Local Self Government (LSG) as well. Considering the distinct
character of local governments of Chittagong Hill Tracts,
a separate chapter has been designated in the book.
The role of Ministry of CHT Affairs
has been given an appropriate denotation too. The appendices
have incorporated important documents of GOB as well. It includes
the functionaries of 23 Ministries. The book, in brief, has
made efforts to delineate the organisation, functioning and
revenue earnings of Union Parishads since its beginning in
the British rule. UP is the single sort of LSG formed through
people's direct representation. Thus, the appendices may be
handy for the researchers indeed. For including all the major
issues of Public Administration, the size of the book has
also been increased. The book, nonetheless, will provide a
fresh look into the study of Bangladesh Public Administration.
It goes far beyond the traditional approach to Public Administration
dealing with issues like, appointment, training, transfer,
salary, promotion, retirement and other issues concerned only
to the government officials. It encompasses the constitution
and laws enacted under it, the execution and the executors
of these laws, public co-operation and participation, project
planning to implementation and so on. The book will be very
useful not only for the students, but for the academicians,
researchers and the public officials too. In conclusion, we
can propose for inclusion of an entire and up-to-date list
of Bangladesh Ministries, a more professional bibliography
and indexes of subjects and names. Khandaker Muzahidul Haq
Ph.D is Researcher, Institute of Bangladesh Studies, Rajshahi
University.
From The Daily Star, Bangladesh, by Khandaker
Muzahidul Haq, 1 October 2003
Strategies For More
Efficient Civil Servants
Bandar Seri Begawan - The Civil Service
has continuously introduced and implemented several strategies
for its transformation. These programmes include 100 training
hours introduced this year at all levels to enhance skills,
ability and to contribute towards the effectiveness of the
organization continuously. This is in line with the government's
effort to introduce e-government, which will become the facilitator
of the process of the Civil Service towards an efficient,
productive and dynamic system. This was stated by Dato Hj
Hazair, Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office
turn Chairman of the Executive Committee of the 10th Civil
Service Day in his speech yesterday. Speaking on e-government,
he noted the encouraging development being achieved, whereby
projects approved mounted to 39% of the total allocation for
e-government under the 8th National Development Plan, which
amounted to $1,000 million. At the same time, short and long-term
training are continuously being carried out, be it in the
country or abroad.
Officials and staff who undergo around
200 training programmes carried out by Civil Service Institute
(CSI) from 2000 to the third quarter of 2003 totalled 25,000,
he said. "This year alone, CSI carried out close to 100
training programmes and around 4,000 government staff from
all levels engaged in such programmes. To expose officials
in the intermediary level in the latest management techniques,
a two-month long course was carried out from August this year
at Universiti Brunei Darussalam besides the executive programme
for senior officials that has been carried out annually since
1996." To overcome grievances by the public and the private
sector on the delay of professionalism forms, inefficient
counter service and inefficient Client's Charter of TPOR in
certain ministry departments, an auditing of TPOR will be
carried out this year. To give satisfaction to the customer
as well as to enhance productivity and quality of the Civil
Service and to enhance efficiency of work procedure, Quality
Control Circle (KKC) is also introduced in every ministry
and department. - Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin (Brudirect.com
News).
From Bru Direct, Brunei, by Azlan Othman,
4 October 2003
Cabinet Discusses Ways
of Further Improving Standards of Public Services
Male - The Cabinet on Wednesday discussed
ways of further improving the standards of public services,
during an afternoon meeting of the Cabinet. In the meeting,
Members of the Cabinet spoke on the existing arrangements
in government offices to provide public services and exchanged
views on possible measures that could be implemented to increase
the levels of efficiency of service provision.
From Haveeru Daily, Maldives, 9 October
2003
Pak Contribution To
Draft Of UN Convention Against Corruption Lauded
Islamabad - The special committee of
the UN General Assembly, assigned the task of drafting an
international convention against corruption, has adopted a
final draft of the instrument after extensive negotiations
in which Pakistan played a leading role on behalf of developing
world. The final text provides for the facilitation of return
of illicitly-acquired assets to the developing countries through
the cooperation of the concerned authorities in the developed
world. The Convention can prove to be a helpful tool in the
Governments' effort to recover ill-gotten wealth derived from
high level corruption in Pakistan, and stashed in western
countries. The Convention will be adopted later this month
by the UN General Assembly. It provides for the criminalization
of a wide range of corruption offences and the prosecution
of the criminals through international cooperation - White
collar crime will henceforth not go unpunished for want of
cooperation amongst states.
In a rare gesture of appreciation for
the contribution made by Pakistan, the Adhoc Committee applauded
Pakistani delegation's substantial contribution at the concluding
session of its deliberations. Pakistan Ambassador in Vienna
represented the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the
deliberations that spanned over two years. Kofi Annan, UN
Secretary General, has termed this Convention as one of the
most significant instrument, which shall benefit and bring
welfare to millions of people around the World. The UN-Convention
against corruption is the first international instrument of
its kind, which addresses critical issues and transactional
aspects of corruption affecting the developing states. The
negotiations, marked by a sharp divide between the developed
and developing states, resulted into a balanced text, which
considerably meets the aspirations of the Third World.
The Pakistan delegation played a leading
role on behalf of the developing states, and succeeded in
inclusion of a number of its proposals besides improving upon
several suggestions considered useful for the developing states.
A significant proposal tabled by Pakistan, that was eventually
accepted, related to giving a right to a state whereby it
could rescind an international contract in cases of corruption.
Such a provision would become very useful in cases of corruption
found in the award of international agreements and contracts
that adversely affect public interest. The case in hand being
the infamous power plant agreements in Pakistan. Other burning
issues relating to return of proceeds of corruption to the
countries of origin were debated threadbare. The developed
countries, having dragged their feet on this issue, finally
yielded to the pressure of the Group of 77 & China, which
had lent its full support to the provisions tabled by Pakistan.
The Pakistan Delegation to the negotiations in Vienna was
led by Ambassador All Sarwar Naqvi and the members of the
permanent Mission of Pakistan. Ahmer Bilal Soofi, a Lahore
- based Lawyer, assisted the Pakistan Ambassador in negotiations.
From Pakistan News Service, Pakistan, 13
October 2003
Time for Government
to Regain People's Confidence
Within a matter of only a few months,
the atmosphere in Hong Kong has turned from extreme pessimism
to extreme optimism. In June this year, just when the SARS
attack was about to subside, Hong Kong people were worrying
how deep the economy would plummet and how many more workers
would lose their jobs. The most optimistic view at that time
was that it would take Hong Kong at least a year or two to
recover. However, measures taken during the summer have completely
turned the situation around. First is the Closer Economic
Partnership Arrangement that would bring the economies in
Hong Kong and the mainland closer; and the second is the flexibility
for mainland visitors to visit Hong Kong as individuals. Suddenly,
Hong Kong people have found the economy here not as depressed
as they have thought. Business opportunities have also increased
so much that Hong Kong people are beginning to see the benefits
of the co-existence of the Hong Kong and mainland systems.
With the return of a buoyant economy, the next question that
one needs to ask is what further actions the Hong Kong Government
has to take to maintain this optimistic spirit. Obviously,
Hong Kong people feel happier because the property market
has become more stable and the stock market has picked up
again.
But there are signs, like the persistent
high rates of unemployment, that the economy is still vulnerable
and that much has to be done to ensure that it would not suffer
another setback. Furthermore, the trust of the people in the
government has to be regained. Even Chief Executive Tung Chee-hua
has admitted that the government has not been responsive enough
to the wishes of the people and pledged that government officials
would do a better job in future. In fact, the chief executive
knows well that the administration could hardly afford to
make another blunder that would further alienate itself from
the people. How then could the Hong Kong Government regain
people's confidence? The head of the Central Policy Unit of
the Hong Kong SAR Government, Professor Lau Siu-kai, has pointed
out that in the last year or so, the administration had focused
so much attention on some controversial political issues,
like the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law, that
it tended to be neglectful of people's feelings. To make up,
he suggested that government officials, especially bureau
and department heads, take more active steps in gauging the
reactions of the people towards government policies and measures.
Indeed, there is nothing absolutely right or wrong in public
administration and the only criterion in judging the feasibility
of a particular policy or measure is its acceptability by
the people.
To convince the public that a certain
government policy or measure is necessary and desirable is
not at all easy. Adequate preparations are a must before any
policy or measure is put to the public for consultation. More
important still is that relevant government officials must
be prepared to explain and to defend the position of the government
in public and in language that people can fully understand.
This is not to say that people's opinions must be right. But
if the government wants its policies and measures to have
their desired effect, then people must be made to feel that
their voices have fully been heard. The second important thing
for the government to do to regain the confidence of the people
is to reshuffle its priorities. For the government, the fiscal
deficit might have been the major concern as it affects the
ratings of Hong Kong in the eyes of international investors.
However, ordinary people cannot understand why balancing a
budget is so important while they are living in the fear of
losing their jobs or having their wages cut the next day when
they go to work. To create more employment opportunities should
top the government's priority list.
The existing unemployment rate of 8.6
per cent is simply unacceptable - not that Hong Kong is unused
to such high rates; but the welfare system is hardly adequate
to provide the unemployed with the necessary protection and,
most important of all, to help them go back to work. The third
important thing that the government must do is to build up
a mechanism through which its views can effectively reach
the people. There is no doubt that the government Information
Service is doing its job in conveying government messages
and Radio Television Hong Kong is also supposed to provide
outlets for official announcements. However, it is clear that
Hong Kong people have often little knowledge, not to say understanding,
of government policies and whatever little that they might
know are distorted. There is no suggestion that the government
should use more propaganda, especially when the trust of the
people is low. But certainly it would help if some government
departments, like the Home Affairs Department, which have
direct contact with the masses, talk to the people at the
grassroots about governmental views. This kind of personal
contact between the government and the people is essential
to avoid misunderstanding, but unfortunately it is completely
lacking in Hong Kong. Hence, people are getting views from
all sources except the government. To regain the trust and
confidence of the people is no easy task but it is a step
that the government must take.
From China Daily, China, 13 October 2003
Reform of Public Sector
at Half-Way Point
South Korea's efforts to reform public
companies following the 1997-98 economic crisis have been
fruitful outwardly, but there remains a long way to go in
the field of ``software,'' according to a recent report. The
Ministry of Planning and Budget (MPB) yesterday announced
the results of a competitiveness survey by the Korea Productivity
Center on 16 public firms, including Korea Electric Power
Corp. and Korea National Railroad. The research shows that
the labor and capital productivity of the public firms have
improved somewhat over the past several years, while total
factor productivity, a key measure of management efficiency,
leaves much to be desired. Labor productivity grew by a yearly
average of 9.9 percent between 1998-2002, higher than the
5.9 percent recorded between 1993-97 and the 7.7 percent by
private companies. Capital productivity also improved from
minus 5.58 percent to minus 3.71 percent. But total factor
productivity recorded a 1.46-percent drop, worse than the
0.08-percent fall seen before the economic crisis and 0.19-percent
increase by private firms.
The government admitted that previous
restructuring efforts for state-owned enterprises were focused
on scaling down business through a reduction of manpower and
asset sales. ``It was an inevitable measure to cushion the
impact of the economic crisis, although it was not without
adverse effects,'' Chang Young-chul, director of MPB's fiscal
reform bureau, said. The government will focus more efforts
on technology- and knowledge-oriented growth to enhance the
efficiency of the system at public firms, he added. During
the Kim Dae-jung administration, eight of the country's 26
state-owned enterprises were sold to private interests as
part of efforts to restructure the bulky yet inefficient public
sector. The current administration also is poised to decide
the fate of three other firms - Korea Electric Power Corp.,
Korea District Heating Corp. and Korea Gas Corp.
From Korea Times, South Korea, 17 October
2003
Human Capital Needed
to Reduce Poverty: FM
Islamabad: Finance minister Shaukat
Aziz Monday said economic growth can effectively reduce poverty
only when accompanied by a comprehensive programme for human
development. "Human capital is the primary asset and
its development is of fundamental importance in the war against
poverty," Mr. Aziz said in his address to a symposium
on human development "A Grassroots Experience" organised
by the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) and
Pakistan Human Development Fund. The minister said that country's
long-term sustainable growth and poverty reduction prospects
are critically contingent on investment in human development
which is constrained by financial resources. "As the
demand for social services rises, the government will need
to increasingly target human resource investment to the poor
and will need to work more closely with the private sector,
non-governmental and community based organisations as well
as donors to ensure provisions to the people," he said.
The minister, who believed that education is the cornerstone
of human development and poverty alleviation, said that government
realises that the education service delivery in Pakistan is
faced with a multitude of challenges from lack of infrastructure
and facilities to severe shortage of qualified and trained
teachers.
Further, Mr. Aziz said that the government
is conscious of the fact that governance now matters critically
in economic growth and development of human capital. "A
successful public policy requires considerable emphasis on
governance without which the full potential of the economy
cannot be actualised and effective spending and improvement
in service delivery will not be ensured," he said. "Strengthening
of devolved governments is imperative for achieving human
development goals as our strategic thrust is on meeting the
actual, needs of the people at the grassroots level through
community participation, improve funding mechanism to increase
enrolment, raise literacy and improve quality, removing institutional
bottlenecks that have disrupted flow of funds in the past,
and making devolution to work for achieving social sectors
outcomes." The minister also said that government recognises
that successful implementation of on-going reform programme
both at the federal and provincial levels, and devolution
is inseparably linked with the capacity of government institutions
and the quality of civil services. "The government firmly
believes that without public-private partnership the government
cannot accomplish the formidable task of achieving the MDG.
From Daily Times, Pakistan, 21 October 2003
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Guru of Public Sector Reform
Tony Blair's new guru of public sector
reform has strong views on the role of markets and the welfare
state. Professor Julian Le Grand of the London School of Economics
is an academic who is not shy of controversy. He first came
to prominence by arguing that the middle class have captured
many parts of the welfare state, and actually benefit disproportionately
from free, state-funded health and education. Now, as he prepares
to enter No 10 Downing Street as a policy advisor to the Prime
Minister, he has set out a compelling vision of the necessity
of public sector reform. Professor Le Grand would like the
government to give more power to the people who use public
services, and give young people substantial assets to start
up in life. His appointment is a sign that Tony Blair will
not be distracted from his drive to transform the public services
by the opposition of the unions and other Labour Party members.
Shift in purpose - In his new book, Professor Le Grand argues
that it was both inevitable and desirable that the provision
of welfare services shifted away from a model which gave most
power to the providers, such as doctors and teachers, and
little to the patients or pupils who used the service. He
says that in the classic welfare state, public servants were
seen as altruistic "knights" who acted for the general
good, while the recipients were passive "pawns"
who had little say in what was provided.
Now he says that welfare systems must
be designed on the assumption that providers act in self-interest,
not altruism, as "knaves," while those who use public
services must have more choice and more rights, must be treated
more like "queens" than pawns. Professor Le Grand
says the logical conclusion of the drive towards more purchaser
power is the greater use of markets in the provision of public
services. Reforming health and education - And he endorses
the changes in the education system that have given parents
more power - such as the publishing of exam results and the
freedom to enrol in any state school that has a place. But
he wants to go further in encouraging strong schools to take
more poor pupils - by using cash vouchers, and giving each
poor family a voucher with a higher cash value. This, he says,
will give the better schools an incentive to take on more
poor pupils, because they would get more resources. Professor
Le Grand also wants to provide greater incentives for consultants
to treat more patients in the NHS. His solution is that they
should be paid on a fee-for-service basis to do extra operations
above their basic commitment to the NHS. Professor Le Grand
recognises that markets in the public sector will always be
limited by the different levels of information that the public
and professionals have, especially in health care.
And he is concerned to prevent "skimming"
of services by the better-off. But he will be a strong supporter
of the Prime Minister's drive to put patients and parents
in the driving seat including, if necessary, facing down doctors
and teachers. Asset-based welfare - Like Tony Blair, Professor
Le Grand says he is egalitarian, but feels most strongly that
the government should tackle equality of opportunity, rather
than equality of outcomes. So his most radical proposals are
for the redistribution of wealth to young people. He would
like to use the proceeds of an increased inheritance tax to
give everyone a government grant of £10,000 when they start
out at 18. And he would give matching government grants to
encourage people to save for retirement, and to put aside
more for long-term care - funded perhaps by abolishing tax
relief on pensions. The government has already announced modest
moves in this direction, through the "baby bond"
for all parents, and the "savings gateway" which
would match savings for those on low incomes. But with planning
for the next general election now in full swing, and other
Labour intellectuals like Matthew Taylor of the Institute
for Public Policy Research, and Michael Jacobs of the Fabian
Society joining the government, if Labour win re-election,
a third term could turn out to be its most radical. Motivations,
Agency and Public Policy: Of Knights and Knaves, Pawns and
Queens, by Julian Le Grand is published by Oxford University
Press. Professor Le Grand takes up his post as special advisor
to the Prime Minister on 6 October.
From BBC News, UK, by Steve Schifferes,
23 September 2003
Poor Pay and Conditions
Damaging Public Sector Reform
The two-tier labour market is damaging
progress on public sector reform according to a report from
the government think tank, the Institute for Public Policy
Research. The report, to be published tomorrow, says that
public-private partnerships are unlikely to gain public support
while cost improvements are gained from "cutting of terms
and conditions of low-paid public service staff rather than
through genuine productivity improvements". The report
comes as unions attack the public-private partnership schemes
under which their members are often paid less and have worse
conditions of employment. Workers' rights and public services
are expected to be dominant issues at this week's annual Trades
Union Congress. However, the report does not agree with the
unions that private sector workers should maintain exactly
the same terms and conditions as public sector workers providing
the same service. Instead the overall package of terms and
conditions should be "no less favourable". It suggests
flexible working and other management skills as alternatives
to changing terms and conditions in order to get value for
money from workers.
From Human Resources-Centre, UK, 3 October
2003
EC Adopts Communication
on Importance of E-government
The European Commission adopted a communication
signalling the importance of eGovernment as a means of achieving
world-class public administration in Europe. As part of the
Lisbon strategy, eGovernment is seen as providing an economic
boost by providing new and better services for all citizens
and companies of Europe. The Communication calls upon Member
States to express their political commitment to co-operation
at European level spanning both the private and public sector,
to accelerate the take-up and development of eGovernment.
It presents a set of actions that reinforce the eGovernment
priorities currently being addressed within the eEurope 2005
Action Plan. Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner,
Erkki Liikanen said: "It is essential for Europe to have
a public sector that helps the European economy to grow, that
provides high quality services to all and that reinforces
democratic involvement." The public sector has a prominent
role in Europe's social and economic welfare.
Public administrations need to meet
the increasing expectations of citizens and companies for
high quality and efficient services. Yet they also have to
deal with challenging economic and social conditions, institutional
change and the profound impact of new technologies. The most
effective solutions to improving public services, democratic
processes and public policies are those that combine information
and communication technologies (ICT) with organisational change
and new skills. This is what is called eGovernment. Despite
the emergence of good practices, there still remain many barriers
and obstacles to overcome before widespread take-up of eGovernment
can be achieved. In its Communication, the Commission therefore
calls for strong political leadership and commitment from
the Member States to achieve the modernisation of public administrations,
with the help of eGovernment. Administrations should ensure
access to public services for all citizens, through investment
in multi-platform approaches (PC, digital TV, mobile terminals,
public access points etc).
Trust and confidence in online interaction
with governments needs to be ensured, the privacy of data
safeguarded, and authentication and identity management issues
properly addressed. Administrations could achieve significant
productivity gains by making electronic public procurement
easier, and more widely available. Specific action is needed
to define, develop and implement pan-European eGovernment
services and promote their use. This will facilitate people's
freedom of movement in the internal market, and help to establish
a true sense of European Citizenship. Measures foreseen in
the Communication to address these issues include exchange
of good practices, support from European Union R&D, piloting
and implementation programmes, and above all the initiatives
and action plans at national, regional and local level.
From Telecom Paper, Netherlands, 30 September
2003
One Million Euros to
Promote Serbia's Public Administration
Belgrade - Secretary of the Serbian
Agency for Public Administration Development Sonja Cagronov,
Director of the Swedish Institute for Public Administration
(SIPU International) Arne Sjoberg and Director of German company
Perbit Software GmbH Richard Manuel signed a contract on the
delivery of IT system for human resource management worth
one million euros, aimed at developing the Serbian public
administration in line with European standards. The contract
includes the delivery of hardware, software, its implementation,
as well as training services, technical support and maintenance
of the delivered system in the guarantee period and in the
contract's validity period. This IT system will be introduced
in 23 institutions in the Republic. The contract is part of
the €3.7 million project "Development of the Modern Human
Resource Management in the Serbian Public Administration."
The project is financed by the Swedish
Agency for International Development and Cooperation (SIDA)
and carried out by the Serbian Agency for Public Administration
Development and consultants of the Swedish Institute for Public
Administration. The objective of the project is to provide
support to the Serbian government in efforts to develop the
system of human resource management. That would make the Serbian
public administration more efficient and aligned with modern
standards. Swedish Ambassador to Belgrade Lars Goran Engfeldt,
who attended the signing, hailed the Serbian government's
determination to reform the public administration. He said
that this agreement will be the starting point of wider cooperation
between Sweden and Serbia.
From Serbia Info, Yugoslavia, 10 October
2003
ANO Gives in on Public
Administration Reform in Slovakia
Following initial objections to the
cabinet-approved public administration reform, the ruling
coalition New Citizen's Alliance (ANO) has agreed to support
the plan. The coalition council agreed on minor changes to
the concept, related to the placement of some of the new offices.
The cabinet's plenipotentiary for the reform, Viktor Nižnanský,
was optimistic that the scheme will be passed in parliament.
From Slovak Spectator, Slovakia, 20 October
2003
Minister Outlines Public
Services Plans
Enterprise Minister, Ian Pearson today
outlined the government's vision on the way forward for joining-up
public services in Northern Ireland. The Minister was addressing
delegates attending the Society of Information Technology
Management (SOCITM) Conference, the first event of its kind
to be held in Belfast. Speaking at the Innovation Centre in
Belfast's Science Park, Mr. Pearson said: "Reform and
modernisation are central to our agenda. We want to see the
continuous improvement in the quality of public services that
everyone expects." Referring to the recently published
OnlineNI Strategy document that identified a possible way
ahead for a modernised Government in Northern Ireland, Mr.
Pearson acknowledged that such recognition to change was,
in fact, already in place. He said: "What we now have
is a vision of how e-Government might look in the future whilst
at the same time setting out a clear, long-term goal, for
the entire public service." Mr. Pearson also recognized
the role that SOCITM and similar organisations would have
to play in the transformation of government services and encouraged
all participants to "ensure that we use that knowledge,
skill, expertise and enthusiasm to best enable the change
that we all seek." The Overcoming the Barriers to Joined-Up
Government Conference was organised by the SOCITM with the
aim of developing ways of improving joined-up services to
citizens.
From 4ni.co.uk, UK, 20 October 2003
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Lebanon: Globalization Fuels Drive
for Hospital Accreditation
Workshop highlights challenges of reform
- Universal standards of sustainability, quality must be introduced
nationally - Hospital accreditation is gaining prominence
due to globalization, especially trading in health services,
and will eventually become a tool for international categorization
and recognition of hospitals, according to Makassed Hospital
director Mohammed Firikh. "The challenge calls for immediate
reform to hospitals' role as a component of the national health
system," said Firikh during the first workshop of The
Accreditation of Hospitals at the Makassed Hospital in Beirut
on Tuesday. "Countries must introduce their own standards
of accreditation based on the best interests of their health
system, safeguarding primary health care principles of universality,
equity, quality, efficiency and sustainability," Firikh
added. The forum, organized by the Lebanese Healthcare Management
Association (LHMA), a chapter of the Lebanese Management Association
(LMA), included distinguished panelists such as Private Hospital
Owners' Syndicate president Suleiman Haroun and Health Ministry
director-general Walid Ammar. The panelists said national
health systems are coming under increasing scrutiny, with
focus on cost containment and quality improvement as a result
of health sector reform.
The trend is expected to continue due
to restructured economic and social policies, globalization
of markets and enhanced worldwide communication. Studies
showed that hospitals account for 40 to 70 percent of the
national health budget and employed half the physicians and
over two thirds of the nurses in any given country. Participants
said hospitals' treatment patterns were altering due to changes
in technology and demands despite the fact that hospitals
were large, fixed assets and difficult to change. They added
that high costs and increased demand were forcing a re-engineering
of hospitals, and accreditation offered a means to enhance
standardization of care and the exchange of expertise worldwide.
They also said that pressures were intensifying to make hospitals
more accountable to national health policies. Firikh said
that "hospital accreditation objectives can be summarized
in four major points: Enhanced health systems, continuous
quality improvement, informed decision making, enhanced accountability
and regulation."
The World Health Organization's Eastern
Mediterranean Regional Office's guidelines stipulated that
to be eligible for accreditation, hospitals must be nationally
owned, multi-institutional, comprehensive, incremental and
integrated. The panelists agreed
that the regional accreditation guidelines recommended the
use of standards that defined structures, processes and results
that must be firmly established in a hospital as a prerequisite
for quality care. They said that standards of structure, process
and outcomes would require evidence of performance (qualitative
indicators) that must be simple, inexpensive and easy to observe
by the surveyors. Hospitals with different sophistication
levels would be accredited to the highest common level available
to all services. "Failure to change the behavior and
attitudes of people and organizations is the most common cause
of ineffective quality initiatives," said Firikh. "In
hospital accreditation, the challenges in setting and measuring
against standards are mostly technical while those of appropriate
change are social and managerial." According to Firikh,
priority challenges consisted of strengthening legal supports
and the establishment of a multi-institutional and independent
accreditation body.
Other challenges included the ensuring
of private and public sector participation, and application
of standards to all hospital services. Accreditation
must be based on consensus rather than numerical scoring,
with a clear differentiation between licensing and accreditation.
Sustainability of the program and the definition of the role
of surveyors are also crucial. Firikh said the strategies
for developing hospital accreditation in the region depended
on raising awareness at the national level, strengthening
of inspection units and improving administrative procedures
by health ministries. Strategies comprise the establishment
of national hospital registers, exchange of experiences via
a network of institutions and experts and collaboration with
regional and international bodies. Annual international forums,
an expert advisory group and periodical reviews must also
be considered. The workshop's panel called on member states
to plan and conduct an intensive awareness campaign to promote
concepts of quality improvement and adapt regional accreditation
guidelines, where necessary, to develop national plans for
quality improvement.
From Daily Star, Lebanon, by Ara Alain Arzoumanian,
9 October 2003
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Tory Defeat Is Opportunity to Rebuild
Public Services, Casselman Says
Toronto - The convincing defeat of
the Ernie Eves Tories at the polls today presents a long-awaited
opportunity to rebuild Ontario's public services, the president
of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union says. "For
eight long years of Tory rule, front-line public service workers
have borne the brunt of vicious and repeated attacks on the
work they do for Ontarians," Leah Casselman said. "We
look forward to working with the new government to rebuild
public services so we can start creating the kind of society
people really want." Conservative cuts and privatization
have left Ontario with public services that are too weak to
do what they are supposed to do, Casselman said. "The
Walkerton water disaster, and the Aylmer meat scandal, and
heart patients sleeping in hospital hallways didn't happen
by accident," she said. "The collapse of our public
services was carefully planned to benefit the private investors
who are the main backers of the Tory party. "Tonight
marks the beginning of the rebuilding, and our union will
be front and centre in that work," she said. "We
look forward to laying down our arms and picking up our tools."
Casselman said the union would not
be deterred by reports of a provincial deficit that could
be as high as $4.5 billion. "Our members provide great
value for money in every part of the public sector,"
she said. "In contrast, the provincial auditor found
Tory consultants who were getting paid up to six times more
than our members would get paid to do the same work. "Ending
privatization and improving management can pay huge dividends
in terms of service quality and cost. We look forward to sharing
our ideas to make things work better." Whatever the budget
situation, a Liberal government will have billions of dollars
more to put towards public services than a Conservative government
would have, Casselman said. "Since 1995, tax cuts have
sucked the lifeblood out of public services," she said.
"We welcome the end of the Tory tax cut era."
From Canada NewsWire (press release), Canada,
3 October 2003
Church Coalition Plugs
Away at Public Policy
A coalition of religious leaders will
present a progress report Thursday on their demands for change
from public officials, ranging from providing access to police
conduct reports to including black and Muslim history in school
curriculums. "It's been our experience that after the
fanfare dies down from a big public meeting, it's easy for
people to forget about what was discussed," said the
Rev. Glenn Grayson, president of the Pittsburgh Interfaith
Impact Network. "We think it's important to let people
know that while the work is by no means done, progress has
been made on all fronts," said Grayson, pastor of Wesley
Center AME Zion Church in the Hill District. The interfaith
network, which has 32 member churches, drew nearly 1,000 people
to its first public meeting in February at Grayson's church.
From Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, by Tony
LaRussa, 7 October 2003
Talk to Focus on Business
in Public Policy Process
"Can or should business leaders
make public policy?" will be the topic of the 2003 Berry
College Executive Round Table fall dinner on Oct. 28 at 6:30
p.m. at the Coosa Country Club. Natalie M. Davis, professor
of political science at Birmingham-Southern College and a
frequent political commentator, is the featured speaker. She
will discuss business leadership's impact on the public policy
process, focusing on Alabama's recently defeated tax and accountability
package. She will discuss the role business played in shaping
the package and the financial backing it provided to sell
it to voters. The evening will begin with networking, followed
by dinner and Davis' presentation. Dinner discussion at each
table will center on various questions regarding business
in public policymaking, including a look at what role local
businesses played in pursuing the SPLOST to bring the Class
A Braves to Rome.
The public is invited to attend the
dinner program on a space-available basis. Cost is $30 per
person. Registration, including payment, is required by Oct.
21. Table sponsorship also is available. For more information
or to register, e-mail ert@campbell.berry.edu or call Julie
Bumpus at 238-5835. Davis holds a doctorate in political science
from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She
comments on Alabama and Southern politics for CNN and Alabama
Public Television. The Executive Round Table originated at
Georgia Tech in 1956. Berry College formed the second chapter
in 1989. The group's purpose is to encourage and help develop
students who display character and leadership. Membership
includes a balance of students, faculty and industry/business
executives.
From Rome News Tribune, GA, 8 October 2003
A Wellspring for Public
Servants
As a 2003 graduate of the Woodrow Wilson
School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University,
I was troubled by the Oct. 8 news story "At Princeton,
Feeling Failed; Family Seeks Return of $525 Million, Saying
University Has 'Abused' Gift." Of the more than 70 students
in my graduating class, 11 now work for the federal government.
To my knowledge, only two students - not 33 percent of the
class, as a Wilson school report stated was the case in 1999
- work in private-sector jobs. While the article presented
William Robertson's opinion of how his foundation's funds
are being used, the article failed to define the university's
idea of government service. Mr. Robertson's definition is
only federal service, but a more comprehensive definition
would include other sectors of public service. Statistics
show that the Wilson school, even more than its peer institutions,
is a leader in government service graduates. Its alumni directory
lists hundreds of graduates employed by the federal government.
Mr. Robertson did not consider that while students may not
enter the federal workforce when they graduate from Princeton,
chances are good that at some point in their careers they
will. I am grateful for the Robertson family's contribution
to the school and for my education, but to remove this endowment
from a highly respected school of public affairs would have
a devastating effect on the responsibility of institutions
of higher learning to train public servants.
From Washington Post, DC, 21 October 2003
Bill Would Bar Corruption
Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. (8th
Senate District) recently announced that legislation he is
sponsoring would disqualify corrupt corporations, such has
Enron, MCI/WorldCom and Tyco, from bidding on lucrative government
contracts in New York State. The "New York State Contract
Disqualification Act of 2003" would deny these corporations
access to contracts at all levels of government and would
require a written declaration from corporations stating their
right to bid on contracts in the state. The loss of state
funds due to corrupt corporations has not only affected the
day-to-day budgetary constraints of the state but has inflicted
immense damage on the state pension fund. According to a recent
report from the Office of the New York State Comptroller,
the loss seen by the State of New York due to these crooked
corporations has totaled over $13 billion. This includes a
$2.8 billion loss to the state's economy, a cut in state revenues
of over $1 billion and a decrease in the value of the state
pension fund of $9 billion.
From South Bay News, NY, 21 October 2003
Alberta Latest Province
to Consider Private-Public Hospital Projects
Edmonton - Alberta will review a $400-million
proposal this fall to build a hospital under a public-private
partnership, but critics warn they have failed in other countries
and put taxpayers at risk. However, supporters say a P3, as
such partnerships are called, is a viable method for cash-conscious
governments to develop projects more quickly. "We are
keen on looking to see if there is a way that we can actually
get important facilities that we need now by financing it
in a different manner," said Alberta Health Minister
Gary Mar. "We are certainly open-minded to this. I don't
think that people should be worried about it." Similar
public-private hospital projects are in the planning stages
in Ontario and British Columbia. If approved, the Alberta
project would see a private company build and finance a hospital
to service the fast-growing population of south Calgary about
two years before it could be built with public money, said
Bob Holmes, senior vice-president of the Calgary Health Region.
The company would then run the facility under a lease agreement
with the government-appointed health region.
The province would remain responsible
for delivering health-care services. "I don't think that
the downside risks of doing it privately are any greater than
the downside risks of doing it publicly," Holmes said.
"I have little doubt that there is a lot of public support
for this in the area that we're hoping to serve." Some
groups, including Alberta's opposition parties, say the scheme
will benefit private developers more than taxpayers. Liberal
health critic Kevin Taft said similar ventures have failed
in Australia. He also cited British studies that determined
the costs to finance such hospitals are higher. Public-private
partnerships also put taxpayers at risk because the public
is on the hook if the private firm fails, he said. "This
is a taxpayer ripoff," Taft said. "This is the kind
of thing that should outrage people across the province."
New Democrat Leader Raj Pannu said private hospital operators
will put profits ahead of patients when faced with bottom-line
financial pressures. The controversy over P3 hospital projects
became an issue during the Ontario election campaign when
former Tory premier Ernie Eves signed such a contract for
the Royal Ottawa Hospital.
Other deals were in the works for P3
hospitals in Brampton and Markham. Dalton McGuinty, Ontario's
new Liberal premier, has suggested the projects could be reviewed.
"P3s represent an extraordinary departure from our history
when it comes to public hospitals in the province of Ontario,"
McGuinty said last month. In British Columbia, the P3 hospital
concept is proceeding more smoothly. A company created and
owned by the province called Partnerships British Columbia
expects to receive proposals from four consortiums that are
competing to develop a 300-bed hospital and cancer centre
in Abbotsford. The fast-growing community east of Vancouver
has needed a new hospital since 1986, but cash-strapped governments
haven't been able to proceed. Construction of the new facility
under the P3 model is expected to begin next fall and be complete
by the end of 2007, said chief project officer Mike Marasco.
Under the deal, the provincial government will pay the winning
consortium about $40 million a year for 30 years to build
and operate the hospital. The private firm will provide services
such as housekeeping, food service, laundry, maintenance and
medical engineering. The province will own the building and
maintain responsibility for delivering health services. "We
hear from the community there is an urgent need for a new
hospital and a cancer centre," Marasco said. "They
are not interested in the rhetoric on how we get there. They
want to see this hospital built."
From Canada.com, Canada , by John Cotter,
24 October 2003
Change Civil Service
Laws
The anecdotes offer a glimpse of Colorado's
state government at its bloated, bureaucratic worst: A state
nursing home worker fired for taking money from a resident
has his termination overturned because his supervisor wrongly
used the word "theft" at his hearing. The termination
was for "misappropriation," not theft. The state
shuns new technologies that would allow it to work more effectively
for fear of putting employees out of work, rather than retraining
them for other jobs. Qualified applicants for jobs are ignored
only because they live out of state. Colorado's civil service
laws largely have outlived their usefulness and need to be
changed. When they were first approved by voters in 1918,
the state didn't have anti-discrimination laws or restrictions
on official misconduct, so the constitutional protections
were needed to combat political patronage. But the world,
and government, has changed dramatically in the last 85 years.
There are better ways to do business. A bipartisan commission
recently produced a solid set of reasonable changes that will
make it easier to hire, fire and discipline state employees.
If enacted by voters, or in some cases
the legislature, the changes also will allow government to
work more effectively and give higher education institutions
the option to create their own personnel systems. The commission
wisely suggested leaving the cornerstone of Colorado's civil
service laws intact: Promotions and hires must be made according
to "merit and fitness." "We said the system
at its core is a good system, but we need to be more flexible,"
says Troy Eid, outgoing state personnel director. It's now
up to Colorado's lawmakers to study the recommended changes
- some of which yank portions of the state's civil service
laws out of the Constitution - and put the measures before
voters. (The last major reform effort failed at the polls
in 1986.) If enacted as proposed, Colorado law would: Allow
state managers to consider all qualified candidates for a
job, not just the top three. Under the current structure,
the state spends cash to develop and administer tests to rank
candidates, meanwhile some vacancies go unfilled for months.
And people who test poorly - but are
perhaps the perfect candidate - are given a premature heave-ho.
Permit non-Colorado residents to apply for state jobs and
allow for some state employees to reside outside Colorado,
such as agents who conduct audits on out-of-state corporations
doing business with Colorado. Allow higher education institutions
to create their own personnel systems. Those that do opt out
would be required to give all employees a voice in the alternative
system and would allow current employees to retain their existing
benefits and protections if they so choose. Make it easier
to discipline employees and dismiss them for cause. The constitution
now only allows for discipline in specific circumstances.
Colorado's civil servants are the backbone of the state, and
their work must be respected. But the archaic civil service
rules that govern them are due for an overhaul. The way government
business is conducted in Colorado must be changed.
From Denver Post, CO, 25 October 2003
OMB Urged to Educate
Lawmakers on E-gov Funding
The Office of Management and Budget
needs to press Congress harder if it wants them to fund interagency
e-government projects adequately, two former federal technology
officials said Monday. In a vote on the 2004 Transportation
and Treasury budget bill (S. 1589), the Senate last week allotted
$5 million to the interagency e-government fund, $40 million
below the amount requested by OMB. The House version of the
bill grants the interagency fund $1 million. Given these figures,
House-Senate negotiators are likely to arrive at a final amount
well below that requested by the administration and authorized
in an e-government bill signed by President Bush on Dec. 17,
2002. The 2002 E-Government Act granted $345 million to fund
interagency technology initiatives over four years, allowing
$45 million for fiscal 2003, $50 million for fiscal 2004,
$100 million for fiscal 2005 and $150 million for fiscal 2006.
Last year, Congress undercut OMB's request by $40 million.
To ensure lawmakers do not shortchange the fund in future
budget cycles, the administration will need to undertake an
extensive "education" effort on Capitol Hill, said
George Molaski, former chief information officer of the Transportation
Department.
Molaski is now president and chief
executive officer of E-Associates LLC, a technology consulting
company in Falls Church, Va. OMB has not spent enough time
teaching lawmakers about the interagency fund, Molaski said.
Congressional appropriators, accustomed to funding agency-specific
projects, are "naturally hesitant" to support interagency
funds, he explained. They "don't know where the money's
going," and do not understand how the interagency pool
relates to money already granted on an agency-by-agency basis.
Karen Evans, OMB's new technology chief, will need to visit
key offices on Capitol Hill and make a strong business case
for the interagency fund, Molaski said. Evans could also seek
help from industry lobbyists, he said, though some may prove
reluctant to support interagency projects. These projects
often involve consolidation, which increases efficiency but
can result in fewer opportunities for IT contractors to bid
on work, he explained. "It's got to be communicated that
[the interagency fund] is a high priority," said Paul
Brubaker, a partner at ICG Government, a Reston, Va.-based
consulting and market research firm, and former deputy CIO
at the Defense Department. "[OMB] can choose to play
hardball if it wants to."
OMB essentially needs a new "marketing
plan" for selling interagency e-government projects to
lawmakers, Brubaker said. Congress' lack of support for the
fund demonstrates that "somewhere the case wasn't made
that this was an investment that would yield any sort of return,"
he said. OMB needs to convince lawmakers that they would not
be giving out a "blank check," he added. OMB did
not respond to a request for comment on e-government funding.
But in a policy statement about the Senate version of the
Transportation-Treasury budget bill, OMB urged lawmakers to
"support the president's $45 million request for this
important component of the president's management agenda."
Results from the "modest" amounts invested to date
demonstrate that interagency fund "can bring significant
improvements across agencies while reducing the need for each
agency to reinvent the wheel," the statement said. By
underfunding e-government projects, Congress risks impeding
progress on some initiatives, according to David Marin, a
spokesman for Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va.
For instance, the General Services
Administration's e-authentication project, the subject of
recent criticism from the General Accounting Office, has suffered
from a lack of adequate funding, he said. "More money
will mean fewer problems [with initiatives]." "By
continuously shortchanging these initiatives, the government
is being pennywise and pound foolish," Marin added. "This
is an investment that will save money and increase efficiency
in the long haul." Marin attributed the failure of lawmakers
to support the interagency fund to an "education problem,"
echoing Molaski and Brubaker's observations. Davis, chairman
of the House Government Reform Committee, has urged colleagues
to grant the administration's requests for e-government funding.
But "in the past, the Appropriations Committee has said
it opposed full funding because [the funding] is duplicative,"
Marin said. "The e-gov fund is far from duplicative,"
Marin said. "In fact, it can help overcome duplication
and redundancy. And members and staff need to know that."
From Governement Executive Magazine, DC,
by Amelia Gruber (agruber@govexec.com), 28 October 2003
Senate Would Keep E-gov
Funding at $5M
The Senate this week granted $5 million
for the e-government fund in fiscal 2004, higher than the
amount allotted by the House but still lower than the Bush
administration's request. As in past years, the administration
requested $45 million to fund e-government initiatives. And
as in past years, the Senate approved one-ninth of the request.
Congress in each of the past three years has dedicated $5
million for e-government, forcing agencies to use their own
budgets to fund their projects. Under the House version of
the Transportation, Treasury and Related Agencies Appropriations
bill passed last month, the e-government fund would receive
$1 million. Administration officials urged Congress to support
the requested $45 million for what officials called "an
important component of the President's Management Agenda,"
according to the Office of Management and Budget's statement
of administration policy released yesterday. OMB officials
have said they will need to spend more time convincing lawmakers
of the need for this fund. "As has been demonstrated
by successes from the modest $5 million invested in each of
the last two years (including e-Rulemaking, recreation.gov,
e-Authentication, geodata.gov, e-Training and firstgov.gov),
the e-gov fund can bring significant improvements across agencies
while reducing the need for each agency to 'reinvent the IT
wheel,'" OMB officials wrote.
The Senate bill does not include funding
for the Human Capital Performance Fund, for which the administration
had requested $500 million. The fund would create performance-driven
pay systems and focus on performance management. The administration
wanted the fund to help pay employees above their regular
salaries, based on performance. "The committee agrees
with the concept but denies the creation of the Human Capital
Performance Fund," according to the Senate report. "The
committee believes that an initiative of this type should
be budgeted and administered within each individual agency."
Administration officials said they were "extremely disappointed"
the bill does not support this fund. "The fund allows
a more targeted approach for promoting high performance,"
according to OMB's statement. Also in the statement, OMB officials
reiterated the intent of Bush's senior advisers to recommend
a veto of the bill if it includes a provision shutting down
the competitive sourcing initiative. The House version included
this provision, prohibiting the use of the revised Circular
A-76 to administer public/private competitions. "The
administration seeks to improve the performance of government
services based on the common-sense principle of completions,"
OMB wrote. "Now is the wrong time to short-circuit implementation
of this principle especially since numerous agencies are starting
to make real progress."
From FCW.com, by Sara Michael, 24 October
2003
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UN Members Agree on Global Anti-corruption
Treaty
Vienna - U.N. member states have finally
agreed on an international treaty to combat corruption after
two years of haggling, U.N. officials announced on Thursday.
"The convention means business," U.N. Office on
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) chief Antonio Maria Costa told reporters.
"It has teeth...I believe it's going to get a few fish."
The agreed draft criminalises bribery, money laundering and
embezzlement of public funds. It enables the recovery of illegally
acquired assets and will force states to prevent corruption
rather than merely prosecute offenders. But anti-graft campaigners
said it was not tough enough on private sector corruption.
The U.N. Convention against Corruption will be formally adopted
by the U.N. General Assembly "in the coming weeks",
UNODC's head of treaty affairs, Eduardo Vetere, said. It will
enter into force once 30 states have ratified it, which will
probably take about two years, he added. The U.S. ambassador
to the U.N. in Vienna, Kenneth Brill, gave his backing to
the treaty saying it would strengthen international efforts
to fight corruption. The convention will provide mechanisms
for the cross-border recovery of assets pilfered by public
officials.
Britain's Financial Times newspaper
on Thursday highlighted Nigeria's struggle to recover up to
$5 bln it said may have been stolen by former military ruler
Sani Abacha, much of which is in foreign bank accounts. Previous
reports have put the figure at $2.2 bln to $3 bln. "Corruption
is not only criminal behaviour which has to be prosecuted.
It also undermines society," Costa said, adding that
it hindered development in poorer countries. "When you
see that $5 bln are stolen by the former leader, now late
leader, that has a dramatic impact on the economy of that
country. "So it is much more than just trying to stop
this sort of activity but trying to salvage economies which
otherwise would go bankrupt." Peter Rooke of the independent
anti-graft pressure group Transparency International (TI)
welcomed the treaty as "an opportunity to create public
awareness and commitment to curbing corruption". But
Transparency International said measures dealing with private
sector corruption and the financing of political parties had
been watered down so much that they were optional, not obligatory.
Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service.
From Forbes, by Francois Murphy, 3 October
2003
Fighting Corruption:
Transparency Plans Backed
Apec's 21 members have agreed to fight
corruption in the region by developing specific plans by the
end of next year to promote transparency, the Apec Business
Advisory Council (ABAC) announced yesterday. ABAC, the private-sector
advisory arm of the Apec Leaders' Summit, said the leaders
had endorsed its proposed standards for transparency. These
include many of the issues now under negotiation by the 146
members of the World Trade Organisation, as part of the new
Doha round of talks. The Apec leaders' communique explicitly
pledged to "fight corruption, a major obstacle to social
and economic development, by working in 2004 to develop specific
domestic actions to combat it". The communique also pledged
to "promote transparency by implementing our general
and area-specific transparency standards through our Transparency
by 2005 Strategy". Gary Benanav, the US representative
on ABAC, said last year the Apec leaders had endorsed a general
standard on transparency. "This year, the Apec leaders
took a second and a very large step by committing to transparency
standards in specific areas," Benanav said.
The plans involve packages of transparency
standards in eight areas - services; investment; competition
law and policy and regulatory reform; standards and conformity;
intellectual property; customs procedures; market access;
and business mobility. The transparency initiatives are aimed
at reducing the opportunity for corruption and improving the
investment environment. Refocusing on WTO negotiations, enhancing
security, building capacity, implementing transparency standards
and ensuring business input for the Apec process, were amongst
the topics discussed in the dialogue between Apec leaders
and ABAC. Sir Dryden Spring - the New Zealand representative
who chaired the ABAC action-plan monitoring committee - said
almost all the Apec economies were on track to achieve the
Bogor goals for the removal of trade barriers. He said the
World Trade Organisation and the recent failure of the Cancun
talks were major topics for ABAC representatives this year.
Viphandh Roengpithya, chairman of ABAC,
said Thailand had made innovative changes to the format of
the dialogue to enable representatives to fully explore the
key recommendations to leaders and allow their views on advancing
Apec's stated goals of free and open trade to be heard. He
said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had expressed the desire
for leaders to muster the necessary political will to send
a clear and strong message that Apec is committed to the multilateral
trading system under the WTO, and to the successful and timely
conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda. Apec leaders also
expressed their view that business was rightly concerned about
the cost burden of security measures. Leaders praised ABAC's
recommendations on risk management and information technology
to ensure there is no adverse impact on trade and investment
from security measures. Apec leaders also agreed that it was
essential to build the capacity of individuals, institutions
and government "so that they can fully enjoy the benefits
of globalisation". ABAC had called for comprehensive
measures for capacity building.
From The Nation, Thailand, by Choosak Jirasakunthai,
Somluck Srimalee, 21 October 2003
Apec Ministers: Cancun,
Round Two
In a stunning reversal from positions
taken at Cancun by hard line developing nations, Apec ministers
have agreed to restart work on a compromise trade liberalisation
text drafted by Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez.
China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand all agreed
to begin working with the controversial text. The four were
among the leaders of the so-called G-21, which was spearheaded
by ministers from Brazil and India at the World Trade Organisation
meeting on the Doha round in Cancun. Differences over agriculture
and "transparency" governance issues proved too
much for the G-21 Cancun delegates who, led by African nations,
walked out of negotiations. But in their final communique
released Tuesday, the 21 leaders attending the Apec summit
in Bangkok, Thailand, directed their negotiators to go back
to work on the text they left behind in September, CNN reports.
The leaders also gave in to a key US requirement that they
do more to end corruption and to "promote transparency"
in public financial management. A White House fact sheet welcomed
the development, noted that it came following "US encouragement"
and said: "The United States is prepared to move forward
with the Doha negotiations, if all parties are ready to negotiate
seriously on substance. At the same time, the United States
will proceed with regional and bilateral free trade agreements."
CNN noted that between them, the Apec economies have gross
domestic product of more than $US18 trillion, accounting for
60 per cent of global GDP. They also handle 47 per cent of
world trade. Apec includes five of the world's top 10 economies:
The United States, Japan, China, Canada and Mexico, plus another
four in the top 20 - South Korea, Australia, Russia.
From National Business Review, New Zealand,
21 October 2003
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Chiefs Justice Urges Lawyers to
Help Ensure Good Governance
The Chief Justice Mr. Justice George
Acquah on Monday urged the members of the Ghana Bar Association
(GBA) to ensure that while educating the people on the need
to reject military take over, they should also ensure that
the Government of the day "is on track and ruling in
accordance with the Constitution". Mr. Justice Acquah
made the call when he opened a three-day 2003/2004 National
Annual Conference of the GBA at Elmina under the theme: "Consolidating
Constitutionalism In Ghana: The Role Of The Legal Profession".
The Chief Justice told the Lawyers that by virtue of their
expertise it was their role as members of the legal profession
to ensure the establishment of a State where the Constitution
was operated faithfully and with responsibility and where
the administration was generally efficient and incorrupt He
further exhorted them to ensure that the rights of people
were not trampled upon arbitrarily, and that the citizens'
legitimate needs were catered for in good faith. He contended
that, even though, the members of the GBA had so far done
very well in their efforts at securing sound democratic system
for the people of this country, they needed to maintain and
deepen their defence of freedoms and rights of the people
and the rule of law.
The Chief Justice reiterated his determination
to build up the image of the Judiciary, improve and modernise
the justice delivery system to make the adjudicating process
transparent and to create a hard working bench and supporting
staff dedicated and committed to bring quality justice to
the doorsteps of the people. The National president of the
GBA, Mr. Paul Adu-Gyamfi said the Association had noted with
deep concern, mistrust, animosity and the unhealthy relationship
existing between President John Agyekum Kufuor and Former
President Jerry John Rawlings. He, therefore, called on the
Council of State, religious bodies and other peace-loving
bodies in the country, to strive to bring them together in
the interest of the nation, saying "the cat and mouse
relationship existing between them does not auger well for
our nascent democracy". Mr. Adu-Gyamfi also appealed
to political parties and the Electoral Commission to ensure
that the 2004 General Election are conducted in a peaceful
and free atmosphere. On media reportage on political issues,
he echoed the need for the media to be circumspect in their
reportage so as not to inflame passions to disturb the peace
that Ghanaians were enjoying. There were goodwill messages
from the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA), Ghana Medical
Association (GMA) American Embassy and Donewell Insurance
Company (DIC).
The Chief Justice reiterated his determination
to build up the image of the Judiciary, improve and modernise
the justice delivery system to make the adjudicating process
transparent and to create a hard working bench and supporting
staff dedicated and committed to bring quality justice to
the doorsteps of the people. The National president of the
GBA, Mr. Paul Adu-Gyamfi said the Association had noted with
deep concern, mistrust, animosity and the unhealthy relationship
existing between President John Agyekum Kufuor and Former
President Jerry John Rawlings. He, therefore, called on the
Council of State, religious bodies and other peace-loving
bodies in the country, to strive to bring them together in
the interest of the nation, saying "the cat and mouse
relationship existing between them does not auger well for
our nascent democracy". Mr. Adu-Gyamfi also appealed
to political parties and the Electoral Commission to ensure
that the 2004 General Election are conducted in a peaceful
and free atmosphere. On media reportage on political issues,
he echoed the need for the media to be circumspect in their
reportage so as not to inflame passions to disturb the peace
that Ghanaians were enjoying. There were goodwill messages
from the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA), Ghana Medical
Association (GMA) American Embassy and Donewell Insurance
Company (DIC).
From GhanaWeb, Ghana, 30 September 2003
Setting the Stage for
'Good Governance' in Africa
In mid-September, British aid organization
Oxfam published a report warning that the more the world focuses
on the fight against terrorism and the problem of weapons
of mass destruction, the greater will be the failure to pay
sufficient attention to the plight of people caught up in
conflicts in Africa. It's a thought-provoking warning. Starting
on Sept. 29, Japan will play host to the third Tokyo International
Conference on African Development (TICAD III), a major Japanese
diplomatic initiative. The main theme of the conference is
the realization of "good governance," including
democratization and the elimination of corruption. What conditions
are needed to achieve that goal? I recently visited Senegal
in West Africa, which is regarded as a model African nation.
While more than 90 percent of the people in Senegal are Muslims,
its Constitution does not specify a state religion. "Our
country cherishes the tradition to live in harmony with people
of other religious faiths," said Sidy L. Niass, chairman
of Wal Fadjri, a leading Senegalese newspaper. "Separation
of politics and religion is supported by that tradition. Radical
Islamic thinking does not agree with the Senegalese people."
Senegal is practically the only West African nation with a
stable administration in a region plagued by civil wars. It
was also one of the first African countries to introduce a
multiparty political system. While they live in a multi-ethnic
state, many Senegalese practice Sufism, a mystical form of
Islam considered heretical by Arabs.
Although rural farmers still live hardscrabble
lives under tin roofs, they seem to be enjoying a certain
amount of freedom under Islamic priests known as Marabu, and
are free from oppression. I also attended town meetings and
saw residents openly criticize provincial governments and
complain about the price of rationed well water, among other
matters. A native democracy that differs from the version
practiced in Western countries has taken root in Senegalese
society. Of course, this does not mean that Senegal's unique
Islamic model can be applied to every African country. Still,
the country demonstrates what is needed to establish ``good
governance'' and points to a direction for other countries
to follow. What is the African problem? It is about ethnic
and tribal fighting, education, AIDS and oppression. We tend
to gauge the poverty of a nation by counting the number of
citizens who live on $1 a day or less. But when we think about
what is actually going on in Africa, we realize that such
international yardsticks alone are not enough to determine
the soundness of governance. Meanwhile, negotiations for a
new round of trade talks of the World Trade Organization recently
held in Mexico collapsed. As the failure shows, we must also
not forget that the North-South problem between industrialized
and developing countries is still deeply rooted.
Sudanese President Omer Hassan Ahmed
Al-Bashir recently visited Senegal's Goree Island, where some
20 million African slaves were taken to Europe and the United
States. Al-Bashir has demanded compensation from industrialized
nations, saying the prosperity of Western countries stands
on the foundation of slavery, which deprived Africans of their
freedom and dignity. Goree Island is the starting point of
the African tragedy. No matter how much Western countries
apologize, the history of slavery continues to cast a dark
shadow over the North-South problem. According to the Oxfam
report, last year the United Nations asked member states to
provide 25 kinds of humanitarian relief, all of which were
directed to Afghanistan. Meanwhile, in Africa, 3 million people
were killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (former
Zaire) over the last three years, 300,000 people were killed
in Burundi in the last decade and about 40 percent of Rwanda's
population was lost to a civil war that started in 1994, the
report states.
A huge amount of money and personnel
are being devoted to the reconstruction of Afghanistan and
Iraq under the slogan of establishing "good governance."
Why can't the same thing be done to help Africa? The African
Union, made up of 53 countries, has sought to establish regional
stability with a style of intervention that does not rely
on the United Nations alone. However, it lacks the funds needed
to advance the initiative. Senegalese President Abdoulaye
Wade, who is taking the lead to advance the peace process
in Liberia, told me: "We do not have the means to provide
pay to peacekeepers. If only we had the financial backing
of the international community, Africa would be more stable.
We ask the Japanese government to expand aid, including the
building of infrastructure needed to establish peace."
Although Japan is a major donor, it is too busy dealing with
the United States to devote more attention to other important
areas. TICAD III, where many African leaders will gather,
will be a test for Japan to show its reliability and leadership.
From Asahi Shimbun, Japan, by Daiji Ssdamori, 28 September
2003
Support Obasanjo's
Anti-corruption Crusade, Nigerians Urged
Abuja - President Olusegun Obasanjo's
commitment to the anti-corruption crusade has been described
as the much needed political will which absence had thwartedprevious
efforts at checking corruption in the country. The President's
Special Adviser on the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE),
Sunday Onuoha, who said this in Abuja, urged Nigerians to
give Obasanjo full support in the anti-corruption as well
as other laudable programmes of the government. Onuoha made
the statment while he was being honoured by his kinsmen in
Abuja at the 2003 Item Union New Yam Festival and Reception
for outstanding sons of Item Community of Bende Local Government
Area of Abia State. Also honoured was a member of the House
of Representatives, Mba Ajah, representing Bende Federal Constituency.
Onuoha advised Nigerians to embrace the current privatisation
programme as it was aimed at making hitherto unworkable government
firms more efficient. He also assured that the Federal Government
would be non committed to making available more infrastructure
in the South East part of the country. The chairman Item Union
in Abuja. John Mba, said the community was proud to have the
likes of Onuoha in government, having distinguished himself
in community service. He urged other indigenes of Item to
emulate Onuoha and Ajah.
From Daily Times of Nigeria, Nigeria, by
Chesa Chesa, 6 October 2003
Corruption Reportedly
Worsening
Addis Ababa - Corruption is worsening
in Ethiopia and the levels are higher than in previous years,
according to the anti-graft watchdog Transparency International
(TI). Ethiopia was listed joint 92 on an index of 133 countries,
scoring 2.5 on a scale of 10. TI, which is based in Germany,
said a lack of coherent rules and regulations, red tape and
poorly trained staff were contributing to corruption. "Corruption
is a serious problem in Ethiopia," Jeff Lovitt from TI
told IRIN. "There is a problem in developing countries
because they lack strong public services." The African
Union - which has pledged to stamp out corruption on the continent
- estimates graft has cost Africa around US $148 billion.
"Corruption is currently one of the major afflictions
seriously confronting Africa," Desmond Orjiako, spokesman
for the AU, told IRIN. "Good governance is part of peace
and security and tackling corruption is a key part of good
governance," he added. "The AU has been at the vanguard
of ensuring that corruption does not spread on the continent."
In Ethiopia, the federal Ethics and
Anti-Corruption Commission has been waging war against corruption
in the country. Spokesman Abraham Gozguze welcomed the report
and said international support to fight corruption was sorely
needed in the country. "We also have to create awareness
because in many cases what we are trying to do is change the
mentality of people," he noted. He told IRIN that the
most recent case of alleged corruption in the country involved
a doctor taking a bribe to move patients up a waiting list
so they could receive treatment. Other Horn of Africa countries
such as Eritrea, Somalia and Djibouti were not covered by
the report as insufficient material was provided to enable
analysis. (UN Integrated Regional Information Networks).
From AllAfrica.com, Africa, 9 October 2003
Zero Tolerance For
Corruption Blunted
Accra - Newspapers are also to blame
for corruption perception - Information Minister, Nana Akomeah
on Thursday said the initial thrust of the government's policy
of "zero tolerance" for corruption seemed to have
been blunted. He said that it seemed measures to stop corruption
had not been comprehensive enough to deal with the root causes
of the problem or powerful enough to stand the test of time.
Nana Akomeah was speaking at the weekly media briefing in
Accra to present Governments' assessment of the Corruption
Perception Index (CPI) launched by the Transparency International
that ranked Ghana 72 on the index chart of the most corrupt
countries in the world. Ghana dipped from a high of 3.9 in
2002 to 3.3 in 2003 on a scale of 10, meaning that, "the
level of corruption in the country was increasing." He
said the evidence the index presents, sowed a recurring tendency
in the management of corruption in Ghana where measures put
in place by new governments initially made an impact and then
tapered off. "This is probably because those exposures
by the new measures served as a deterrent to others who then
stepped more carefully, but unfortunately not for long."
The Challenge, he said, was to develop strong legal and institutional
frameworks that ensured the rule of law and punished corruption
ruthlessly, no matter the source. "This approach may
be slow, but necessary ad-hoc measures have not had lasting
impact."
He said Government's strategy to minimize
corruption had been based on openness, improved public financial
management and participation, adding that Government was encouraging
participation through the media. Government, he said, was
also keen on improving the legal framework with the review
and eventual passage of the anti-corruption bills such as
the Procurement Bill; Financial Administration Bill; Freedom
of Information Bill and the Whistleblower Bill. The Minister
said that government had streamlined revenue collection with
the establishment of the Central Revenue Agencies Board. Nana
Akomeah said, even though, Government was putting in many
of the efforts to stop wrong-doing, the most significant initiative
was the endorsement of a diagnostic study of the institutions
involved in the fight against corruption. He said since the
CPI report dealt with perception, it would be prudent to find
out why the index changed between 2002 and 2003. Nana Akomeah
said one of the causes for the perception was newspaper reports
of corruption that were not borne out of professional Journalism,
but purely out of malice, mischief and political propaganda.
"Limiting corruption may not be a short term process,
but with good leadership from Government and support of all
of us the process should succeed."
From GhanaWeb, Ghana, 10 October 2003
Book on Corruption
in Ghana Launched
Accra - Mrs. Lisa Aubrey, a Political
Scientist from Ohio University, in the United States launching
a Ghanaian authored book on corruption on Friday in Accra,
said those who benefited from the vice condoned it and those
who did not condemned it. She said "the book talks about
two-facets of corruption: One that condemns it when it does
not benefit anyone and the other that condones it when it
enhances one's welfare". The title of the 131-page book,
written by Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, a legal practitioner and a
politician is "Zero Tolerance: Public Sector Corruption
in Ghana". Mrs. Aubrey described Mr. Iddrisu as an activist
and a scholar who had sought to reach the height of ethical
standards in society. The book looks at the interrelationship
between corruption and bad governance and seeks to instil
in the Ghanaian the spirit of patriotism and the need to fight
against corruption, she said.
Mr. Iddrisu, who is also the National
Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC)
said the book identified institutions such as Public Procurement
agencies and the Ministries, the Lands and Forestry and Trade
and Industry where corruption has been found to be very real
and evident. Mr. Iddrisus said, "zero tolerance for corruption
is an ideal thing for this country that everybody has to fight
for and it should not just be a rhetoric but rather should
be popularised and efforts made to fight it. He said he defined
the concept of corruption and its underlining causes in the
country and offered a theoretical explanation of the criminal
act. The book was dedicated to Mrs. Joyce Markham, one of
the Secretaries to the late Dr Kwame Nkrumah and the first
copy was auctioned for three million cedis.
From GhanaWeb, Ghana, 11 October 2003
Report Chronicles the
Strange Acts of Corruption in the Bench
Nairobi - Court of Appeal judge A.B
Shah talks to reporters as he walks out of the High Court
in Nairobi. Wearing their bright red flowing robes and sheepskin
wigs, Kenyan judges cut a bizarre image. They are dressed
to resemble their counterparts in Britain who, in turn, take
their cue from the fashions of the 17th century, or thereabouts,
when it was fashionable for men to wear wigs. In a number
of other countries, like the United States, judges dress in
modern fashions and look less comical. But looking bizarre
does not necessarily lead to strange or, one might say, eccentric
behaviour. It certainly should not be linked to the twin evils
of corruption and abuse of office and, in most cases, there
has been no such link. But it has been found that some of
the judges and magistrates alleged to be corrupt and to have
thoroughly abused their offices in the past also seem to have
been among the most bizarre and eccentric characters in the
public eye. The Bench's "List of Shame," as many
are now referring to Justice Aaron Ringera's report on judicial
corruption, lifts the lid on some of the weirdest individuals
ever to don a wig and a red robe in Kenya. The accusations
against the judges range from accepting bribes of more than
Sh15 million to sexual harassment, to the exhibition of behaviour
weirder than Charles Dickens could have depicted in Bleak
House. Bleak House, Dickens' ninth novel, was intended to
illustrate the evils caused by long, drawn-out suits in the
Courts of Chancery.
Dickens had observed the inner workings
of the courts as a reporter in his youth and observed that
"the one great principle of the English law is to make
business for itself". The memorable story features the
fictional long-running case of John Jarndyce and his being
heard in the High Court of Chancery. In the book, John, owner
of Bleak House, has little hope of gaining anything from it.
Meanwhile, on her aunt's death, Esther Summerson is adopted
by Jarndyce and becomes companion to his wards, Ada Clare
and Richard Carstone. Carstone has hopes that the Chancery
case will make his fortune. As the story unfolds, it is revealed
that Esther is the illegitimate daughter of Captain Hawdon
and Lady Dedlock. When the Dedlock's lawyer, Tulkinghorn,
learns of this, and tries to profit by the information, he
is murdered by Lady Dedlock's former maid. Lady Dedlock flees
and later dies at the gates of the cemetery where Hawdon lies
buried. In the meantime, John Jarndyce has fallen in love
with Esther and asked her to marry him. She consents out of
respect for Jarndyce but, during the engagement, she falls
in love with Allan Woodcourt. When Jarndyce learns of her
feelings, he releases her from the engagement and she marries
Woodcourt. The Chancery case comes to a close with court costs
eating up all the estate. Carstone, who has married Ada, dies
in despair.
According to the Ringera report, a
copy of which the Sunday Nation got, some of the judges and
magistrates were so well known by the public for their corruption
that they acquired nicknames such as "the Toll Station",
"the Blemish" and "the Cashbox". The accusations
likely to be brought against the judges are said to range
from sexual harassment to demanding and getting multi-million-shilling
bribes. The allegations arise from complaints received by
the Ringera committee and contained in a two-part report presented
to the chief justice. While the first report was released
to the media, the second report, the one that actually named
names, was only released on Wednesday last week. In one instance,
a judge demanded a Sh3 million bribe to dismiss a civil application.
He began hearing the case by advising the respondents to change
their advocates because he "did not wish to deal with
the firm then representing them" and asked for the bribe
to dismiss the application. The respondents agreed to pay
and handed over the money in two installments Ð the first
in the basement parking of the Hilton Hotel shortly after
midnight on November 28, 2000, while the second installment
of Sh1 million was collected by the judge from the reception
of the same hotel two days later. The judge dismissed the
application. In another instance, another judge committed
two offences of corruption and gross misbehaviour by having
a close personal relationship with counsel appearing before
him who was also a director and acting chairman of the respondent's
company.
In yet another case involving the same
judge, it is reported the judge helped the same counsel draft
pleadings, including an affidavit of a case he was hearing.
In fact, one paragraph of the affidavit was in his own handwriting!
It is claimed that the judge was to be paid a fee for the
advice he gave in a case he was hearing. Yet another judge
is likely to answer charges of lack of integrity, unethical
conduct and judicial misbehaviour. The judge reportedly presided
over an appeal in spite of having previously been disqualified
from hearing the case because of his intimate relationship
with the appellant for whom he was the legal consultant. The
appellant won the case and was given damages in excess of
Sh100 million. The same judge, it is alleged, was the conduit
through which bribes from a prominent Kenyan were delivered
to other judges - four in the Court of Appeal and two in the
High Court. The same judge is also reported to have received
a hefty bribe - Sh15 million - from a businessman to influence
fellow judges in a case they were hearing. However, he was
unable to do so and decided to repay the bribe and was still
doing so in instalments. Another judge is reported to have
handled Goldenberg-related cases during recess yet he was
not the duty judge. It is alleged that he not only visited
the business premises at night while handling the Goldenberg
case, but also wrote his ruling at night and faxed it to the
lawyer representing an investor involved in the case. It is
claimed the judge received Sh6 million for his troubles.
In yet another instance, the same judge
reportedly made a threatening phone call to the clerk of the
Narok County Council after the civic authority entered a consent
with the plaintiff and also grabbed 76 acres belonging to
a school in the Nkorrkorri area of Narok District. He reportedly
delayed judgment for five-and-a-half years, having concluded
hearing a dispute in December 1997 and setting judgment day
for April 2003. It is claimed that one judge had close relations
with the late drug baron Ibrahim Akasha and his family. The
judge was seen visiting the Akashas at home while criminal
cases against them were pending before him. Among the High
Court judges, one of them is alleged to have been caught red-handed
in his chambers holding a bundle of notes he had just received
from a rival party in a civil case. When his impartiality
was questioned, he refused to disqualify himself and even
threatened to jail his accuser. The judge, nicknamed Cashbox,
is reported to have asked the defendant to give him Sh60,000
and a bag of millet so that he could rule in his favour. When
the defendant refused to pay the bribe, the judge approached
the opposing party who gave him Sh60,000. The sobriquet "Cashbox"
was earned during a case he is reported to have stage-managed.
The case involved a disputed piece of land which the judge
was reported to be eyeing. He somehow managed to buy the land
in question and have it registered in his name while the dispute
was still being heard.
The story is told, for instance, of
a magistrate who, while hearing a divorce case, took a fancy
to the man in the case and, having made her feelings quite
clear on the matter, rushed through the case and allegedly
began living with the man even before the process was complete!
Another magistrate forced public service commuter mini-buses
to fuel only at his petrol station and threatened those who
defied that their vehicles would be impounded. Another magistrate
is known to cite people for contempt if they forgot to bow
to his court and to acknowledge his presence. The usual punishment
for such forgetfulness on the part of the offending person
is a brief stint in jail or, if the magistrate is feeling
lenient, a fine. Obviously obsessed with having people bow
before him, this magistrate once committed a police corporal
to jail for not lowering his head as a mark of respect when
they met at a grocer's. The same magistrate is reported to
have demanded Sh20,000 from a suspect to get him off the charge
sheet. The suspect, unusually for a Kenyan, was aware of his
legal rights. He refused to pay the bribe and immediately
wrote to the Attorney-General with a request that the case
be referred to a different magistrate. When the magistrate
found out what the suspect had done, he decided to humiliate
him by having him frogmarched around the courts and then assaulted
him in front of a group of police officers.
Another rapacious magistrate would
visit the homes of suspects and complainants to assess their
material worth before deciding on the amount of money he would
extort from them while deciding their cases. The infamous
magistrate, known simply by everyone as the "Toll Station,"
was so named for once having transferred the operations of
the traffic court to his house where he is alleged to have
received bribes from motorists to let them off. The same magistrate
is also infamous for visiting restaurants and cafes, ordering
food and drinks and then, when presented with the bill, pointing
out a seemingly innocent customer and ordering that they pay.
Woe betide any who did not. It was possible they could find
themselves brought before him on trumped-up charges. Few,
if any, ever refused to pay for the magistrate's food and
beverage. This magistrate, who was quite obviously notorious
and acting with impunity, was also known to conduct impromptu
fund-raisers at which all traders in the vicinity were forced
to make "donations" of Sh2,000 each. He was reported
to have received a Sh3,000 bribe to release a person who had
been committed to civil jail by another court. The magistrate
was also reported to often share a beer with court clerks
and secretaries while loudly discussing court matters at a
bar or other social place. Another judge was said to be putting
up a building. He would reportedly have litigants organised
to buy and transport materials to the site and, depending
on how much they brought, they would have their matters decided
for them speedily and in their favour.
The other way to get ahead in his court
was to hire a certain lawyer, who just happened to be the
judge's relative and who always won the cases he argued in
his court. This crafty fellow is said to have once conducted
a fund-raiser for his wife during which litigants were invited
to contribute "generously". Another story is told
of how the same judge stayed at a hotel and ran up a bill
of Sh56,000 which he refused to pay. When the management sued,
he threatened the process server who, apparently, also doubled
as an assessor in his court, with a fine of Sh1,000 or six
months in prison. Bizarre and darkly amusing as the antics
of the judges and magistrates described might be, it must
not be forgotten that Kenyans take the issue seriously. Therapists
will advise their couch bound patients that admitting the
problem exists is the first step to sorting it out. In the
case of the Kenyan Judiciary, for years it was visible to
the public and others on the outside looking in, that the
whole system was rotten to the core. For whatever reason few,
if any in the Judiciary, were ready to admit that there were
any problems and so nothing was done about anything. However,
about two years ago, the stench on the bench had begun to
assault the nostrils of a few conscientious judges and magistrates,
for whom turning a blind eye to corruption was no longer an
option.
In July 2001, after a very public bust
up between three Justices of the Appeal Court during which
one of them, Mr. Richard Otieno Kwach, questioned the integrity
of two of his colleagues, A.B. Shah and P. Tunoi, the then
newspaper columnist, now official Kenyan anti-graft czar,
Mr. John Githongo, wrote: "The process of judicial reform
in Kenya began some time ago. Indeed, the most talked-about
report on this subject was actually authored by one of the
judges involved in the latest flare-up. The Report of the
Committee on the Administration of Justice, dubbed the Kwach
Report, spoke of lengthy case delays, limited access by the
population, lax security, inadequate accommodation, corrupt
practices, cumbersome procedures, questionable recruitment
and promotional procedures and general lack of training, weak
or non-existent sanctions for unethical behaviour and inequitable
budgets. "The Judiciary, it said, was able to meet the
expectations of the private sector and the public only to
a limited extent. The Judiciary is the station of final recourse
for wananchi (citizens). A weak or pliable Judiciary undermines
the rule of law in the most fundamental way." With the
Kwach Report, someone from the inside seemed finally to be
admitting that there was a problem. Later, in March last year,
there was the then highly controversial visit by a group of
legal experts from the Commonwealth. At the end of their visit,
these jurors called for a drastic shake-up of the Judiciary.
The Commonwealth group urged a "short,
sharp shock" to rid the Judiciary of sleaze. Their most
drastic recommendation was that a new constitution requires
that all judges be asked to resign to pave the way for a clean
slate. This call was later taken up by sections of the Constitution
of Kenya Review Committee who had actually hosted the Commonwealth
jurors. The then Chief Justice, Mr. Bernard Chunga, on hearing
the recommendations of the experts, furiously retorted: "Experts
for what, on what, about what?" It remains one of his
best-remembered quotes. At the time, Mr. Chunga, who was himself
hounded out of office early this year after a tribunal was
set up to investigate allegations against him, accused the
team of "acting on rumours and cheap gossip." Led
by Mr. Justice George Kanyeihamba of the Uganda Supreme Court,
the Commonwealth team comprised Mr. Justice Damian Lubuva
of the Tanzania Appeal Court, Lady Justice Yvonne Mokgoro
of the South Africa Constitutional Court, Mr. Justice Robert
Sharpe of the Ontario Appeal Court, Canada, and Prof Ed Ratushny
of the University of Ottawa, Canada.
In their 64-page report, they said:
"The air is full of allegations of corruption, incompetence
and inefficiency. If the Judiciary is to carry out its function
in an acceptable manner, the air must be cleared." The
former CJ claimed that the Commonwealth report had tried to
undermine the Judiciary. He added: "A visitor cannot
come here, stay at a lavish five-star hotel and tell me that
my judicial system is at a cross-roads after only two days
of entertainment." When presenting his report to the
current Chief Justice, Mr. Evan Gicheru, Justice Ringera was
colourful in his description of the corruption dragon that
has eaten into the judicial community and warned: "It
is bound to snort, kick and jump and even attack, for corruption
always fights back." He made a point of not just stating
the facts as he had found them to be, but also of warning
the parties that appointed him that only half the work had
been done. As the Ringera Report noted, court registries are
a haven of corrupt court officials. Lawyers have contributed
to turning them into dens of thieves. Inflation of court filing
fees is rampant and this usually happens through collusion
between advocates and registry clerks. Shadows of Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce again?
From AllAfrica.com, Africa, by Mwangi Githahu,
20 October 2003
New Members of Liberian
Government Must Be Corruption-Free, UN Emphasizes
United Nations (New York) - With Liberia
currently in the process of selecting members of its transitional
government and legislative assembly, the United Nations today
underscored the need to choose honest and qualified professionals.
Those appointed or elected to the new government must be "individuals
of high moral character and integrity, with untainted past
records," the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) said in a
statement released in Monrovia. At the current critical juncture,
"every effort should be made to ensure that all members
of the new government are appointed or elected based upon
their professional abilities, and are those who will place
the interests of the people of Liberia ahead of any personal
interests," UNMIL stressed. The statement also pointed
out that the UN Security Council as well as international
donors are closely following developments in Liberia with
a view to reinforcing support for its peace and reconstruction
efforts. "Any setbacks at this early stage could adversely
affect international commitment and future support,"
the Mission warned.
From AllAfrica.com, Africa, 21 October 2003
'Corruption Denial
is Electioneering'
President Thabo Mbeki was trying to
"recapture lost ground" before next year's election
by telling religious leaders that there was no government
corruption in the arms deal, the United Democratic Movement
said on Wednesday. UDM president Bantu Holomisa said in a
statement that Mbeki was in a state of denial. "He seems
to be living in a state of denial if he can make such a claim
whilst an independent structure of his government, the Scorpions,
has said that it has prima facie evidence of corruption against
Deputy President Zuma," Holomisa said. He added that
it would not help to be "disingenuous" about the
allegations against Deputy President Jacob Zuma. "Religious
leaders should ignore any such claim of propriety in the arms
deal and dismiss it for the hogwash it is. The arms deal is
a festering sore that should have been excised with a proper
investigation."
On Tuesday, Mbeki gave an assurance
to religious leaders that there was no corruption in the government,
with particular reference to the multi-million rand arms deal.
"The message was that the government is not involved
in any corruption," National Religious Leaders Forum
chairman Aswhin Trikamjee told reporters in Pretoria. "The
president made it a point of assuring religious leaders that
there is nothing wrong with the present government."
Mbeki used a meeting of a presidential working group set up
to promote interaction between the government and religious
communities to dismiss the notion that there was a "big
crisis" within the government over corruption. "The
religious leaders were very, very satisfied and extremely
grateful to the president for having taken them into confidence
in this whole debate." On the arms deal, he said Mbeki
rejected claims of corruption involving the primary contract,
in which the government was involved.
From IAfrica South African News, South Africa
, 22 October 2003
Corruption Probe Slows
University Merger
Johannesburg - Sharda Naidoo, Education
And Tourism Correspondent - Asmal delays naming interim council
and name of institution pending Durban-Westville findings
- Education Minister Kader Asmal lifted the lid on the extent
of corruption problems at the University of Durban-Westville
(UDW) yesterday by delaying the announcement of the interim
council and name for the new super university in KwaZulu-Natal.
Asmal said he would only make a decision and gazette the merger
between UDW and Natal University pending the findings of a
ministerial probe into governance issues and mismanagement
at UDW. Transnet chairman Bongani Khumalo was appointed by
Asmal as an independent assessor last month to handle these
matters, following the suspension of two senior academics,
Kanthan Pillay and Anand Singh. The report will be finalised
next week. UDW's administration has for years been marred
by conflict between senior academics and administrators, with
recent incidents derailing merger negotiations with Natal
University.
Although Asmal gave assurances that
the merger would still go ahead on January 1 next year, his
hesitation to decide on a name signalled that the marriage
of the two institutions was heading for a stormy start. "The
consequences of what the assessor will say will influence
the decision on a name and interim council for the new university,"
said Asmal. He said the interim council could not be set up
because of the many issues at hand, including continuous disagreements
between the two parties on the name of the merged institution.
Natal University had proposed that the merged institution
be called University of KwaZulu- Natal. UDW suggested three
names Walter Sisulu National University, Eastern Seaboard
University of SA and King Shaka National University. Asmal
was mum on which of the above was likely to be chosen, but
the names of the other new universities suggested that geographical
information was a deciding factor in the final pick.
Asmal also refused to preempt the findings
of the probe, and how it would affect plans for the imminent
merger. "It would be unfortunate and insulting to Dr
Khumalo to anticipate the findings of his report," he
reiterated. Despite Asmal keeping tightlipped on the possible
outcomes of the investigation, evidence of fraud and several
allegations of corruption have surfaced in recent months.
These include UDW's former principal, Prof Mapule Ramashala,
being accused of borrowing R70m from Investec Bank and then
placing R69,3m in an offshore account in 1998 without the
knowledge of the university's council. It also emerged this
month that UDW principal Dr Saths Cooper, had been overpaid
R126666 since January an overpayment of R15843 every month.
Another high-ranking member of the university's management,
Prof Dasarath Chetty, received a once-off overpayment of R5000,
while the salary of a third member of the institution's executive
is also under scrutiny.
From AllAfrica.com, Africa, 22 October 2003
George Bush Commends
Zambia for Fight Against Corruption
Lusaka - United States President George
W. Bush has congratulated President Levy Mwanawasa on efforts
to fight corruption in Zambia. Mr. Bush has described president
Mwanawasa's fight against corruption as inspiring not only
to the Zambian people but by the entire African continent.
The US president said this in a congratulatory message to
president Mwanawasa on Zambia's 39th Independence Anniversary
which falls on Friday, October 24. President Mwanawasa's principal
private secretary Jack Kalala confirmed to ZANA in a statement
that Mr. Bush has also wished the people of Zambia success
in meeting the objective of fighting corruption as well as
other challenges. Mr. Kalala also disclosed that United Nations
(UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan has described the occasion
of Zambia's National Day as a crucial time in the life of
the UN.
Mr. Annan however, appealed to the
international community to redouble efforts in its fight against
poverty, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and terrorism in order to make
the world a better place to live in. "From poverty to
pollution, from AIDS to armed conflict and terrorism, the
international community must redouble its efforts if we are
to be bequeath to our children a world of choices, not constraints,
part of Mr. Annan's message read. Mr. Annan further expressed
the UN gratitude regarding Zambia's commitment and support
towards the UN global mission of peace and stability. The
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has
also hailed Zambia for playing a significant role in the establishment
of the regional body. Comesa Secretary General Erastus Mwencha
commended Zambia for contribution made towards maintaining
and building of the role of Comesa. Nigerian President Olusegun
Obasanjo, Libya's Muammar Al-Gaddafi and Togolese president
Gnassingbe Eyadema have also wished president Mwanawasa personal
good health and prosperity for the people of Zambia.
From Zambia News Agency, Zambia, 22 October
2003
Corruption Saps a Rich
Tradition in Kenya
Nairobi - Culture of Dishonesty Leads
Government to Consider Ban on Community Fundraisers - Batha
Awino's smile was as big as the wad of cash in her hand. And
her pleas to contribute more money for the funeral costs of
Florence Aduor, a former teacher, were as silky-smooth as
her flowing, cream-colored skirt. "You can't take your
bread without the butter!" she cried to a group of about
40 friends of the departed, who were sitting in plastic chairs
in the garden of a Nairobi pub, looking nervous, clutching
their purses and glancing at one another. One friend smiled
weakly, stood up and handed over the equivalent of $5. Awino
swooped in on her like a preacher honoring a generous worshiper.
"This nice lady is called Alice, and well, she is a friend
indeed," she sang out, raising her eyebrows and shaking
her head in approval. By the end of the night, the fundraiser,
known as a harambee, generated just over the equivalent of
$1,000. It was one of several such meetings taking place that
night in the Garden Square Restaurant. But the newly elected
government is considering banning these community fundraising
parties, a cornerstone of life in Kenya. Officials say they
became a tool for corruption and graft under former president
Daniel arap Moi, as government workers routinely began demanding
donations for funerals, school fees and weddings, or for the
dispensation of birth certificates, licenses or yellow fever
cards.
And political parties had begun to
use harambees for their own purposes, ostensibly to promote
community development. But the money donated for schools and
hospitals often disappeared, officials said. People also felt
compelled to give money, goats and cows at harambees lest
they be passed over for promotions and raises at work, according
to the government. "The harambee spirit is an avenue
of corruption," said Mwalimu Mati of Transparency International,
a global corruption watchdog group. "There is a lack
of accountability, like wedding collections and then the couple
do not get married, or exaggerated illnesses. Harambees now
have a culture of dishonesty. Not all of them are like this,
but something went very wrong along the way." Kenya's
founding president, Jomo Kenyatta, introduced the community
parties as a way to bridge the gap between poor and rich in
a country without a state welfare system. Under Moi's 24-year
rule, harambees became a way of funding such basic services
as water wells and infant health care, along with college,
funeral costs and community events. The word harambee - derived
from two Gujarati words, one meaning "hail" and
the other the name of a Hindu goddess - is part of Kenya's
coat of arms and, as such, embossed on the country's currency.
"Harambee" is the national motto and is seen as
defining the pulling-together, self-help spirit of a poor
country.
There is a Harambee Avenue in downtown
Nairobi. The office of the president is called Harambee House.
The pledge of allegiance once included the word. "We
don't have to kill our communities by saying that harambees
be abolished. It's what makes a strong and united community
where people can rely on each other," said Luke Ouma,
a senior lecturer at Kenyatta University who was attending
the harambee for Aduor. He said Aduor's children could not
afford to hold a funeral on their own. Some gatherings have
food, others do not. There was none at this one and guests
wandered away to the bar occasionally to buy a beer. The restaurant
is paid a small amount for the space; the fee depends on the
size of the group. The owners said about 50 fundraisers take
place each Thursday through Sunday; tables are marked with
small pieces of white paper indicating who the harambee is
for. Invitations can be as informal as word of mouth or as
public as a newspaper ad. People know they are invited for
the purpose of giving money, and they give with pride, as
a sign of wealth, proponents of the custom said. "Many
of our present leaders, professors and economists are products
of harambees," said K. B. Makulae, a teacher who favors
the practice because many school costs are paid with the fundraisers.
"Harambees are a public siren to assist. The government
should just find a way to regulate them." When the government
formed a team this summer to study banning the practice, the
issue triggered a national debate on radio talk shows, in
the papers and even in schools.
From Washington Post, DC, by Emily Wax,
24 October 2003
Government Launches
Investigation into Corruption Allegations
Government said yesterday that it has
launched an investigation into allegations of corruption in
the mass cocoa spraying exercise. "For the recent report
in the Western Region, we have asked the Bureau of National
Investigation (BNI) to move in and they have moved in,"
Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo told
newsmen during questions and answers time at the weekly meet
the press briefing in Accra. "If we find out people have
cheated they will be punished according to the law."
Osafo-Maafo said. The government introduced the mass cocoa
spraying exercise in 2001 as a form of assistance to the farmers.
As part of the exercise the government, through the COCOBOD,
put aside ¢341 billion to purchase chemicals for the exercise.
But the agents undertaking the exercise were allegedly demanding
money from the farmers for the services which had already
been paid for by the state and should have been provided free
of charge. Others were also engaged in diverting the chemicals
to neighbouring, Cote d'Ivoire for sale. The institution of
a probe followed The Chronicle's front-page report about two
week ago that a section of the farmers in the Juabeso-Bia
District, one of the major producing areas, had been denied
the benefit of the exercise since its inception two years
ago.
The Chronicle, quoting the local chief
farmer, said some of the chemicals meant for the spraying
had mysteriously landed in neighbouring Cote d'lvoire. The
Chronicle found out that even though the government provided
the chemicals and other logistics required for the success
of the exercise, some officials handling the project in the
region diverted the chemicals thereby denying farmers access
to them. However, the minister admitted at the conference
yesterday that there had been problems with the exercise because
of the dubious activities of some people who wanted to take
advantage of the farmers' need of the service. Acknowledging
that similar problems existed in the ministries, he said the
question should be how to deal with the Ghanaian attitude
toward such practices and not leaving it on the Cocoa Industry
alone. On alleged politicization of the exercise, Osafo-Maafo
said cocoa beans did not bear the colours of political parties
and therefore it was not in the interest of the COCOBOD to
use segregation in the mass cocoa spraying exercise based
on partisan politics.
From Ghanaian Chronicle, Ghana, 24 October
2003
How to Win the Anti-corruption
War!
That President Olusegun Obasanjo is
hell-bent on waging war on the seemingly intractable cankerworm,
called corruption, is no longer news. Indeed, no day passes
without the President or one of his aides reminding Nigerians
that this administration is unwavering in its battle to rid
the polity of the cankerworm. And, not a few Nigerians, particularly
the downtrodden, appear to be solidly behind Obasanjo in the
crusade. But then, the people are gradually becoming disillusioned,
in fact, frustrated, because several allegations and/or accusations
have been made against known persons, but nothing concrete
appears to have been done to get to the root of these allegations
or accusations. Perhaps, the most striking is the allegation
by the FCT Minister, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, that senators Ibrahim
Mantu and Jonathan Zwingina demanded N54 million bribe from
him to ensure confirmation of his nomination as a minister.
Now, while the two senators denied making such a demand from
the minister, he is insisting that the duo are being economical
with the truth. Somewhere along the line, the Senate mandated
the Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora led Senate Ethics, Privileges
and Public Petitions Committee to probe the allegation. The
committee invited the accuser and the accused to a public
hearing, where both sides maintained their stands.
The Mamora committee submitted its
report, reflecting evidence adduced by both parties, without
any declarative recommendations; because, according to it,
the committee, was not given any term of reference to do so.
Fair enough. But the Senate, in its wisdom, returned a verdict
of "not guilty" on its accused members; stressing
that, since el-Rufai had failed to produce any documentary
evidence to back up his allegations, it would not be proper
to find any fault with Mantu and Zwingina on mere allegations.
Another fair decision, you will agree. To win the anti-corruption
war, Obasanjo must be interested in every allegation made
against every person in government or in the public serviceConversely,
however, the Nigerian public would have expected a more painstaking
investigation into this grave allegation. And, the reasons
are legion. First, we all know that if any minister had been
"forced" to cough out millions of naira to smoothen
his or her passage into office, such a minister is literally
licensed to go into office and plunder the people's treasury.
Or, where will he or she recoup the bribe from? One may ask.
We can as well add: "Where did we expect the "donors"
to find the millions to pave their ways into office?"
These questions and many relevant others
are not supposed to go without appropriate answers in a society
craving for probity and accountability. Almost simultaneously,
Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, the Minister of Works, alerted the
nation on the apparent fraudulent deals in the maintenance
of federal roads in the South-East zone. He asserted that
Nigerian engineers in his ministry connived with contractors,
who collected huge amounts from public coffers, and did not
perform but were certified to have done well after some money
had passed round. Yet, some Ndigbo shouted blue murder and
later got the Fedral Government to re-award the contracts
for the maintenance of some of the roads; the same for which
millions (if not billions) of naira had already been paid
to some "ghost contractors" without nothing to show
for it. Now, all these allegations are there unverified and
we continue as if nothing has happened. Do you still ask why
the ordinary Nigerian is frustrated?
The ordinary Nigerian hates nobody;
but he hates a system which appears to shield the highly-placed
to his detriment. I really sympathise with President Obasanjo
because he is no longer a military leader, who can do things
with automatic alacrity. But even then, he has a duty to oil
the machinery to prosecute his anti-corruption war effectively.
He and his PDP must convince us that we need to make more
sacrifices to take this country to the proverbial promised
land. But not when political office holders and top civil
servants are dipping their dirty hands into our Commonwealth
and yet the people are forced to make sacrifices to boost
the economy. To win the anti-corruption war, Obasanjo must
be interested in every allegation made against every person
in government or in the public service. He must insist on
thorough investigation of every accusation; not only to get
to the root, but also to convince the people that the much-touted
anti-corruption war is not a battle of the tongue or one on
paper. The nation waits impatiently. God bless Nigeria.
From Daily Times of Nigeria, Nigeria, by
Dele Odebiyi, 30 October 2003
Anti-Corruption Body
Wants Information Law
Kampala - The Anti-Corruption Coalition
Uganda (ACCU) has called for an urgent law to allow the public
access information as one way to stop corruption. The ACCU
coordinator, Lydia Bakaki, said, "The Government must
present a bill in Parliament about access to information.
We want information which even the semi-illiterate will be
able to access." Byakaki said this during a press conference
on the anti-corruption week organised by civil society organisations
at the National Theatre in Kampala on Friday. The week meant
to create awareness against corruption started on October
26 and will run until November 2. "You cannot fight corruption
if you don't have the figures. The amount of money sent to
a district must be pinned on the notice board and Government
officials must be able to account for it," Bakaki said.
She said public participation regarding the Poverty Eradication
Action Plan and the local government have not been effectively
realised due to the old fashioned, restrictive and secretive
laws.
From AllAfrica.com, Africa, by Immaculate
Tumwesigye, 30 October 2003
Fish Ban Lifting Temporary,
to Check Corruption, Says Cheeye
Kampala - President Yoweri Museveni
lifted the ban on catching immature fish because law enforcement
officers were using it to extort money from fish dealers.
ISO's director of economic monitoring Teddy Sseezi Cheeye
yesterday said the President's directive was a temporary measure.
"President Yoweri Museveni did not lift the ban with
the aim of hurting the fishing industry in the long run, but
as a temporary measure to smash a racket by corrupt law enforcement
officials from the fisheries department," he said in
a statement. He said some officers were making more than sh100m
a week by selling impounded fish. The announcement to lift
the ban followed discussions between the President and members
of the Fish Processors and Exporters Association in Soroti
recently. The fish processors told the President that despite
the ban on small fish in Uganda, there were no such restrictions
in neighbouring countries. Cheeye said the law enforcers were
supposed to ensure use of the right fishing gear on the lake
but they instead chose to wait on roads and ambush trucks
full of fish which they confiscate.
From AllAfrica.com, Africa, by Joyce Namutebi,
29 October 2003
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Amend Constitution to Empower Anti-Corruption
Commission
Participants at a roundtable yesterday
called for constituting an independent, powerful and effective
Anti-Corruption Commission free from political influence.
"Form powerful, effective and independent Anti-Corruption
Commission for its proper functioning by bringing amendment
to the Constitution," they suggested. They said the proposed
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) should be given constitutional
protection through amendment to the Constitution so that no
political government can remove any member of it or curb its
authority in future. They observed that much of the periphery
and authority of the proposed Commission had been curtailed
in the draft Anti-Corruption Commission Bill. "If this
bill is passed by parliament, the proposed Commission will
never be a powerful and effective institution." The participants
also said the bill was drafted by the government in such a
manner that the bi-partisan approach and the participation
of civil society have not been ensured in the proposed Anti-Corruption
Commission. The dialogue on "Necessity of An Independent
Anti-Corruption Commission and Role of the Bureau of Anti-Corruption"
was organised by the Council for National Agenda (CNA) in
cooperation with The New Nation. Former Advisor to the Caretaker
Government Justice Latifur Rahman addressed the dialogue as
the chief guest. With former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)
and CNA Chairman Justice Mohammad Abdur Rouf in the chair,
the dialogue was also addressed by Co-Chairman of CNA Justice
Sultan Hossain Khan and Chairman of the Editorial Boards of
The New Nation and the Daily Ittefaq and Executive President
of CNA Barrister Mainul Hosein.
The dialogue was participated by Chairman
of the Trustee Board of the Transparency International Bangladesh
(TIB) Professor Khan Sarwar Murshid, TIB Trustee Board Member
Professor Dr Muzaffar Ahmad, former State Minister for Foreign
Affairs and Awami League leader Abul Hasan Chowdhury, former
Advisor to the Caretaker Government Syed Manzur Elahi, former
Chairman of the Press Council of Bangladesh Justice Habibur
Rahman Khan, Advisor to the BNP Chairperson Ambassador MM
Rezaul Karim, Chairman of the Privatisation Commission Enam
Ahmed Chowdhury, Chairman of the Bangladesh Institute of International
Strategic Studies (BIISS) Ambassador MR Osmany, Abdul Mannan,
MP and Dr Mushfiqur Rahman, MP of BNP, GM Quader, MP of Jatiya
Party, former Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University Professor
Emajuddin Ahmad, former Secretary and Director-General of
the Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAC) Dr Shah Abdul Hannan,
Chairman of Sonali Bank Professor Dr Mahbub Ullah, Vice-Chancellor
of Bangladesh Open University (BOU) Professor M Ershadul Bari,
Maj Gen (Retd) Imamuzzaman, Brig (Retd) M Shakhawat Hossain,
journalist Gias Kamal Chowdhury and Professor KM Mohsin of
University Grants Commission (UGC). Justice Latifur Rahman
said the proposed Anti-Corruption Commission should be headed
by honest, impartial and dynamic personalities of the society.
He said initiative has been taken to
form the Anti-Corruption Commission as the existing BAC is
longer effective. "But the question is who are going
to the chairman and members of this Commission," he asked.
Justice Latifur Rahman, also the former Chief Justice of Bangladesh,
suggested that the selection committee for the appointment
of chairman and members should be free from political influence
so that honest and good people could join it. Besides, necessary
steps should be taken so that the Commission has adequate
financial capability and it can function freely. He also observed
that the executive government was facing difficulties to work
impartially due to lack of democratic political culture in
the country. Justice Abdur Rouf said whatever the selection
process proposed in the draft bill, all should accept it.
"Let us allow the selection first and then see what happens."
He said corruption in Bangladesh would go down when the colonial
administrative system was changed. "It takes a file to
move to 26 desks to get approval in Bangladesh, where it takes
a file to go through three desks in England to get approval,"
he said. Professor Khan Sarwar Murshid said the proposed Anti-Corruption
Commission must be an independent and effective body "if
we want to make it functional and meaningful." He said
the BAC has totally failed to play it proper role. It has
no significant suo moto prosecution authority. All the governments
in Bangladesh have used the BAC directly or indirectly. The
BAC has to get permission from the upper level of the government
to file a case against anyone, which is a major impediment
to its functioning.
Moreover, Professor Murshid said there
is no accountability inside the BAC. There is no scope to
monitor the corruption inside the BAC itself and take action
accordingly. Referring to the selection committee proposed
in the draft bill, he said that the composition of selection
committee did not seem meaningful to him. The chairman and
members of this Commission can be appointed by three judges
of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. Barrister
Mainul Hosein said no country needed Anti-Corruption Commission
for dealing with corruption. "In our socio-political
situation, we must have a powerful and independent Anti-Corruption
Commission for keeping our political leaders free from corruption,"
he said. Barrister Mainul said when politics is free from
corruption the political leaders themselves can take effective
measures for restraining corruption of others. "It is
true that there is corruption in developed countries also.
But there corruption of political leaders are not forgiven.
Even small cases of corruption of political leaders are viewed
with seriousness. They face corruption cases no matter how
small the corruption. The people even do not spare their Presidents
or Prime Ministers," he said. Prof Muzaffar Ahmad said
the authority of recruiting the employees of the Commission
should be given to the Commission itself. The Commission will
employ its staff on contract basis. Otherwise, hiring and
firing would not be possible. Besides, the staff should be
provided with handsome remuneration.
He said the TIB proposed a legal team
for investigation of the cases of the Commission. But the
good lawyers will not be available unless they are given attractive
remuneration. Prof Ahmad said it takes one to six years to
get permission from the Prime Minister's office to file any
case. Punishment of any corruption case must be deterrent.
Moreover, the effectiveness of the country's legal and judicial
systems must be strengthened. Shah Abdul Hannan said when
he was the DG of BAC, the then President intervened in one
or two cases. "But the President or the Prime Minister
should refrain from intervening in the affairs of BAC,"
he said. He said the corruption of political leaders must
be brought down at any cost to save the nation. "If the
politicians, ministers and secretaries do not indulge in corrupt
practices, there will also be no corruption in the Customs
department," he said. Justice Habibur Rahman Khan said
the chairman and members of the Commission must be patriotic.
He said the Commission must be independent to function properly.
"If the selection authority of the Commission is given
to politicians, it will get destroyed at the very initial
stage."
Prof Emajuddin Ahmad said the Anti-Corruption
Commission should be kept above all controversies. "Given
the situation in the country, there is no alternative to it
and we must have to pay attention how best we can make it
meaningful." He said corruption is confined to only five
per cent people of the country, while the 40 per cent of the
population living below the poverty line do not get involve
in corruption. He also regretted that a consensus was yet
to be developed among the two major political parties of the
country. Ambassador MR Osmany said it is impossible to contain
corruption even if three "angels" are made members
of the Anti-Corruption Commission. "Even if we want to
contain financial corruption in the country, the head of the
government has to show courage and honesty," he said.
Prof Mahbub Ullah said the main source of corruption in Bangladesh
is foreign aid. "We have so limited resources that the
scopes of corruption is much less here," he said. Maj
Gen (Retd) Imamuzzaman said it is not important who are going
to give appointment to the chairman and members of the Anti-Corruption
Commission. Rather, it is important that who are going to
be appointed as the members of the proposed Anti-Corruption
Commission. SM Al-Hosayni said the Anti-Corruption Commission
must have a self-controlled budget so that they could determine
what logistic supports they needed. He said if the Anti-Corruption
Commission members are appointed by the politicians, it would
never be able to function independently.© Copyright 2003 by
The New Nation.
From The New Nation, Bangladesh, 1 October
2003
Solomons Corruption
Probe Underway
The Australian-led intervention force
in Solomon Islands has defended its progress on tackling official
corruption. Head of the Regional Assistance Mission Nick Warner,
speaking on Solomon Islands' national radio, said an audit
of the government and public accounts had begun by advisers
and personnel installed into key ministries. Politicians and
community leaders had accused the Mission of not tackling
corruption. Mr. Warner said action would be taken if there
had been any misappropriation of funds within government by
public servants or parliamentarians.
From ABC Online, Australia, 1 October 2003
J&K the Second
State to Launch E-governance
Srinagar - Jammu and Kashmir became
the second state in the country after Andhra Pradesh, to introduce
video conferencing facility and e-governance in government
administration. Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who launched
the facilities on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, told mediapersons
that it would help in improving efficiency and aid effective
monitoring and supervising of works in all the regions of
the state. He said it would not have any bearing on the darbar
move as the 172-year old practice would continue to be an
effective arrangement for integration of the state. He inaugurated
the video conferencing system by speaking to Ministers and
officials in Jammu, Leh and Nuyoma from the secretariat in
Srinagar. The facility, created with the help of NIC would
be extended in phases to all district headquarters in the
state beginning with far-flung districts of Kupwara, Poonch
and Doda. It is expected to help the senior officers at Secretariat
to monitor development schemes at district level, listen to
public grievances and interact with locals. It would also
cut administration travel time and costs besides bringing
efficiency in work culture and enabling departments to follow
up cases with Central government ministries.
The Chief Minister, held a conference
with Ministers for Social Welfare, Rural Development, Consumer
Affairs and Public Distribution, Information Technology, Chairman
of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council and senior government
officials, who were in Jammu and discussed various issues.
He enquired about the sanctioning of new anganwari centres
by the Union government, about the progress on the beautification
and creation of parking lots in Jammu city. He was informed
that necessary action was being taken on the issues with work
in progress on development of parks, walkways and public convenience
facilities. The Chief Minister also spoke to the local MLA
and other officials in Leh congratulating them on receiving
the highest tourist traffic this year and enquiring about
the current tourist flow, which he was informed was satisfactory.
The state capitals have also been connected
to Nuyoma, a far-flung area of Ladakh, through the facility.
The SDM Nuyoma apprised the Chief Minister about development
activities in the area. On the occasion, the Chief Minister
also inaugurated "smart gov," a facility for e-governance
in the Secretariat, consisting of the Central Information
System (CIS) and the Departmental Information System (DIS)
and fully computerising common applications like payrolls,
leave, audit, monitoring of plan schemes, assets management,
court cases and personnel information system. Tata consultancy,
which is executing the smart gov, said that the objective
was to integrate technology to deliver electronic work place
for better efficiency. In the first phase, working of 5 departments-
chief minister's office, science and technology, information
technology, finance and general administration, have been
put on the e-governance. The system is designed to regulate
the file movement on a priority basis and incorporates concepts
like knowledge bank, work flow automation and electronic files.
From Sify, India, 2 October 2003
Anti-corruption Watchdog
Raids MP's Office
There has been a raid by officers from
the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on the
offices of New South Wales Upper House MP Peter Breen. Around
six or seven officers from the NSW anti-corruption watchdog
have this afternoon swooped on the parliamentary offices of
Reform the Legal System Party MP Peter Breen. Witnesses say
a parliamentary IT expert was called in to provide help with
downloading a number of computer files and many more hard
copy files were also taken away for further investigation.
The raid took about two hours. A spokeswoman for Mr. Breen
said only "no comment" when asked about the raid.
The ABC understands that ICAC officers this week interviewed
a staffer in Mr. Breen's office as well as staffers from the
offices of the Democrats and the Shooters Party. Today's raid
comes after last month's resignation of fellow Upper House
MP Malcolm Jones, who was found to have corruptly misused
parliamentary entitlements amounting to around $40,000.
FromABC Online, Australia, 3 October 2003
Bangladesh Delays Formation
of Anti-Corruption Watchdog
Dhaka - While there were a reported
874 corruption cases in Bangladesh between January and June
2003, the government's longstanding promise of establishing
an independent anti-corruption body, remains mired in controversy.
Last week's report on corruption by Transparency International
Bangladesh (TIB), based on press reports over the last six
months, underlines the urgency for setting up such a commission.
According to the report, corruption related cases between
January and June 2003 numbered 874, with 216 making specific
mention of financial losses totalling around US $one billion.
Remarks TIB Chairman, Professor Khan Sarwar Murshid, "As
in the past, the police department tops the list in terms
of the number of corruption cases, but in terms of devouring
the sum, the taxation department outperformed all." About
37.3 per cent of corruption occurred in the areas of direct
and indirect taxes, followed by the police at 22.4 per cent,
the education department at 12.9 per cent, local government
at 10.1 per cent and health and family welfare at around 6.6
per cent. The existing anti-corruption body - Bureau of Anti
Corruption (BAC) - that works directly under Prime Minister
Khaleda Zia, was termed a toothless watchdog a decade ago.
The BAC's track record proves it mainly serves as a political
weapon for the ruling party against the Opposition. But with
graft continuing to spirla, the government was forced to begin
drafting a Bill for an independent anti-corruption commission
two years ago.
Due to heavy pressure from civil society
activists and international donors, the draft was scheduled
to be completed in April. But on one excuse or another, the
government continues to delay it. Members of civil society
and social watchdogs who studied the draft, express deep misgivings
about its effectiveness and independence. They feel the proposed
commission will only widen the scope for crooks to get away
scot-free. "We fear the Commission will never be able
to function freely if its members are appointed by persons
who may face corruption charges in future," notes former
cabinet secretary Mujibul Haq. Haq is referring to the proposed
two positions of the six-member team, who will be entrusted
with recruitment. These two positions will be filled by two
political representatives, Finance Minister, M Saifur Rahman
and Law Minister, Moudud Ahmed. Ironically, both these worthies
are accused of graft in cases filed at different times. "The
recruitment body of the Commission should be headed by the
Chief Justice, and not by a minister," stresses TIB chief,
Khan Sarwar Murshid. Despite such criticism, the government
was ready to send the draft Bill for the commission to Parliament
last month. It refrained from doing so at the last moment.
Explains Law Minister Moudud Ahmed, "There has been a
lot of criticism on the Bill. In this context, we decided
to seek the opinion of experts and amend parts of it if necessary."
According to Ahmed, the draft envisages
that the commission will be empowered to take steps against
ministers, state ministers, MPs, other public representatives
and government officials of any tier. The commission members
will have a four-year term, during which they could only be
removed by the Supreme Judicial Council comprising the chief
justice and two senior members of the Appellate Division of
the Supreme Court. But different organizations including the
TIB say the Bill is riddled with loopholes. Leading Bangladesh
lawyer who drafted the country' Constitution, Dr Kamal Hossain
believes the Anti-Corruption Commission Bill 2003 lacks in
two aspects. "It does not mention an independent prosecution
department," he points out. "Besides, the Commission
will have to depend on the government for funds. This will
affect its functioning." Even the BAC, to be abolished
after the creation of the Anti-Corruption Commission, is critical
about it. In a confidential report sent to the Cabinet late
last month, the BAC offers an interesting insight. It compares
the jurisdiction of the proposed Commission with its own,
concluding that the Commission will be infinitely weaker.
The BAC report notes that although
the BAC filed 2,632 graft cases in the last three years, the
commission will fail to lodge even 2,270 such cases, as its
authority has been eroded by the removal of certain laws.
In addition, it will be unable to press charges against bureaucrats,
customs officials and bankers, who are often accused of widespread
corruption. Worse, while the BAC operates under 16 fully-fledged
laws and 47 sections of the Bangladesh Penal Code, the commission
will have only one fully-fledged law and use only 14 Penal
Code sections. The sections of the Penal Code not included
in the commission's jurisdiction, include cheating, forging
court documents and property embezzlement and misappropriation.
"That means the definition of corruption has been narrowed,"
the report says. Former adviser of the caretaker government
and ex-inspector general of police ASM Shahjahan notes, "The
proposed Bill should be discussed in detail in Parliament,
with the Opposition participating in the discussion."
Currently, the government is engaged in eliciting the opinions
of concerned pressure groups on the proposed Bill. It is uncertain
when it will be amended and prepared for approval in Parliament.
From OneWorld, UK, by Sharier Khan, 6 October
2003
GMA Downplays RP'S
Corruption Ranking
Manila - President Arroyo yesterday
tried to downplay the recent report of the Berlin-based Transparency
International (TI) which showed that corruption in the country
has worsened. The TI report is based on the perceived corruption
level in 133 countries by business leaders, academics and
risk analysts. A score of 10 means the country is "highly
clean" while zero means it is "highly corrupt."
The Philippines scored 2.5, along with Albania, Argentina,
Ethiopia, Gambia, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Zambia. Last year,
the Philippines' score was 2.6. It ranked 92 in the list.
Bangladesh was most corrupt for the third successive year
with a score of 1.3, just edging out Nigeria. Finland, Iceland
and Denmark continued to top world rankings. Thailand, to
which the Philippines is often compared, ranked 70. Burma
ranked 129 and Indonesia 122. Arroyo said in a statement that
the TI report was based on "perceptions of corruption
that does not take into consideration hard evidentiary cases
or positive actions by governments." "We may not
have breached the level of perceptions on corruption in our
country but we are surely doing something about it, which
is not reflected in the report," she said. She claimed
that government's procedural reforms and lifestyle checks
are "taking their toll on corruption" and revenue
agencies are registering increased tax collections.
From Philippine Headline News, Philippines,
9 October 2003
Indonesia Concedes
Corruption is Rampant
Indonesia's Vice President Hamzah Haz
has conceded that there is still too much corruption in the
country. Mr. Haz says one of the reasons corruption is still
rampant is because many Indonesians have forsaken religion.
The vice president's remarks came a week after a global corruption
watchdog, Transparency International, named Indonesia as one
of the most corrupt countries. Indonesia was listed on the
same level as Kenya, although it was ahead of Burma, Angola,
Cameroon, Paraguay, Nigeria and Haiti.
From GoAsiaPacific.com, Asia, 11 October
2003
South Korea's Roh Sees
''Coughs'' Before Corruption Cure
Seoul - South Korea's turbulent 55-year
history has seen presidents assassinated and driven from power
by protests and coups, but Roh Moo-hyun is the first leader
to launch what is in effect a no-confidence motion against
himself. Roh told parliament on Monday he wanted to renew
his mandate after a series of scandals by holding a referendum
in December -- just a year after he was elected for a single
five-year term. He said that if he lost, he would step down
in February and hold a presidential election in April. Roh
was promptly labelled an amateur by the opposition, which
has rejected his referendum plan. The opposition, which has
a majority in parliament, has hampered Roh's reform plans
since he took office eight months ago. Roh has been an outsider
from the time he led a student boycott in 1960 against mandatory
essays praising Seoul's autocratic first president. The self-educated
labour lawyer appears to live up to schoolteachers' descriptions
of him as being stubborn with a special talent for forcefully
expressing his opinion. Perhaps his determined streak comes
from his upbringing. Roh hails from a farming family. He could
not afford college and took low-paying odd jobs in between
self-study, finally passing the bar examination in 1975.
He spent the early 1980s defending
student and labour activists, joining the pro-democracy movement
himself in 1987. A decade ago, he quit his mentor's party
over a merger that enabled that man to become president. Last
month, Roh quit his ruling party, decimating his already weak
support in parliament. ''If we look at his political history,
every time he was in a critical moment he would either charge
ahead or use risky strategies with his political career at
stake,'' the JoongAng Ilbo daily, a staunch critic of Roh,
said earlier this week. Feisty and Forceful - His bombshell
referendum proposal brought fresh upheaval to a country already
gripped with uncertainty about a sluggish economy, a crisis
over North Korea's nuclear arms ambitions and frictions with
its security ally the United States. But in an interview with
Reuters at the Blue House presidential compound in Seoul on
Friday, Roh said his drastic move was necessary to cure corruption
in South Korean politics and that the society was sound enough
to endure the treatment. ''When you first catch a cold, you
have a cough...you also cough at the end of your sickness,''
he said. ''Consider this the cough that comes at the end of
a cold or flu,'' said Roh, 57, of the past week's confusion.
The 57-year-old stressed the need to tackle corruption even
at the cost of his job.
He has not been accused of wrongdoing.
''A politician who is as important as the president of a country
must bear responsibility for allegations of corruption relating
to himself or his associates,'' he said. Roh's decision to
put his future in the hands of voters - unveiled on October
10 in an unscripted news conference - was triggered by prosecution
allegations that a close aide of 20 years was involved in
a widening political funding scandal. The aide was arrested
on Wednesday. The drastic move has baffled many of South Korea's
48 million people, and nobody has provided a clear answer
to the question whether the constitution permits such a confidence
vote. Roh said he saw ''no legal problems'' with his proposed
referendum. Roh has accomplished the rare feat of uniting
South Korea's fractious political parties -- against him.
The main opposition party called Roh an ''amateur'' and spoke
of impeachment. Living up to a reputation for feistiness,
Roh took a swipe at his opponents, noting they had at first
welcomed the referendum idea ''when my approval ratings were
below 35 percent.'' ''But after my declaration, when public
opinion polls showed my support rising, they shifted their
position and created this controversy,'' he said. Public opinion
surveys have indicated that voters would return Roh by a margin
of about 10 percent.
From MSNBC, by Paul Eckert and Lee Suwan,
17 October 2003
Lacson Proposes New
Commission Vs Corruption
Manila - Sen. Panfilo Lacson proposed
yesterday the creation of an Independent Commission Against
Corruption (ICAC) to fight corruption in the bureaucracy.
Lacson also proposed that the ICAC should have the power to
examine the internal systems and procedures of government
agencies to reduce, if not eliminate, opportunities for graft
and corruption. "Corruption is the most serious obstacle
to our country's progress," he said. "Scant as they
are, resources are plundered by the corrupt." One consequence
of corruption, he said, is that "investors, foreign or
local, have yet to see a truly level playing field. Instead
they are pressured by the attorneys of the most powerful."
He said that "being an independent body, the ICAC could
go about its job of going after crooks in government without
fear of being pressured by Malacañang or any other top official
as what is happening right now." Lacson earlier called
for the creation of an ICAC in his Oct. 13 privilege speech,
in which he outlined several areas for legislation as a result
of his "Jose Pidal" exposé series. He is seeking
the creation of an ICAC similar to the probe body operating
in Hong Kong, saying it is a matter made urgent in the wake
of Fraport AG's extortion case against top officials of the
government, as contained in a lawsuit filed by the German
firm before the World Bank's International Center for the
Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington.
The opposition senator is also pursuing
the amendment of the Bank Secrecy Law to "exclude government
officials, elected or appointed, from being covered"
by it. Lacson is proposing that Congress be given the power
to look into bank deposits when its committees conduct investigations
in aid of legislation. He said his proposal will include the
proper safeguards to prevent abuse. He is also pushing for
additional amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act that
will include crimes involving graft and corruption as predicate
crimes covered by the AMLA. He also wants the Anti-Graft and
Corrupt Practices Act to be strengthened. "We must tighten
the rules on the filing of statements of assets and liabilities
(SALs)." Lacson is going to ask Congress to look into
the accountability of presidential spouses who use and abuse
the authority of the president. He wants a review of the Revise
Penal Code to make way for stiffer penalties for perjury and
subornation to perjury. "The Revised Penal Code should
be reviewed, especially insofar as imposing heavier penalties
on perjury." Even the procedures by which the Commission
on Audit does its job should be changed to prevent COA auditors
from colluding with corrupt government officials and stop
the practice of wasting government money through unliquidated
cash advances, Lacson said.
Too many probe bodies - However, with
the plethora of probe bodies already in existence, there is
no need for an ICAC as proposed by Lacson, First Gentleman
Jose Miguel Arroyo's lawyer, Jesus Santos said in a statement.
Santos said the country is already "strangled" by
an "overwhelming" number of probe bodies, many of
which are investigating the same cases. "Senate probe,
congressional probe, Ombudsman probe, DOJ probe," he
said. "As a lawyer, I would like to see graft cases move
in the courts, where the facts can be presented and solid
evidence weighted factually." Another probe body, he
said, would merely entail the duplication of efforts and additional
expense. Investigations, he warned, could also take longer.
"We do not need another probe body. What we need are
facts, evidence and the candid ability to admit guilt,"
he said. "That's the only way graft investigations could
move faster." Santos added that "it is sad to see
that a senator of the Republic has publicly displayed very
little faith in his colleagues at the Senate. The senator
from Cavite shows insensitivity and a lack of respect for
his fellow senators, who are now immersed in a three-committee
probe of his earlier allegations of irregularities."
Lacson's press statement, Santos said,
"assails the independence of the Senate and paints a
tarnished picture of the character of the senators involved
in the investigation." Citing the Kuratong Baleleng multiple
murder case as an example, Santos pointed out that the wheels
of justice ground to a standstill while Lacson was chief of
the Philippine National Police and former President Joseph
Estrada held office. Lacson is one of the principal accused
in the case. The Supreme Court recently ruled for the reopening
of the case, which was dismissed on a technicality by the
Quezon City courts. "Right now, there are graft cases
against Senator Lacson before the Ombudsman, where solid evidence
has been presented from the United States government's Financial
Crimes Investigation Center," Santos said. "Lacson
and his wife Alicia have been shown to have deposited millions
in US accounts, much of it shortly before (Estrada) was ousted,"
Santos said. "There is no need for an independent commission
to probe that, because the evidence is all there."
From Philippine Headline News, Philippines,
by Jess Diaz, 21 October 2003
Ghosts of Past Fuel
Corruption, Says World Bank
Jakarta - Indonesia remains one of
the world's most corrupt countries because the "ghosts"
of the old Soeharto regime have adapted to the new environment
and are continuing to flourish, according to a World Bank
report. Despite new anti-corruption institutions and anti-corruption
laws, the old network of Soeharto cronies and the former president's
family members have shaped the new environment to their own
advantage, the report says. "Today Soeharto has gone
but those who ran the franchises largely remain," the
report says. "Their influence continues to lurk behind
new laws and policies tipped in favour of the elite or in
the quiet reclamation of their old assets at knock-down prices..."These
ghosts of the past have found many new opportunities to re-establish
their power in the fluid environment of Indonesia's simultaneous
political and economic transition." Corruption was so
much a part of Indonesian society, it was "simply unrealistic
to expect comprehensive reforms" in the short or even
medium term, according to the report's author, Sawar Lateef.
He refrained from adding to the criticism regularly heaped
on the Megawati Government for its tolerance of corruption,
saying it was normal for evolving democracies to spend their
early years getting the economy under control and providing
stable government.
The opening up of Indonesian society
since Soeharto's fall five years ago, combined with the rapid
growth of a free media, has exposed corruption almost daily
and yet it continues to flourish, the report says. "You
have a problem of a very high level of transparency without
accountability," Mr. Lateef says. The best hope for breaking
down corruption is at the grass-roots level rather than within
the country's ruling elite where there is no appetite for
reform, the report says. "The vested interests are too
powerful and the ability of the state to implement a broad-based
program of reforms is limited," the report says. Success
in tackling corruption is more likely in individual villages
where the World Bank now directs much of its funding, after
widespread criticism the bank received for its years of funding
Soeharto's regime. Now the bank has a program directly funding
20,000 community projects in half of Indonesia's poor villages
- bypassing the Government figures who in the past regularly
took a cut of any funds. "Transparency and publicity,
the involvement of local stakeholders and village leaders
and of local institutions are central to effective community
participation in the fight against corruption."
From The Age, Australia, by Matthew Moore,
21 October 2003
Reform, Fighting Corruption
Priorities in Vietnam's Assembly Meet
Hanoi - Vietnam needs
to push harder for economic reform and work to restore public
trust by stamping out widespread corruption, Deputy Prime
Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said Tuesday at the opening of the
biannual National Assembly. "The phenomenon of paying
money for positions, projects, crime reduction ... has been
mentioned in many places, but very few have been uncovered,''
he said. "The measures to fight corruption are not efficient.''
Dung mentioned the conviction and sentencing of Ho Chi Minh
City's most notorious gangster, Truong Van Cam, known as Nam
Cam, as an example of the government's clampdown on corruption.
Cam and 154 other defendants were put on trial earlier this
year in the communist country's biggest-ever criminal trial.
Dung said the country also must press forward with economic
reform ranging from eliminating government subsidies and breaking
up monopolies to allowing more foreign investment and encouraging
growth within the private sector. "There are still some
weaknesses in the economy: the economic development over the
past three years is mainly development in width ... (it) does
not secure sustainable development,'' he said.
He praised several accomplishments
achieved this year, despite the war in Iraq and a bout with
SARS that killed five and infected 63 here last spring. The
country's gross domestic product is expected to grow at 7.2
percent or 7.3 percent this year, up from 7 percent in 2002,
and export growth reached 16.7 percent, double the target
and the highest rate in three years, he said. Vietnam also
has been praised by the international community for its efforts
in poverty reduction. He said legal reform must be sped up
along with government efficiency and creating a framework
for handling land-rights issues. Government seizure of land
at below-market value is a major source of complaints in Vietnam,
mainly from farmers. It has fueled massive demonstrations
and altercations between villagers and authorities. Outside
the National Assembly building, a band of protesters waving
large Vietnamese flags and carrying pictures of the late revolutionary
Ho Chi Minh were shooed away by police. The group carried
signs calling for an end to local corruption. The 498-member
lawmaking assembly will meet until the end of next month.
From The Star, Malaysia, 21 October 2003
China Sacks Land Minister
as Property Corruption Scandals Grow
Beijing - China's minister of land
and natural resources has been sacked, an official has confirmed,
amid growing reports of corruption scandals linked to the
booming real estate market. A ministry official declined to
say why Tiang Fengshan had been removed from his post, but
the Hong Kong daily Wen Wei Po, which is close to the Beijing
authorities, said he was being investigated for corruption.
"Tian Fengshan is no longer the minister, we don't no
why he was removed," the ministry official told AFP.
"It is not convenient to talk about this issue at the
momment." Sun Wensheng, vice minister of land and natural
resources, was named on October 14 as the Communist Party
secretary of the ministry, the ministry's top post, another
official said. "Sun Wensheng, as the party secretary,
is now leading the ministry," he said. Under Chinese
law the formal removal of Tian, who served concurrently as
minister and ministry party secretary, must come from the
country's parliament, the National People's Congress, he said.
China's booming but chaotic real estate
market is riddled with corruption, with the demolition of
private homes and forced relocations fuelling social discontent.
"At present there is indeed a great deal of corruption
in real estate development especially in the relocation of
people and in city planning," Liu Zhifeng, vice minister
of construction told a press conference last month. Liu blamed
developers and city government planners, saying they had not
met the needs of the market when planning residential development
and had "blindly" undertaken projects beyond the
financial means of ordinary Chinese. Developers and city planners
also refused to follow regulations in demolishing old homes,
relocating citizens and paying compensation, a situation that
has caused widespread discontent, he said. According to China's
Marxist constitution, all land belongs to the state, a situation
that gives the ministry of land and natural resources tremendous
powers over how to develop real estate.
From Channel News Asia, Singapore, 22 October
2003
World Bank Says Corruption
Threatens Reform
Following is press release from the
World Bank on corruption in Indonesia. In a report issued
on Monday (20/10/03), the Bank says Indonesia is at a critical
juncture in the fight against corruption and must punish the
corrupt. The report stops short of directly criticizing President
Megawati Sukarnoputri for tolerating corruption, such as allowing
Indonesia's parliament to be led by convicted corruption felon
Akbar Tanjung. However, the report does mention that corrupt
officials from ex-president Suharto's regime remained entrenched
in the civil service, judiciary and law enforcement agencies.
INDONESIA AT A CRITICAL JUNCTURE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
- New report sets out a framework for anti-corruption reforms
and for safeguarding development assistance: Jakarta - A World
Bank report issued today urges Indonesia to build upon its
progress towards a more open society and a more stable economy
by tackling systemic corruption through enhanced accountability
and transparency. The report calls for the central government
to create an enabling environment for local level reforms
that strengthen public participation in the making and monitoring
of development policies and programs. The report, entitled
"Combating Corruption in Indonesia: Enhancing Accountability
for Development" is a major input to the Bank's new Country
Assistance Strategy for Indonesia for fiscal years 2004-2007,
to be released later this year.
The report examines why public accountability
fails so often, looking in detail at the roots and practices
of corruption in a number of sectors and processes.(1) "Like
so many of our Indonesian and international partners, each
day we face the challenge of corruption in all aspects of
our work and have endeavored to select and design projects
to promote development with integrity," said Andrew Steer,
Country Director for the World Bank. "This report brings
together our learning on corruption, as well as that of our
partners, to feed into our new Country Assistance Strategy
which focuses squarely on how to deal with corruption and
improve accountability. I hope that the many courageous individuals
in Indonesia engaged in this fight for greater accountability
- and in particular the newly selected members of the Anti-Corruption
Commission - will find it a useful tool." The report
argues that the nature of Indonesia's current transition makes
it very difficult to develop and implement a comprehensive
strategy to fight corruption. The current state of flux allows
the informal rules and perverse incentives of the past to
flourish, while new formal rules have yet to take hold. Vested
interests remain powerful, law enforcement institutions are
weak, and the ability of the state to implement an integrated
program of anti-corruption measures is limited.
The report however argues that this
environment could well favor solutions based on local level
or sector-based initiatives in selected regions with a genuine
commitment to governance reforms. H. S. Dillon, Executive
Director for the Partnership for Governance Reforms in Indonesia,
added, "The Partnership is working at various levels
and in various fields in the fight against corruption, and
this report, on which we have collaborated closely, comprises
an important contribution to our future work." The report
calls for a two track approach to deal with corruption: "The
first is to help strengthen demand for reforms at the local
level. The second is for the central government to pursue
a core program of reforms that create an enabling environment
for the pursuit of localized solutions." Localized solutions:
The World Bank's experience with the Kecamatan Development
Project has shown how local communities can be empowered to
take charge of planning and monitoring development in their
villages and, by so doing, serve as an effective internal
check against the misuse of development funds. At the district
level, competition for investment, increasing political competition
and enhanced bottom-up pressures are creating opportunities
for governance reforms in the regions. Decentralization is
also creating openings for local communities to manage the
delivery of public services and their natural resources more
transparently and efficiently.
All these opportunities need to be
seized. Core reforms at the Center: The report pulls together
six common policy messages from its analysis of corruption
in different sectors and processes which would be included
in a program of core reforms at the Center. o Campaign finance
reform: Unless urgently addressed, the high cost and weak
regulation of campaign finance will continue to drive corruption
in Indonesia. The report calls for efforts to establish a
more level playing field, citing best practice in other countries
which include such measures as partial budgetary funding for
campaign finance, reducing costs of electoral campaigns by
allocating free time slots on TV and radio with no additional
time allowed, and banning the use of state resources for political
purposes. o Strengthen the guardians of accountability: Four
key institutions that dominate the accountability monitoring
landscape, Bank Indonesia, the Election Commission (KPU),
the Supreme Audit Agency and the Supreme Court need to be
greatly strengthened. This calls for men and women of high
integrity and competence at the top of these institutions,
full autonomy from interference by the executive and legislative
branches, and adequate funding to help them discharge their
responsibilities.
o Funding public services adequately:
Many institutions providing key public services are severely
under-funded, forcing them to adopt informal means of revenue
mobilization through "off-budget" measures. Adequate
funding of the budget of agencies delivering these public
services is critical. o Cleaning up the regulatory jungle:
Reform and rationalization of the thicket of regulatory constraints
is essential if this source of rent-seeking is to be reduced.
o Reducing impunity: Failure to punish the corrupt creates
strong incentives for the continuation of corrupt practices.
The report therefore calls for strong efforts to make the
new Anti-Corruption Commission get off on a sound footing.
This will require the appointment through a publicly credible
and transparent process of outstanding men and women to head
the Commission, adequate funding of its budget, the full cooperation
of the police and Attorney General's office, and a selective
and strategic work program. o Enhancing transparency: Transparency
is the strongest weapon in the hands of those fighting corruption.
Easy access to information empowered by adequate legal and
regulatory backing, including sunshine laws, is recommended.
"For any of this to happen," says Sarwar Lateef,
lead author of the report, "will require strong leadership,
not just from government but from all segments of society.
The war on corruption is too important to be left solely to
government to fight".
The report concludes that the choices
facing Indonesia's leaders are stark. Failure to act now could
have severe consequences for Indonesia's long term stability.
Yet a determined and sustained reform effort that builds upon
Indonesia's recent successes in promoting historic political
reforms and securing macroeconomic stability could immeasurably
strengthen prospects for this country. The report ends by
asking how Indonesia's development partners can ensure that
they are part of the solution rather than be seen as part
of the problem. It cites five key lessons the Bank has learned
from its enhanced efforts to safeguard against corruption
in its own projects since the Asia crisis: o Better project
design can improve outcomes and reduce corruption. Bank financed
programs are demonstrating that when beneficiaries take responsibility
for helping design projects and monitor their outcomes, corruption
is often lower and project outcomes more favorable. Local
communities who learn to fight corruption in projects become
more aware of hard realities and could potentially become
champions in the war against corruption. o Greater openness
empowers those fighting corruption.
The Government of Indonesia and the
Bank are together beginning to release much more information
on new Bank-financed projects exposing procurement processes
and audit findings. If extended to all aid financed activities,
this could potentially reduce opportunities for corruption,
particularly if civil society is assisted in monitoring these
projects effectively. o There is no substitute for due diligence.
The Bank has greatly strengthened its fiduciary controls,
doubling its staff on fiduciary oversight issues, systematically
following up on complaints, conducting ex-post procurement
reviews and following up more systematically on audit findings.
o Lack of tolerance of corrupt practices sends a message.
The Bank is attempting to take decisive action when corruption
is found in activities it finances through investigations
and declaration of misprocurement. This sends a clear signal
that it will not tolerate corruption in its projects. o Partnerships
have a high pay off in the fight against corruption. The Bank
has learned that going it alone is not an option. It therefore
works very closely with other international and bilateral
development agencies, with civil society, with the media,
and most importantly with the intended beneficiaries of activities
it funds.
From Laksamana, Indonesia, 22 October 2003
MoE to Incorporate
Concepts of Anti-Corruption in the National Curriculum
Islamabad - Ministry of Education (MoE)
with the collaboration of National Accountability Bureau (NAB)
will jointly develop strategies to incorporate the concepts
of anti-corruption in the National Curriculum. This was said
by the Federal Education Minister Zobaida Jalal and Chairman
National Accountability Bureau Lt. Gen. Munir Hafeez while
speaking at the concluding session of the workshop on inclusion
of Anti-Corruption Themes in the National Curriculum. Besides,
Federal Secretary for Education Shafqat Zaidi, principals
and heads of the all the federal schools and colleges were
present on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, Zobaida
Jalal said that to deal the issues like human rights, population
development, environment, drug abuse and preventive education
on HIV/AIDS, the education is the best strategy. She told
that our religion Islam is a complete guideline for responsible
behavior and the concepts related to the anti-corruption are
part of our educational values. "These things need to
be highlighted and emphasized. Moreover, our students and
teacher need formal orientation and training that how these
can become a part of daily lives," Zobaida added.
The federal minister went on to say
that the ministry of education will develop strategies to
incorporate these concepts on anti-corruption in the National
Curriculum. "The text book development agencies will
translate these concepts into teaching learning materials
and will be made part of the textbooks," she told the
participants. Zobaida further told that the teacher training
institutes both at the Federal and Provincial levels, will
be involved for pre service and in-service training of the
new concepts included in the curriculum. She said that their
ministry in collaboration with NAB will also look into the
possibility of awareness campaign for public through Non-formal
education including media campaign. Zobaida assured that the
themes on anti-corruption will be an important part of the
National Curriculum. Sharing his views, Chairman NAB Lt. Gen.
Muneer Hafeez said that they were planning to start this project
to include anti-corruption themes in the curriculum from the
last one-year.
He told the participants that enforcement
alone cannot do anything effective and we cannot get rid of
corruption. There was strong need of an awareness campaign
among the people, he stressed. Hafeez was of the view that
to start this project, youth was the best opportunity to target.
Commenting on the curriculum, he said that we must do every
thing in the practical way and in a very simple language so
every body could absorb it and be able to understand. He said
that our religion is the best way of life therefore the curriculum
must reflect our Islamic teachings. He emphasized that both
teachers and parents will also have to learn as they make
the character of a child. Earlier, speakers stressed on the
inclusion of Islamic values in the national curriculum. They
said that the curriculum must be based on the simplicity so
the youth could learn the accountability and transparency.
They also highlighted that the current problems, which are
confronting Pakistan and their remedial measures should also
be included in the curriculum.
From PakTribune.com, Pakistan, 23 October
2003
Anti-Corruption Bureau
to Organise Lectures
The Anti-Corruption Bureau and the
Civil Service Institute will be organising two sessions of
lecture tomorrow at the Civil Service Institute in Kampong
Rimba Gadong. Present at the first session will be the Deputy
Minister of Home Affairs, Dato Paduka Awang Haji Adanan who
will also be the guest of honour. The first session, which
will start at 7.45am, is open especially to Permanent Secretaries
and also the Heads of Departments. The second session meanwhile
will start at 1.30pm and is for senior government officers.
The two lectures will be presented by Professor Jon S. T.
Quah from the Political Sciences Department, National University
of Singapore. For the morning session Professor Jon S.T. Quah
will be delivering a talk titled "In Pursuit of Good
Governance in Asian Countries: The Role of Corruption Control
and Civil Service Reforms". In the afternoon, the talk
will be on "Ensuring Integrity in the Public Service
or How to Keep Corruption at Bay?"
Professor Jon among other things in
his lecture will touch on the reasons of corruption, the types
of corruption control and civil service reforms in the Asian
countries. He will also be making a conclusion that political
will is an important prerequisite in ensuring the effectiveness
of reformation in civil services and lowering corruption.
In the afternoon session, the professor will be talking on
the cost and results of corruption in two of the Asean member
countries, the Philippines and Thailand. For this session,
Professor Jon will be making a conclusion by stressing on
the importance of leadership through example of promoting
integrity and work culture in the public services by keeping
corruption and its adverse consequences at bay.
From Borneo Bulletin, Brunei Darussalam,
by M K Anwar, 24 October 2003
Empower Independent
Commission to Check Corruption of Influentials
Jurists, MPs, leading members of civil
society and political leaders at a roundtable yesterday called
for total independence of the proposed anti-corruption commission.
Ministers should not be nominating members of the Commission,
they said. The proposed anti-corruption commission should
be free from political influence and be truly independent,
neutral and effective, they opined. The Ministry of Law, Justice
and Parliamentary Affairs organised the roundtable at the
auditorium of the Institute Judicial Administration and Training
marking two-year completion of the present government. Minister
for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Barrister Moudud
Ahmed presided over meeting. Former President of the Supreme
Court Bar Association and Chairman of Editorial Boards of
The New Nation and The Daily Ittefaq, Barrister Mainul Hosein
presented the keynote paper. Some of them, however, suggested
that two Members of Parliament (MPs), one each nominated by
the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament
should be included in the selection committee of the proposed
Commission as member. Some others opined that involvement
of the Chief Justice in the nomination of members of the commission
would simply make the esteemed office of the Chief Justice
controversial. They suggested that the provision for involvement
of the Chief Justice should be deleted. All most all the participants
stressed the need for amendment of the "Proposed Anti-Corruption
Commission Act" which is now under scrutiny at the Parliamentary
Standing Committee on Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary
Affairs.
Former Chief Justice Mostafa Kamal,
State Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs,
Barrister Shahjahan Omar, Attorney General Hassan Arif, Supreme
Court Bar Association President Barrister Rokon Uddin Mahmud,
senior Advocate Nurul Islam, Chief Whip of the Opposition
Vice-Principal Abdus Shahid, Abdul Mannan MP and MA Hena MP
of BNP, GM Kader MP, Barrister Abdur Razzak, Prof Muzaffar
Ahmed of Transparency International, Prof Khan Sarwar Murshid,
editor of New Age Enayetullah Khan, editor of Daily Star Mahfuz
Anam, former Inspector Generals of Police Enamul Haque and
ASM Shahjahan, former Cabinet Secretary Mujibul Haq, former
Director General, Bureau of Anti-Corruption Badruzzaman, Director
General, Bureau of Anti-Corruption Major General (retd) MA
Matin and Advocate Harun-Or-Rashid took part in the discussion.
Barrister Mainul Hosein in his keynote speech said nobody
expects to see corruption eradicated from public life easily
or overnight. But people hopes to see strong determination
on the part of the government and some drastic actions at
least against a few of the most corrupt ones. He said people
have chosen political leaders to give leadership in public
affairs and when they are affected by corruption there cannot
be any end to corruption. "We struggled for democracy
and democratic government to build good governance for the
general public. But there cannot be good governance when corruption
in high places can go unhindered," he said, adding the
extent of corruption in high places is such that it has made
the institutions of good governance difficult to foster.
The constitutional obligation for the
separation of the judiciary is facing stiff resistance, he
noted. The protection of rule of law is under constant threat
from the power of black money. Being empowered with black
money politics for some have become the other name for terrorism
or extortion, Barrister Mainul said. He regretted that it
is a national tragedy when honest public functionaries cannot
serve people honestly. "We need a high-powered and independent
Anti-Corruption Commission not for dealing with corruption
from a peon to the Prime Minister. We need such a high-powered
and independent Anti-Corruption Commission to organise assaults
on corruption of the 'high-powered' people, namely the high
government functionaries," he said, adding corruption
of ordinary people can be dealt with through the normal criminal
justice system. He said his first suggestion is that the Anti-corruption
Commission should be specifically and exclusively for stopping
corruption among highly placed public functionaries- political
or otherwise.
The charges of corruption against the
ministers including the Prime Minister and bureaucrats not
below the rank of the Joint Secretaries only shall be taken
up by the Commission. "The Anti-Corruption Commission
has to be truly independent and for this purpose it should
have sufficient budgetary allocation enabling it to carry
on the investigation of corruption charges as well as to appoint
competent lawyers to consult and conduct the cases in court.
In our situation reliance on public prosecutors shall seriously
hamper the Commission's independence and efficiency. It cannot
be enough to start corruption cases in court. The Commission
needs to be generously funded. The fight against big corruption
cannot come cheap," Barrister Mainul said. He
said the independent and powerful Anti-Corruption Commission
shall go a long way to make corruption in high places punishable.
But the people's faith in the judiciary must also be scrupulously
upheld because in the final count it is the court that will
decide corruption cases. That the lower judiciary is not unaffected
by the corruption is well established. Suspicion has now been
cast on the Supreme Court also, he noted. He said the judiciary
being a very sensitive institution, there has to be a different
way for protecting integrity of the judiciary.
The reason being even an unfounded
bad reputation of a judge is good enough for shaking public
faith in the judiciary. To prove misconduct through formal
proceedings in the Supreme Judicial Council of elsewhere is
bound to prove most difficult and more damaging for the judiciary.
Yet such a method has to be used in an extreme case. "But
it is my considered view that the lawyers and judges must
evolve an informal mechanism for handling the question of
bad reputation against a judge before it becomes too serious
calling for the extreme measure of removal of a judge formally.
But publicly such a situation is not desirable that a judge
should first be accused publicly and in the press and then
enquiry by the Supreme Judicial Council shall commence. The
Chief Justice should first be given a chance to deal with
the allegation of misconduct against a judge," he said.
He suggested that as head of the judiciary the Chief Justice
should be able to informally investigate and seek a solution
to the problem when a judge has widely held bad reputation.
Thus judges and the leaders of the bar cannot shun their responsibility
for maintaining the sanctity of the judiciary. The Bar Associations
have to play their role to punish those lawyers without whose
inducement judges cannot be corrupted.
In short all the democratic institutions
of good governance must work rightly and harmoniously to end
corruption in public life. Establishment of the Anti-Corruption
Commission will certainly be a bold step in the right direction.
Let us earnestly hope that the government would not wait further
to take the bold step courageously, he added. Barrister Moudud
Ahmed in his presidential speech said the suggestions and
recommendations of the roundtable would be placed before the
Parliamentary Standing Committee which is scrutinizing the
proposed Anti-Corruption Commission Bill. He said the government
want to make the Commission truly independent and neutral.
This is a beginning on new journey he said and reminded all
that no law is one hundred per cent perfect. "Genuinely
we want to improve the law and make the Commission effective,"
he added. Former Chief Justice Mostafa Kamal urged all concerned
to establish the anti-corruption commission as early as possible.
"Lot of good words have been said and valuable time has
passed. We are tired of talks. Let do it now," he said.
He wondered why the bill has a provision involving the Chief
Justice in nominating the panel of commission members. "You
did not give power to the Chief Justice to appoint High Court
judges. Even the system of consultation has long been taken
away. Now you are giving him authority to nominate members
of selection' committee," he said.
Justice Kamal said, "Do not use
the Chief Justice everywhere. It will only make office of
the Chief Justice controversial." He said that the corruption
relating to money laundering and e-commerce should be brought
under the jurisdiction of the commission. Barrister Shahjahan
Omar suggested that all member of the Commission should be
nominated by the Prime Minister and her nominations placed
on the floor of Parliament for approval. Attorney General
Hassan Arif suggested some technical improvement to the bill.
Barrister Rokon Uddin Mahmud said that the constitutional
provisions on Chief Justice and judges of the Supreme Court
should be studied to avoid complications before involving
them in nominating panel of members the Commission. Opposition
Chief Whip Abdus Shahid said, ministers and MPs cannot avoid
political agenda of the government while nominating panel
members for the Commission. So, he suggested the Leader of
the House (Prime Minister) and Leader of the Opposition and
the Chief Justice should nominate members to the selection
committee of the Commission. MA Hena MP of BNP said that an
effective mechanism should be evolved so that the Commission
is truly neutral and powerful. GM Kader of Jatiya Party (Ershad)
said that the anti-corruption commission should be independent
of the government. Earlier in the morning another roundtable
on "Good Governance and the Judicial System" was
also held at the same venue with Barrister Moudud Ahmed in
the chair. Senior Advocate Khandker Mahbubuddin Ahmed MP presented
the keynote paper.
From The New Nation, Bangladesh, 24 October
2003
Greens Push for Tas
Government to Launch Corruption Inquiry
The Tasmanian Greens say the State
Government's rebuttal of corruption allegations made by former
forestry auditor Bill Manning has not averted the need for
a commission of inquiry. Tasmanian Greens leader Peg Putt
says not all of Mr. Manning's allegations have been addressed
by the Government. Deputy Premier Paul Lennon today described
Mr. Manning as an individual at odds with his employer, whose
professional judgment was marred by a "mind-set of conspiracy,
secrecy and corruption". But Ms Putt says Mr. Manning's
evidence on the handling of forest practice breaches has not
been answered. "Allegations that weren't answered today
were the specific advice of the Solicitor-General, that complaints
must either be prosecuted or have fine levied in result of
breaches of the forest practices code," Ms Putt said.
"Instead he's made very clear that the practice is to
routinely disregard the letter of the law and to try and encourage
people to lift their game rather than take any action when
they make breaches."
Meanwhile, the State Opposition says
the Greens have manipulated the former forestry auditor into
making allegations of industry corruption that cannot be substantiated.
Opposition leader Rene Hidding says Mr. Manning's evidence
to a Senate hearing alleging institutionalised corruption
in the forestry industry has been fully rebutted by Mr. Lennon.
Mr. Hidding says if there was any truth in Mr. Manning's allegations,
the Government would have at least owned up to one of them.
"We'd have to say on the sheer weight of rebuttals of
that you'd have to say that the Greens are in all sorts of
trouble on this, that they've been manipulating this person
for political reasons and in fact, have pushed him so far
out that he's not been able to substantiate, it would appear,
not even one of his allegations," Mr. Hidding said.
From ABC Online, Australia, 29 October 2003
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Corruption Watchdog 'Tainted'
The ruling Socialists yesterday dismissed
as politically motivated Tuesday's report by an international
watchdog organization that listed Greece as the most corrupt
country in the European Union. The Transparency International
report ranked Greece in joint 50th place, together with South
Korea and Costa Rica, among 133 countries surveyed. It also
found that five of the new EU members set to join in May -
Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Hungary - were less
corrupt than Greece. "I have the impression that, through
the vague and truly odd way that Transparency International's
representatives in Greece handle their data, they are effectively
trying to serve New Democracy's political aims," government
spokesman Christos Protopappas said. The head of the watchdog's
Greek office is Virginia Tsouderou, a former ND MP who served
as deputy foreign minister in the early 1990s. "Efforts
have been made to fight corruption and institutions have been
set up that are similar to if not better than European (institutions),"
Protopappas said
From Kathimerini, Greece, 9 October 2003
Corruption Increases
- Poll
Corruption in Bulgaria has increased
for the first time in six years, a survey by the Transparency
without Borders Association shows. The association is a part
of the International Organisation for Combating Corruption.
This year the corruption index in Bulgaria decreased by 0.1
points. This brings the country nine positions back from its
previous ranking, from 45th to 54th position among the 133
countries polled. The corruption index for 2003 is 3.9. For
2002 it was 4 and in 1998, the first year Bulgaria took part
in this survey, it was 2.9. The corruption index is calculated
on the basis of reports by major finance industry organisations,
including the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development, Gallup International and the Economist Magazine.
The index is important for investors because they include
the size of bribes and the corruption fees as expenses in
their investment plans. An index of 10 means there is no corruption.
Finland is the closest to this ideal situation with an index
of 9.7, followed by Iceland (9.6) and Denmark and New Zealand
(9.5). The highest level of corruption is registered in Haiti,
Nigeria and Bangladesh. This year Bulgaria shares the 54th
place with Brazil and the Czech Republic. An increase in the
corruption pressure is observed in nearly all East-European
countries.
Latvia ranks 57th, Slovakia is 59th,
Poland 64th. Corruption in Bulgaria is lower than in Lithuania
(44), Hungary (40), Estonia (33) and Slovenia (29). "Obviously,
according to people the business climate gets worse and the
'big privatisation' is carried out in a shameful way,"
political analyst Ognyan Minchev said. Emi Baruh from Transparency
without Borders said that there were "suspicions of successful
corruption practices among MPs". The Council of Ministers'
Committee coordinating the combating of corruption has been
given 104 corruption tip-offs in 18 months, 13 in the past
three months. The Committee checked out six tip-offs and sent
the rest to the competent ministries and regional governors,
BTA reported. Over 260 privatisation transactions of the last
12 years have been referred to the prosecution magistrates
because of suspicions of corruption, State Administration
Minister Dimitar Kalchev said. According to him, one way to
curb the problem in the state administration is to introduce
20 or 25 e-services to avoid direct contact between the service
provider and the client. Another way is to hand over some
state activities to the private sector. Suggestions to this
effect will be made by every ministry by the end of the year,
Kalchev said.
FromSofia Echo, Bulgaria, 10 October 2003
Romanian Government
Opens Own Probe into Corruption Charge
Romania's education ministry said Friday
it had opened its own inquiry into charges that a government
minister had misused European Union funds to benefit her family.
In September the European Commission said it had launched
a corruption inquiry after it emerged that money had been
paid to the family of the Minister for European Integration
Hildegard Puwak for bogus business projects. "Following
information published by the media about this affair the ministry
has decided to establish a committee of inquiry," a ministry
spokesman said. The committee's members will include representatives
of the EU's Leonardo da Vinci centre (a programme aimed at
candidates for membership) which financed projects submitted
by Puwak's husband and son. Its findings will be published
no later than October 27, according to the ministry.
Romanian media recently revealed that
two companies run by Puwak's husband and son had obtained
150,000 euros (160,000 dollars) in EU funding to operate business
training schemes after she was appointed to her job in December
2000. According to the reports, several German companies cited
as partners in the various business plans were owned by friends
of the Puwak family and were listed with bogus telephone numbers
attached. Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors have opened
an investigation into the claims, while the country's two
main opposition parties have demanded the minister's resignation.
Text and Picture Copyright © 2003 AFP. All other copyright
© 2003 EUbusiness Ltd. All rights reserved. This material
is intended solely for personal use. Any other reproduction,
publication or redistribution of this material without the
written agreement of the copyright owner is strictly forbidden
and any breach of copyright will be considered actionable.
From EU Business, UK, 10 October 2003
Britain Needs to Get
its International Anti-corruption Act Together
A ground-breaking agreement has been
reached in the war against global corruption. On October 1,
the United Nations concluded talks on a new convention against
corruption. A signing ceremony will take place on December
9 in Mexico, where President Vincente Fox has been one of
the leading supporters of Transparency International or TI,
the anti-corruption watchdog. The date is being proposed to
the UN general assembly as an annual international anti-corruption
day. Peter Eigen, TI's founder, said: "This is an unprecedented
breakthrough." The convention was "a major instrument
to push governments to live up to new international standards
of integrity and good governance". TI played an official
part in the talks leading up to the UN convention. Mr Eigen
had been a senior official with the World Bank in Kenya. But
he was so incensed by the corruption that squandered resources
under Daniel arap Moi's government that he resigned in 1991
and founded TI 10 years ago. He returned to Kenya in July
and, standing next to President Mwai Kibaki, addressed 400
people in Nairobi, six months after the elections that ousted
Moi's corrupt regime. Grassroots "clean election"
campaigns had helped in a revolt against repression and corruption.
Kenya is cleaning out the Augean stables,
including sacking 35 public procurement officials recently
for awarding themselves building contracts, and dismissing
the head of a corrupt judiciary. According to an opinion poll
conducted for TI in Kenya, 80% of Kenyans think their government
is committed to eradicating corruption. Last week TI published
its ninth annual corruption perception index, CPI, ranking
133 countries according to how corrupt they are seen to be
as assessed by 15 independent surveys. However corrupt poor
third world regimes are perceived to be - and many score badly
on the CPI list - too often it is western business interests
which perpetuate corruption, paying huge bribes to win contracts.
To combat this, an earlier convention was drawn up by the
world's richest countries, members of the Organisation of
Economic Co-operation and Development, to outlaw the bribery
of foreign public officials. The treaty came into force in
February 1999, committing ratifying states to introduce national
legislation. Britain fares well on the CPI, ranked equal eleventh
of the least corrupt countries, with Canada and Luxembourg,
while Nordic countries top the list.
And in TI's separate bribe payers'
index, which monitors bribe paying in international trade,
Britain is the eighth country least likely to offend out of
21. Yet Britain's anti-corruption legislation is archaic,
despite being updated under the government's Anti-terrorism
Act of 2001, enacted after 9/11. This complies with the OECD
treaty by outlawing foreign bribery. Yet, according to the
police's national criminal intelligence service, there have
been no prosecutions since the act came into effect in February
2002. This hardly indicates that UK businesses have suddenly
become lily white. In an opinion poll conducted for TI, 52%
of respondents thought British businesses may still be affected
by corruption. The Home Office proposed new draft legislation
last March. But both TI and a joint parliamentary committee
chaired by Lord Slynn thought it too complex for businesses
to know their obligations or for prosecutors and investigating
bodies to implement. The legislation, as drafted, is a backward
step. "The police don't prosecute foreign bribery now,
and would face additional hurdles if the draft bill is enacted
in its present form," said Graham Rodmell of TI UK. There
is now a chance to make a redrawn corruption bill effective
in time for parliament's next sitting. The government needs
to do so if it is serious about the war against global corruption.
o Michael Smith is associate editor of For A Change magazine.
From Guardian, UK, by Michael Smith, 13
October 2003
Corruption Keeps Drinking
Society's Blood
The people feel that corruption in
Slovakia has not been slashed during the last three years,
as recent allegations of corruption in top politics cause
major concern among the public. New figures on the public
perception of corruption show that the introduction of several
laws to cut down bribery and cronyism in this postcommunist
state has made no difference in real life. Cabinet efforts
to fight corruption through introducing new legislation and
amending existing laws are missing their target; the positive
results of approved laws are yet to come. Current allegations
of corrupt behaviour and clientelism in top state posts, including
accusations against Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda, are meanwhile
discrediting reform efforts aimed at rooting out corruption,
thus leaving people unconvinced that their official representatives
in cabinet and parliament really mean their anti-corruption
rhetoric. In an annual update, transparency watchdog Transparency
International Slovakia (TIS), released figures for 2003 on
the so-called corruption perception index (CPI), which indicates
how much corruption is seen as a problem in selected countries.
A total of 133 countries were listed this year. On a 0 - 10
scale, with 10 suggesting a corruption free society, Slovakia
ranked 59th, along with countries such as Columbia and Peru,
with a 3.7 index, which it has scored for the third year in
a row.
At the same time, Slovakia ranked second
to last before Poland of the region's transforming postcommunist
democracies known as V4 countries, which also include the
Czech Republic, and Hungary. Daniela Zemanovicová, program
director with TIS, said that the fact that Slovakia's index
has not changed for three years in a row does not necessarily
mean that the state's legislators were ignoring the problem
of corruption. "The respondents in the survey are analysts,
businessmen, and regular citizens and the reason why the figure
hasn't changed may be that measures that were adopted to fight
corruption still haven't brought results in real life,"
she said. While approved laws may inevitably require some
time to bring results, the public is often confused about
politicians' dedication to address corruption. Pavel Nechala,
an analyst with TIS, said that politicians often talk about
the need for anti-corruption laws, but once drafts come to
parliament, MPs do not support them. "It often happens
that a law is introduced with fanfare [to parliament], and
it passes the first reading. [In a formal process, drafts
are voted on three times to give MPs a chance to fix the original
draft].
Then suddenly, a group of MPs emerges
and they say that they have factual objections towards the
legislation, although they never said a word during previous
parliamentary discussion. As a result, the law is not passed,"
Nechala said. According to Ján
Hrubala, head of the cabinet's anticorruption unit, corruption
is not easy to get rid of, and a series of steps are needed
to cut down the problem. "There is no single cure for
corruption. Fighting it requires a series of steps,"
Hrubala said. Determined to behave transparently and push
forward honest practices, dozens of local businessmen recently
signed a so-called anti-corruption charter, in a move initiated
by Transparency International. The document binds its members
to behave transparently in their business activities. PM Mikuláš
Dzurinda, who participated in the signing of the document,
said that he was "not so completely naive as to think
that there can be a world 100 percent free of corruption".
"But the quality of this phenomenon can either be very
unpleasant or it can be so that it does not endanger society.
I would be very glad if the latter was the case for Slovakia,"
Dzurinda said.
Ironically, Dzurinda himself is now
facing allegations of cronyism. Recently, the sacked head
of the National Security Office (NBÚ), Ján Mojžiš, said that
in 2001, Dzurinda tried to persuade him to change the NBÚ's
decision to deny security clearance to the firm KISS. As a
result of the decision, the firm lost an Sk800 million (€1.9
million) tender that was part of the state information system
Govnet project. Dzurinda has denied these claims. If such
allegations remain unsolved, TIS officials said, it harms
the country's morale and reassures common people that politicians
do not genuinely try to address the issue of corruption. "For
a common citizen, solving corruption cases and allegations
relating to top positions would be a signal that there is
a genuine will to address the issue," said Zemanovicová.
Among problematic issues concerning the legislators and top
officials, issues such as changing the law on the financing
of political parties, the law on conflict of interest, and
a law reducing the immunity of MPs have remained on the agenda
for years, despite promises to address them. "Scandals,
as we are seeing them now, however, can also have a positive
impact because they can create public pressure for systematic
changes. So far, however, almost nothing is happening [to
fix the laws] in big politics," Zemanovicová said.
From Slovak Spectator, Slovakia, by Martina
Pisárová, 13 October 2003
FM: Greeks Tired of
Corruption
Papandreou backs Simitis, concedes
many people see PASOK as incapable of taking initiatives -
Foreign Minister George Papandreou, who garners the highest
public approval of all PASOK members, is a key figure in the
government's efforts to be re-elected. But he is also certain
to be a key player in whatever happens inside PASOK whether
the Socialists win or fail in the elections, as he is a likely
successor to Prime Minister Costas Simitis. In a wide-ranging
interview with Kathimerini yesterday, Papandreou reiterated
his strong support of Simitis and his own efforts to help
PASOK stay in office. But he also acknowledged that people
were tired of bureaucracy, corruption and the pervasiveness
of powerful vested interests. Asked to comment on rumors that
Simitis might pull out of his party's leadership before the
elections, allowing his successor to fight the battle, Papandreou
said: "We are at a critical political juncture in the
completion of our work, the preparations for the elections,
and the formulation of our strategy and vision for the next
term.
The prime minister himself is on the
front line of this effort and we all have a duty to help in
the struggle and serious work without getting involved in
rumormongering." And would he be a candidate for the
party leadership after the elections? "I am struggling
to create conditions for PASOK to win the elections once again.
I have always been and will always be part of that effort.
This for me is the great political challenge. I am not interested
in scenarios or working hypotheses," he said. But Papandreou
noted also the many factors that had made the public feel
tired of PASOK. "I believe that Greeks are indeed tired
of having to deal with bureaucracy, they are truly disgusted
with the extent of corruption in many sectors of the civil
service and they find it unacceptable that all of society
is held back by the petty interests of smaller or larger interest
groups that want to dominate political life," Papandreou
said. He noted, though, that the government's reform effort
could save the day. "(The people) know that Greece has
to push through reforms.
The question is which party has the
inner strength and conviction to do so. PASOK has shown that
it can set Greece on the road to progress and change. PASOK
governments have been identified with major changes that have
benefited the country and its people. Costas Simitis has made
this effort his life's work, and this is something the vast
majority of Greeks recognize," Papandreou said. He stressed
the necessity for such reforms, even at the expense of the
party's own identity. "I realize, however, that today
many people believe that PASOK has itself become part of the
establishment and that it is therefore incapable of carrying
out the necessary initiatives," Papandreou said. "That
is the challenge we will have to rise to. I believe that PASOK
is and can always be a living movement which, when necessary,
can even contradict itself in order to better serve the country,
and to transform itself into a new force for reform and change."
From Kathimerini, Greece, 13 October 2003
Dzurinda Signs Anti-corruption
Charter
Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda signed
the Anti-Corruption Charter of Slovak Business, an initiative
of NGO Transparency International Slovensko that has already
been signed by more than 20 firms, news wire TASR reported.
The head of the European Commission Delegation to Slovakia,
Eric van der Linden, welcomed the country's move in fighting
corruption but stressed that Brussels still expects the Slovak
Parliament to adopt further measures in this area. Signatories
to the charter pledge not to give or receive bribes, or use
any other illegal ways to prefer business partners, state
representatives, or employees. Among its supporters are representatives
of major companies in Slovakia, including oil refinery Slovnaft,
railway operator ŽSSK, US producer of electrical and electronic
components Molex, Coca-Cola Beverages Slovakia, and Pepsi
Cola. Other signatories are the Association of Slovak Businessmen,
the Slovak Business and Industrial Chamber (SOPK), and the
Business Alliance of Slovakia.
From Slovak Spectator, Slovakia, 13 October
2003
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Anti-corruption Manual to be Adapted
for Region
Transparency International (TI), the
leading international anti-corruption and good governance
organization, and its national chapters in the Middle East
and North Africa have launched the process of adapting TI's
source book to the Arabic context, according to a Lebanese
Transparency Association (LTA) statement. The source book
is a handbook for anti-corruption practitioners, a manual
for all those working in this domain and guardians of good
practice in government and, increasingly, in the private sector,
the statement said Thursday. The source book has been translated
into Arabic. But for this anti-corruption manual to be of
value for the region a translation is not enough. TI's national
chapters are adapting it to relate to the region's reality
and political context to function as a tool for civil society
and policymakers. LTA called on researchers and economists
interested in cooperation in this process to send their applications
for the adaptation of the following chapters of the book:
building political will; independent anti-corruption agencies;
conflict of interest; nepotism and cronyism; and the right
to information, before the Oct. 30. For additional information,
please contact The Lebanese Transparency Association in Beirut
at telefax 01/293045/282238 or by e-mail to contact person,
Fourat Achkar at: faschkar@tranparency-lebanon.org
From Daily Star, Lebanon, 24 October 2003
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Governor Considers Requiring Students
to Perform Public Service
Springfield - Illinois high school
students would have to perform community service before they
could graduate under a proposal being considered by Gov. Rod
Blagojevich. Saying American children spend too much time
watching television, Blagojevich said mandatory community
service is a way to steer kids into productive activities.
"Serving their community, that's healthy, productive
good use of time that I think is better than too much time
in front of television," Blagojevich said. The idea is
still in its formative stages, but it would require every
high school student to complete a certain number of hours
of community service before obtaining a diploma. Details such
as the number of hours and what counts as community service
are under discussion. "An idea likes this is complex,
and it is not something that we can or should decree overnight,"
Blagojevich said. "We're going to work with local school
districts, with teachers and with volunteer organizations.
We'll do all of the research, but on it's face, I find the
idea very compelling." State law already allows school
districts to require community service as a condition of graduation
but does not require it. Chicago public schools, for example,
require 40 hours of community service. Maryland is the only
state where all students must perform community service to
graduate.
Students there must complete 75 hours
of "service experience," said Tracey Seabolt, service
learning specialist for the Maryland Department of Education.
That can range from a letter-writing campaign conducted from
a classroom to outdoor cleanup projects, Seabolt said. The
requirement has been in place 10 years, and it hasn't stopped
a student from graduating. "Most of the people who haven't
graduated, it was for some other reason," Seabolt said.
Blagojevich said that if school districts want more money
to implement the plan, he'll give it consideration, but they
shouldn't count on it. "They ought to stop doing that
(asking for more money) and start figuring out ways at their
own level to provide these kinds of services," Blagojevich
said. "Those at the local level ought to take some responsibility
as well." The idea of statewide mandatory service to
obtain a diploma isn't new. Ben Schwarm of the Illinois Association
of School Boards said his research shows bills requiring mandatory
service have been introduced in the General Assembly for the
past six or seven years.
None of the bills made it out of committee.
Schwarm said the association isn't necessarily opposed to
the idea. "It would be more a time problem than a money
problem," Schwarm said. "(Students) need so many
credits to graduate. It's a pretty full plate right now."
Springfield school superintendent Diane Rutledge took a cautious
approach to the idea. "To be involved in your community,
we think that's a really good idea," Rutledge said. "We
will have to se how something like that could be structured
and how that fits into the school day." A spokesman for
the Peoria public school system could not be reached for comment.
Blagojevich also said he wants to make community service a
condition for receiving an Illinois Merit Recognition Scholarship.
Students in the top 5 percent of their class who attend a
public university are eligible to receive the one-time, $1,000
grants. In addition to class rank, Blagojevich wants the students
to contribute a minimum of 50 hours of community service as
condition to receiving the money. "The service will vary
depending on where they live, what they like to do and how
they can best serve," Blagojevich said. The governor
said he will push for the change during the spring session
of the General Assembly.
From Lincoln Courier, IL, by Doug Finke,
11 October 2003
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Step Forward for Fight Against Global
Corruption
The first global anti-corruption convention
was on Wednesday finalised by delegates at talks in Vienna,
an observer said, opening the way to more effective co-operation
in prosecuting crooked public officials and recovering stolen
assets spirited abroad. The text must now go to the United
Nations' General Assembly, which is expected to rubber-stamp
the final draft, ahead of a signing ceremony in Mexico in
early December. It will come into force after 30 countries
have ratified its provisions into national law, a process
that could take two years or more. Peter Rooke, who sits on
the advisory board of the anti-graft watchdog Transparency
International, said the move sent "a powerful political
signal" that countries were getting serious about the
international problem. The convention's highlight is ground-breaking
provisions to facilitate the return of assets stolen by officials
or leaders in one country and transferred to another - a subject
that had engendered "quite a battle between the developed
and developing world", he said.
The final provisions on the return
of assets ran to between five and six pages, which will now
have to be examined closely to assess their impact. Mr. Rooke
nonetheless regretted the fact that, under US pressure, the
text shied away from dealing with private-to-private sector
corruption, as well as the financing of political parties.
He also noted that tough decisions on how the agreement should
be monitored had been deferred to a future conference of state
parties - suggesting that was a battle anti-corruption campaigners
would need to fight another day. Earlier this week the UN
announced the entry into force of its convention on fighting
international organised crime, adopted in 2000 to combat money
laundering, organised crime and human trafficking. However,
most of the countries that had ratified the convention were
developing nations, Reuters reported. Only two European Union
members, France and Spain, had ratified it, while the US,
which signed in 2000, had not.
From Financial Times, UK, by Mark Turner
at the United Nations, 1 October 2003
Annual Global Corruption
Index Results Released
\Washington - An anti-corruption organization
has released its annual corruption index at media briefings
in several world capitals. In terms of the amounts of money
involved, corruption is most pervasive in the process of awarding
government contracts, particularly in developing countries.
Transparency International says corruption flourishes where
the rule of law is not supported and the news media restricted.
It also thrives where organized crime is unchecked and government
regulation weak. Now in its 10th year, Transparency International
says while progress has been made there is enormous work still
to be done. In particular, it says, rich countries need to
provide practical support to developing-country governments
that demonstrate the political will to fight corruption. Corruption
is most pervasive in the awarding of government contracts.
Nancy Boswell, the head of Transparency International in the
United States, says procurement and investment contracts need
to be made public. "Many governments put confidentiality
clauses into their contracts with companies so that the companies
are not permitted legally to disclose the payments they are
making to those governments," he said. "This insures
a closed circuit, where governments can help themselves if
they want to."
Michael Hershman of the U.S. chapter
of Transparency says rich countries are not free of corruption.
He says while Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development agreed to an anti-corruption code, offenders
have not been prosecuted. "They [these codes] have not
led to prosecutions," he said. "There has been no
evidence of widespread enforcement of these conventions. And
so there is beginning to be a credibility problem." While
he makes no allegations of wrongdoing, Mr. Hershman expresses
concern at what he says are less than transparent reconstruction
contracts in Iraq that have been awarded by U.S. authorities.
Too many of those deals with the U.S. aid agency, he says,
have involved single company, non-competitive bidding. Transparency
International says throughout the world there needs to be
increased educati`on on ethics and the difference between
right and wrong.
From Voice of America, by Barry Wood, 9
October 2003
Work Completed on UN
Treaty to Fight Corruption Worldwide
Work on a United Nations treaty to
combat corruption worldwide, including the return of assets
obtained through bribery and embezzlement to the country of
origin, has been completed, with Secretary-General Kofi Annan
hailing it as a milestone in improving the lives of millions
of people around the planet. "This Convention can make
a real difference to the quality of life of millions of people
around the world," Annan had told the ad hoc committee
in Vienna drawing up the treaty delivered by Antonio Maria
Costa, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC). "It is particularly heartening that you were
able to complete this process in less than two years,"
he said of the Convention on Corruption, which will be put
to a ministerial signing conference in Merida, Mexico, from
9 to 11 December. Once adopted, the treaty will enhance cooperation
between governments and help standardize the way in which
individual countries deal with corruption in their national
legislation.
The requirement for Member States to
return assets obtained through bribery and embezzlement to
the country of origin represents a new fundamental principle
in international treaties. In a number of countries, corruption
has led to the depletion of national wealth. Some of those
countries, whose former dictators have stolen hundreds of
millions, or even billions, of dollars, have made a great
contribution to the search for new rules, including the Philippines
and Nigeria. Preventive measures in the Convention include
norms of conduct for public officials, greater transparency
based on public access to information on government businesses,
and stricter procurement regulations and measures against
money laundering.
From Arabic News, 9 October 2003
Global Corruption Survey
Claims Improved Governance in Armenia
Transparency International, an international
non-governmental organization, has ranked Yerevan among the
least corrupt former Soviet republics. Azerbaijan and Georgia,
along with Central Asian states, lagged near the bottom of
the NGO's annual corruption survey. Armenia came in 78th place
in Transparency International's 2003 survey of 133 countries,
formally known as the Corruption Perceptions Index. Among
Caucasus countries, Armenia ranked far ahead of Azerbaijan
and Georgia, which shared 124th place together with three
other states. Corruption in Baku and Tbilisi is "pervasive,"
according to the annual survey. Bangladesh rated as the world's
most corrupt country, while Finland ranked as the cleanest.
Russia ranked 86th. Among Central Asian states, Kazakhstan
and Uzbekistan tied in 100th. Kyrgyzstan was 118th and Tajikistan
was 124th. Turkmenistan was not rated. The ranking was determined
by the extent of their corrupt practices as perceived by business
leaders, academics and risk analysts. All countries were evaluated
on a 10-point scale, in which a score of 10 represented an
absence of graft. Armenia scored 3.0 in Transparency's Corruption
Perception Index, up from 2.5 points it received in 2000.
The score, though low in absolute terms, puts the country
just below the NGO's threshold for a "high level"
of corruption.
Representatives of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) have endorsed Transparency International's
findings, based on separate studies conducted by international
lending institutions. "A number of other studies ...
have basically confirmed the observation that if one looks
at the CIS as a whole, Armenia is among the better performers,"
said James McHugh, the IMF resident representative in Yerevan.
McHugh cautions at the same time that the Armenian authorities
still have "a long way to go" in promoting the rule
of law. This is also the point stressed by independent Armenian
experts. "In my opinion, going up from 2.5 to 3.0 in
three years is a modest achievement," says Arevik Saribekian
of Transparency International's Armenian branch. "Corruption
may indeed be down but we shouldn't consider it a high score."
Corrupt practices, which date back to the Soviet era, have
long been as a serious hindrance to Armenia's economic development,
which is also hampered by the unresolved conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
[For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Improper
conduct, including bribery and nepotism - remains relatively
common among government bureaucrats. Bribes are often offered
to get officials to turn a blind eye on tax evasion, cover
up a criminal case, speed up bureaucratic paperwork or even
enroll a student in a state university.
The impact of graft has been particularly
negative on the country's investment climate. Some forms of
lucrative economic activity (e.g., imports of fuel and basic
foodstuffs) still require government patronage. Also, many
businesses have long complained about harassment from corrupt
tax and customs officials. Authorities in Yerevan have been
under growing pressure from the IMF and other Western donors
to tackle the problem. In recent years, they have simplified
Armenia's business legislation and enacted a set of laws aimed
at complicating abuses committed by government officials.
However, virtually no senior government officials have been
sacked or prosecuted on corruption charges. In late 2001,
the government received a $340,000 grant from the World Bank
to work out a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy. Publication
of the document has since been repeatedly delayed and is now
expected by the end of this year. Armenian opposition leaders
have expressed skepticism over whether President Robert Kocharian's
administration has the political will to implement an anti-corruption
plan. Kocharian critics maintain that corruption serves as
a key pillar of Armenia's oligarchic political order.
To support their claims, opposition
point to Armenia's presidential and parliamentary elections
earlier this year, which were both marred by widespread allegations
of fraud. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
McHugh, however, noted the Armenian government has registered
significant anti-corruption results in recent years, singling
out Armenia's banking and energy sectors as the areas where
progress has been particularly evident. "There is a perception
out there that Armenia is a very corrupt country," McHugh
explains. "But what we see from these indicators is that
perhaps that impression is too negative and that the situation
is improving." In the words of another member of Transparency
International's Armenian affiliate, Varuzhan Hoktanian, a
lot will depend on public scrutiny over the implementation
of anti-graft measures. "World experience shows that
countries with strong civil societies are less corrupt because
their citizens hold their rulers in check," he says.
"Government programs alone don't solve problems."
From Eurasianet, by Emil Danielyan, 20 October
2003
The Fruits of Foreign
Aid - Corruption
The Poverty of Nations: International
Monetary Fund Socialism (And Corruption) Run Amok - On Sept.
23, the World Bank Group and the board of governors of the
International Monetary Fund will meet in Dubai to try - yet
again - to determine how current international monetary issues
should be addressed. Let-s hope they bring some fresh ideas
because - despite a $1.5 billion annual budget, 100-plus offices
and more than 10,000 employees - their current approach isn't
working. The World Bank-s motto is: Our dream is a world without
poverty. But its assistance has done little or nothing to
alleviate poverty and, in many cases, has helped perpetuate
the systems that brought the hardship in the first place.
Consider the "accomplishments" of the International
Development Association (IDA), the branch of the World Bank
Group that lends money to the world-s poorest countries. India,
its top recipient of aid, has received $28.8 billion since
1961; Kenya, ranked 10th, has received $3.2 billion since
1964. On average, the top 10 recipients of IDA aid have been
on this dole for 37 years. What do they have to show for it?
Their per capita incomes have climbed from between $117 and
$447 in the 1960s to between $124 and $527 today. Bangladesh,
the world-s No. 3 recipient of foreign aid and a member of
the IDA-s top 10, is, coincidentally, also the world's third-poorest
country. Why? Transparency International, an organization
that spotlights corruption in government, ranks it the world-s
most corrupt country. The group
says Bangladesh's corruption means its gross domestic product
is 4.7 percent lower than it otherwise would be.
The pattern of squandered money holds
for the top 10 recipients of IMF loans - Brazil, Turkey, Argentina,
Mexico, South Korea, Russia, Indonesia, India, Philippines
and Pakistan. This group has received between $3.6 billion
(Pakistan) and $53 billion (Brazil) since 1958 (except for
Russia, which didn't begin to receive loans until 1992). And
now, after four decades of well-intentioned assistance, most
of these countries' economies remain repressed and poor. There
are a few exceptions, most notably South Korea, which made
significant improvements in enforcing contracts and policing
property rights. As a result, its per capita income has climbed
from $1,325 in 1960 to more than $14,000 today. In most cases,
though, the assistance hasn't helped. Why? Largely because
recipients have failed to address the main causes of their
economic ruin - corruption, repressed economies, weak judicial
systems and excessive state ownership of key enterprises.
Every year, The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal
issue an "Index of Economic Freedom." The Index
surveys 161 countries and rates each on a 1 to 5 scale, with
1 representing the world's freest economies - those with low
tax rates, transparency in government, reduced red tape and
a strong commitment to property rights, among other factors.
In almost every case, countries at the top of the scale, the
1s and 2s, are far wealthier than the 3s, 4s and 5s, indicating
a strong correlation between economic freedom and per capita
income.
It-s simple: When governments establish
strong courts, strong property rights and strong rule of law,
when they lower or eliminate tariffs, make it easy to open
businesses, privatize state-owned enterprises and reduce barriers
to foreign ownership, incomes rise and economies flourish.
The World Bank and the IMF won-t come close to realizing the
dream of "a world without poverty" as long as they
keep feeding money to countries with repressed economies and
weak judicial systems. These factors breed corruption and
deter growth. And the aid merely enables the problems to persist.
Argentina, for example, recently used IMF funds to pay government
debts so it could avoid much-needed reform of its corrupt
public sector. Fortunately, the world has begun to see the
folly of bestowing huge financial aid packages on countries
without the economic freedom or rule of law to properly take
advantage of them. Last year, at an economic summit in Monterrey,
Mexico, President Bush set the tone with his proposal for
Millennium Challenge Accounts, which would make U.S. foreign
aid contingent on countries reforming their economies and
judicial systems. Other experts, such as Allan Meltzer of
Carnegie-Mellon University, suggest the World Bank and the
IMF change their lending practices so they send funds only
after reforms have been made. If this meeting leads to changes
along these lines, it will have been more than worthwhile.
If not, that dream of a world without poverty will remain
just that - a dream.
From Pravda, Russia, 24 October 2003
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Kilimo Lashes Out At Corrupt Civil
Servants
Nairobi - Home Affairs Minister Linah
Jebii Kilimo yesterday said the Civil Service is the epitome
of corruption, inefficiency and wastefulness. And Kilimo called
on civil servants to shed off the tag by fighting theft which
is an obstacle to development. "We can only rid ourselves
of this debilitating tag by accepting that there is a problem
and then go ahead to seek solutions," said Kilimo. She
was addressing heads of departments in the Home Affairs Ministry
during a sensitisation programme organised by the Kenya Anti
Corruption Commission. The workshops are being held under
the Public Service Integrity Programme launched by the Head
of Civil Service, Mr. Francis Muthaura, in April. The programme
seeks to restore integrity, responsibility, accountability,
transparency, efficiency and responsiveness for better service
delivery. Kilimo said the respect the public service enjoyed
in the 60's and 70's has been eroded.
She said the workshop signifies the
Government's determination to overcome corruption as an obstacle
to development. "The public service (used to) attract
people in the private sector which is not the case now,"
said Kilimo. She said the anti-corruption net will be cast
wider to rid the Government of the vice and called on the
public to stop giving bribes. "We must stop giving bribes
to public officers and demand services as a matter of right
not privilege," she said. Acting Director of the Kenya
Anti Corruption Commission, Mr. Gideon Mutua, said earlier
civil service reform programmes failed because they were not
well co-ordinated. He accused civil servants of extorting
funds from the public. Mutua said the Government had formed
corruption prevention teams in all ministries, parastatals
and local authorities to meet the Public Service Integrity
Programme targets. He said 1,400 integrity assurance officers
had been trained in public service.
From AllAfrica.com, Africa, by Andrew Teyie,
30 September 2003
Dariye Tasks Civil
Servants on Development
Plateau State Governor, Chief Joshua
Dariye, has charged public officers and political appointees
in the state to be committed to the vision and mission of
re-engineering the state. Dariye gave this charge at the swearing-in
of 19 commissioners, 11 special advisers, 17 Transition Implementation
Committee chairmen and heads of government parastatals in
Jos. The governor warned that the era of misrepresentation
and mispresentation was over, adding that adequate machinery
has been put on ground to detect and flush out "apostles
of doom" and "promoters of primordial and sectional
interests." "You are all aware that we made far
reaching, wide and substantially exhaustive consultations
before your appointment. The oath taken today is a covenant
with God, with your constituencies and a covenant with the
entire state. I urge you to keep constant touch with your
various home local governments so that the peoples' felt needs
are truly identified, understood and communicated to me,"
he charged. Dariye urged the TIC chairmen to see their call
as selfless service and that the welfare of their people should
be their primary concern. "We shall closely monitor your
conduct and will not hesitate to show you the way out if your
behaviour is considered inimical to the attainment of the
objectives." THISDAY checks revealed that security operatives
had a hectic time controlling the surging crowd that witnessed
the occasion which took place at the Azi Nyako Youth Centre.
From This Day, Nigeria, by Funmi Peter-Omale,
6 October 2003
Changes in Civil Service
to Continue, Says Kibaki
The Government will continue its deliberate
and systematic changes in the public service to bring it to
same level with those in the developed world, President Kibaki
has said. Only necessary changes would be made and they should
be viewed as normal, he said. "We are doing what is necessary
because Kenya must join other modern nations," he said,
when he addressed Kenyans living in UK and Ireland at a London
hotel on Wednesday night. He emphasised that his Government
would perform and deliver to the people, adding that it was
ready to do anything to improve the lives of Kenyans. The
head of State criticised a tendency by some people in responsible
positions to use their positions for personal gain, saying
the era of exploiting the public was long gone. He told Kenyans
in the diaspora that they could contribute to the development
of their country at home from their foreign bases and urged
those with special skills needed home to come back and join
in rebuilding the country. He told those who were underemployed
in foreign countries that they could be engaged in more satisfying
and gainful employment in Kenya. The President, who was applauded
throughout his speech, said there was an impetus for the acceleration
of the East African Community, adding that East Africans were
being encouraged to engage in economic activities on an equal
basis. The three countries were moving towards regional integration
together with Rwanda and Burundi to make the region a single
market.
From Daily Nation, Kenya, 10 October 2003
High Wage Bills to
Hamper Services
Councils to have less for operations
and maintenance - The immediate impact of the salary increases
will be a sharp rise in the wage bills of the cash-strapped
local authorities. The ratio of wages as a share of total
revenue will hit the roof for most of the local authorities.
And, the consequence will be that most of the councils will
have less money to spend on operations and maintenance. The
inevitable result will be further deterioration in services.
Clearly, these salary increases were neither based on productivity
nor the cost of providing better services. The pressure came
from recent salary awards to MPs and civil servants. With
their counterparts in Parliament having awarded themselves
huge increases early this year, it was a forgone conclusion
that the councillors were going to demand their share. Indeed,
it is doubtful that the increases were fully costed and funding
implications worked out before they were implemented. In a
sense, what has happened is a perfect case of extravagance
in the middle of poverty. Not a single local authority in
the country operates a surplus budget. Municipal and town
councils are steeped in debt, with massive sums owed to institutions
like Kenya Power and Lighting Company, National Social Security
Fund (NSSF), and National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
The typical profile of a local authority
is a deeply-indebted outfit with millions of arrears in salaries
and allowances, and which owes statutory organisations and
the workers' savings and credit societies hundreds of millions.
Putrid garbage mountains, potholed roads and the notoriously
erratic water supplies characterise the lot of Kenya's local
authorities. Workers' strikes, allegations of corruption by
mayors and chairpersons, and crippling cashflow problems beset
most of the towns and local authorities. Until recently, the
claim was that the councils did not have adequate sources
of revenue since the abolition of the Graduated Personal Tax
more than 30 years ago, and the service charge in the late
1990s. It used to be said that there was an imbalance between
their financial obligations and the revenue instruments at
their disposal. Yet, no major changes in the quality of services
has occurred since the introduction of the Local Government
Transfer Fund. This year alone, the Government intends to
transfer Sh3.7 billion to local authorities.
The greatest problem facing local authorities
in Kenya is mismanagement of resources. They have inefficiently
administered the revenue instruments at their disposal. Take
property rates, for example, collections are poor and lawyers
owe councils hundreds of millions of shillings. And, despite
the fact that the law gives them the flexibility to revalue
for rate adjustment, most of the rates have remained static
for many years. Councils are also allowed to impose all manner
of fees covering a wide range of activities, from hawking,
ambulance fees, cesspit cleaning, to approval of permits for
buildings. These fees remain static for years, with councils
not bothering to ensure that the fees cover the cost of the
services provided. Nothing illustrates mismanagement of services
by local authorities as Nairobi water works. Intermittent
supply has become the rule and all categories of customers
have to rely on costly substitutes, such as tankers and water
vendors.
The poor, comprising 40 per cent of
the total population and mostly living in informal settlements,
suffer most. The Water and Sewerage Department neither has
the managerial or financial autonomy to provide quality services.
Billing is inefficient and monies are diverted from improving
the service to paying salaries. What are the likely implications
to the macro economy? If the salary awards are implemented,
the Government risks a floodgate of of claims for increases
in wages by other categories of public servants. It is noteworthy
that increases awarded to civil servants in the last Budget
have yet to be implemented. When the Government recently implemented
parts of an award to the police, the International Monetary
Fund protested that it had broken the benchmark for the ratio
of wages to the GDP, which it had agreed with the lender.
These salary increases will complicate relations with donors.
From Daily Nation, Kenya, by Jaindi Kisero,
10 October 2003
Moleketi Urges Civil
Servants to Put Interest of People First
Pretoria - Public Service and Administration
Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi has called on public servants
to respect the rights of people, especially the elderly and
the disabled. She was speaking at the Home Affairs offices
at Qaukeni Municipality during her visit there, which was
part of Imbizo Focus Week. 'Everywhere there is a cry from
elders about the ill treatment they get when visiting government
offices, we want that to come to an end,' said the minister.
'Together with public servants and the communities, we will
make sure that we root out [bad behaviour and instil respect
among our people],' she said. The minister issued certificates
to at least 100 youth, trained by the Umsobomvu Fund. Six
were given grants to start up their own businesses. Minister
Fraser-Moleketi also visited the Masimanyane Arts and Craft
Centre for the disabled.
From AllAfrica.com, Africa, by Nomonde Makaula,
20 October 2003
MPs Accuse Government
of Bias in Hiring of Civil Servants
MPs criticised the Government's method
of recruiting civil servants, complaining that it was partisan.
The lawmakers lamented that certain districts had been left
out altogether in recent recruitment of civil servants and
particulary that of military, security and district officers.
Assistant minister in the Office of the President, Morris
Ndzoro, had a hard time defending the Government against allegations
that recruitment of officers favoured certain regions. He
was responding to a question by Mr. Francis Kagwima (Tharaka,
Ford Asili) who had complained that Tharaka District was discriminated
against during the recruitments. He wanted to know what the
minister was doing to ensure that the district was included
in all financial allocations and recruitments. . Mr. Kagwima
shocked the House with claims that the district was not included
in the Government Financial Estimates. He proved his allegations
by displaying the current estimates to the assistant minister.
But House Speaker, Francis Kaparo,
said the estimates were currently under debate. He asked OP
to send a circular to all Government departments to "let
them know of the existence of Tharaka disctrict. Mr. Guracha
Galgalo (Moyale, Kanu) complained that only five people from
Moyale District were picked in the recent military recruitment
drive while 300 came from Nyeri District alone. However, Mr.
Muhika Mutahi (Mukurwe-ini, Nyeri) disputed the allegation
saying that only two people were picked. Dr. Oburu Oginga
(Bondo, Narc) complained that recruitment of DOs and security
officers was done in a partisan manner. Mr. Osman Kamama (Baringo
East, Ford-People) described the alleged partisan recruitment
as a "grave matter.'' He claimed out of the 2,400 people
recruited into the army, 1,400 came from the Mount Kenya region
and 27 from the Kalenjin community.
From Daily Nation, Kenya, by Njeri Rugene,
28 October 2003
Kenya to Get Sh3.5b
for Civil Service Reforms
Kenya may finally get a Sh3.5 billion
funding from the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) when the executive boards of the multi-lateral
lenders meet next week. The money, which is the second tranche
of the Sh10.5 billion credit approved three years ago, will
go towards economic and public sector reforms. However, its
release depends on agreement between the government and the
IMF over the multi-million Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility
(PRGF). The agreement will also require waivers to take into
account a shortfall in Civil Service retrenchment and difficulties
in implementing the core poverty expenditure program. The
IMF had approved a Sh13.3 billion PRGF credit for Kenya three
years ago but the agreement expired last August with an outstanding
Sh10.5 billion that was never released. A new program is currently
being negotiated with the Fund and hopes are high that the
IMF board will approve it and put Kenya back into the lending
program that went off the track in 1997. Though the World
Bank and the government have held high level discussions that
saw credit extended to April next year, there are still contentious
issues that may delay release of the full amount. Among them
is privatisation of Telecom Kenya, which has been outstanding
for the last three years.
The Bank maintains that privatisation
of Telcom Kenya is a key aspect of the much needed environment
for faster growth and poverty reduction. Bank sources say
that upon its election, the Narc government requested for
more time to develop its long-term privatisation strategy
that would also cater for the sale of the giant parastatal.
And a Privatisation Bill is being prepared. The credit, by
far the largest that the Bank has given to Kenya in the last
decade was also meant to improve accountability in the public
sector focusing in particular on procurement and financial
management and on the Judiciary. It was also meant to assist
the government to shift public expenditure towards core poverty
reducing programs identified in the poverty reduction strategy
paper (PRSP). However, the new government has downplayed the
PRSP and instead developed an Economic Strategy Paper that
is yet to be discussed and a work plan to implement it developed.
But the World Bank, in the Country Economic Memorandum released
last month, says reducing poverty will require allocating
public spen
ding towards pro-poor programs, and
eliminating obstacles to the full participation of women and
other groups in the economy. "The government has made
considerable progress in addressing issues linked to the second
tranche of US$50 million that was suspended in January 2001,"
observes the Bank. Among the achievements are the new procurement
regulations currently in place. A
directorate of Public Procurement has been established and
the Public Procurement Bill may also be discussed before Parliament
breaks for Christmas. However, the implementation of civil
service reforms, which include right sizing of the government
consistent with refocusing of the public sector to its core
functions and the policy priorities, has not succeeded. Retrenchment
of 23,000 civil servants was completed in 200/2001 and additional
downsizing done in public-funded organisations including state
universities. "Core poverty recurrent expenditure were
largely protected in 200/2001 and 2001/2002 budgets, although
progress in protecting core poverty development expenditures
was disappointing" the Bank says.
Though the Kenya Economic and Public
Sector Credit was approved after the former regime showed
its commitment to reforms, little success was achieved. Prior
to approval of the credit, former President Moi appointed
a new team popularly referred to as the "dream team",
and headed by the renowned conservationist Dr Richard Leakey.
The team, which also comprised of current Kenya Airways managing
director, Titus Naikuni, was mandated to steer economic recovery
by tackling long-standing development problems including endemic
corruption in the public sector. The first tranche was released
on the commencement of the project in August 2000. It was
pegged to economic governance, public sector reform, privatisation,
expenditure prioritisation, and portfolio improvement. The
team however failed to deliver due to what analysts say was
lack of political will. Consequently, the World Bank, which
had released the first tranche of US US$50 million (Sh3.5
billion) withheld the balance. The third and last tranche
of a similar amount is tied to the privatisation of Telcom
Kenya.
From Financial Standard, Kenya, by Benson
Kathuri, 27 October 2003
MPs Accuse Government
of Bias in Hiring of Civil Servants
Nairobi - MPs criticised the Government's
method of recruiting civil servants, complaining that it was
partisan. The lawmakers lamented that certain districts had
been left out altogether in recent recruitment of civil servants
and particularly that of military, security and district officers.
Assistant minister in the Office of the President, Morris
Ndzoro, had a hard time defending the Government against allegations
that recruitment of officers favoured certain regions. He
was responding to a question by Mr. Francis Kagwima (Tharaka,
Ford Asili) who had complained that Tharaka District was discriminated
against during the recruitments. He wanted to know what the
minister was doing to ensure that the district was included
in all financial allocations and recruitments. . Mr. Kagwima
shocked the House with claims that the district was not included
in the Government Financial Estimates.
He proved his allegations by displaying
the current estimates to the assistant minister. But House
Speaker, Francis Kaparo, said the estimates were currently
under debate. He asked OP to send a circular to all Government
departments to "let them know of the existence of Tharaka
disctrict. Mr. Guracha Galgalo (Moyale, Kanu) complained that
only five people from Moyale District were picked in the recent
military recruitment drive while 300 came from Nyeri District
alone. However, Mr. Muhika Mutahi (Mukurwe-ini, Nyeri) disputed
the allegation saying that only two people were picked. Dr
Oburu Oginga (Bondo, Narc) complained that recruitment of
DOs and security officers was done in a partisan manner. Mr.
Osman Kamama (Baringo East, Ford-People) described the alleged
partisan recruitment as a "grave matter." He claimed
out of the 2,400 people recruited into the army, 1,400 came
from the Mount Kenya region and 27 from the Kalenjin community.
From AllAfrica.com, Africa, by Njeri Rugene,
29 October 2003
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Fight Corruption by Making Civil
Servants Efficient
The ACA director-general has suggested
that the anti-corruption agency should go after bribe givers
instead. It is a very good suggestion yet it seems to further
protect the civil servants who will have the added choice
of reporting any offer below their expectation. Our government
should improve the efficiency of the civil service to such
an extent that there is no room or need for any offer of bribe.
Who wants to bribe if there is no need for it? I would blame
it on the immediate supervisors who should be able to monitor
the workload properly so that any delay is dealt with before
the public perceives that a bribe is needed to move the file.
Court cases and bankruptcy cases are known for missing certain
files for a fee. The service can be either for the file to
go missing so that the person gets a period of "unofficial
reprieve" or for the person desperately looking for a
file. Dishonesty seems to be rampant everywhere. At any of
those car parks which are manually operated, the ticket is
likely to differ from the counterfoil. In cases where the
cashier uses a till, if one asks for a receipt, it is likely
to be one meant for an earlier parker.
Where there is a proper till being
used at a warehouse sale, given the opportunity, the cashier
will use the calculator instead so that he can pocket the
money. To give credit where it is due, I do find improvements
in many places like the JPJ, Kedai Telekom and so on. Recently,
I was pleasantly surprised when I went to the Ipoh Immigration
Department to renew my passport. The counter staff served
with a smile and not only did she not tell me off for not
completing the form properly, she actually filled in the few
missing information which she had in her record! How I wish
other departments are as customer friendly as this. Sometimes,
minor inconvenience matters a lot to the public and it only
needs a considerate officer to realise it and make it possible
at minimum cost. Once, I was at the EPF building in Ipoh to
make a withdrawal. It required a photocopy of my IC. Being
early, the Greentown Mall shops were still closed and I had
to walk half a kilometre to Fair Park to do it. It occurred
to me then that the EPF's existence is due to the employees'
contributions and therefore we should be served rather than
being made to run around for something as simple as photocopy
IC.
If the commercial sector can do it
for free, why not the EPF? Instead of having fanciful buildings
and lending hundreds of millions to companies which banks
would not lend or getting involved in housing developments
which it has no experience nor the right to do so, it should
have provided better service and better returns. The lack
of accountability in the civil service, especially in the
Land Offices, is incredible, judging from the yearly reports
of the auditor-general. No remedial action seems necessary
as it will only carry forward to the next year. Any wrongdoing
discovered will have the culprit transferred to another department.
All they need are competent accounting staff and good internal
controls, as well as strict enforcement of deadlines to present
the accounts. If the Registrar of Companies can penalise companies
for late submission of accounts, why can't the government
do it to their own departments? Every year we hear of ministers'
rhetoric to improve, for example, the issue of land titles
and certificates of fitness for new buildings, yet the problems
remain. It is either the ministers are out of touch with reality
or there are no effective follow-up action to ensure compliance.
From Malaysia Kini, Malaysia, 2 October
2003
JS Body Seeks Career
Policy for Civil Servants
The parliamentary standing committee
on the establishment ministry has recommended introduction
of a career policy for the government officials. A four-member
committee comprising officials of the establishment ministry
was formed at its yesterday's meeting to prepare a draft within
three months. The government officials are frustrated as the
competent ones are not getting the opportunity for career
development, the committee observed. This is happening due
to the absence of a proper career planning and development
policy. The four-member committee, headed by a joint secretary
of the establishment ministry, will submit the draft to the
parliamentary standing committee by year-end. The committee
will then meet with the prime minister, who is in charge of
the ministry and also a member of the committee, and discuss
the matter. After the draft is finalised , it will be placed
before parliament to make it a national policy, said Mia Golam
Mohammad Parwar, member of the committee. The establishment
ministry has set up a career planning and training wing, but
it has not started operating, Parwar told The Daily Star yesterday.
The meeting was informed that 98 officials are now acting
as officers on special duty (OSDs). Chairman of the committee
Sarder Shakhawat Hossain Bakul presided over the meeting held
at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.
From The Daily Star, Bangladesh, 1 October
2003
Quarter of Public Servants
Bullied
One in four public servants has experienced
bullying or harassment at work, a State Government survey
has found. But only a third of them reported the incident
as they felt there would be no change or they'd be unpopular
with workmates. Five per cent of public servants surveyed
in June said they had been subjected to verbal threats in
the workplace, while 6 per cent had been shouted at. Of the
6000 or 36 per cent of public servants who responded to a
survey from the Commissioner for Public Employment, 10 per
cent said they had experienced intimidating or aggressive
body language at work. A further 13 per cent reported "persistent
nitpicking or unjustified criticisms" while 10 per cent
had been humiliated through sarcasm or insults. One per cent
said they had been threatened with physical violence. Public
Service Association secretary Jan McMahon said bullying in
the workplace was on the rise, partly because of pressure
caused by staff cutbacks. "The workloads are just through
the roof," she said. There was a "significant"
bullying problem among corrections officers she said, and
union-run training courses on how to deal with the issue were
in constant demand. Premier Mike Rann said the reported bullying
was unacceptable. "We don't want that in our workplace,"
he said.
From South Australia Advertiser, Australia,
by Melissa King, 30 September 2003
Declaration of Assets
by Generals, Civil Servants Demanded
Islamabad - Pakistan Peoples Party
Friday stressed the need to declare all assets by all military
generals and civil servants following the members of parliament
and provincial assemblies. In a statement issued here Friday
a spokesman of PPP said that the PPP welcomes the requirement
of declaration of assets and liabilities by the legislators
as an element of transparency, public scrutiny and good governance.
The Party has accordingly directed its legislators to comply
with the law and submit to the Chief Election Commissioner
a statement of their assets and liabilities as on June 30,
2003. "The Party has also noted with deep concern the
media reports that at least two sitting ministers of the government
namely Finance Minister Mr. Shaukat Aziz and Education Minister
Ms Zubeda Jalal have failed to submit the required declarations
by the due date. This is a matter of grave concern as it shows,
on the one hand, the scant respect the ministers have for
the laws of the land and that the law is intended to be yet
another coercive instrument against the opposition on the
other. "The Party demands of the allegedly defaulting
ministers to publicly explain their position as to why they
failed to submit declarations", he said.
"The Party also believes that
transparency, public scrutiny as elements of good governance
and accountability should not be confined to the 1170 legislators
alone. For the law to have some measure of credibility and
equity, it must also require the Generals and senior civil
servants to make public every year their assets. If the assets
of 1170 legislators can be advertised every year in the name
of transparency and public scrutiny what is the justification
to exempt the 400 odd generals and senior bureaucrats from
the ambit of such a law? "The people of Pakistan have
a right to know how many residential and commercial plots,
agricultural lands, plazas and bank balance was owned by an
officer upon entry into the defense service and how much was
owned at the time of exit as a general and the magic of the
multiplication of their wealth beyond known mathematical formulae"
he added. "The Party hopes that the Chief Election Commissioner
would also make public his assets and liabilities. There may
be no law requiring the CEC to make public his assets. However,
The CEC's call to the legislators to declare assets will have
great moral force if he were to also declare his assets and
no minister of the cabinet would be able to flout the law
with impunity as it seems is the case at present", the
spokesman maintained.
From PakTribune.com, Pakistan, 3 October
2003
Civil Servants Told
To Take Isra' Mikraj An Example
Bandar Seri Begawan - The Israk and
Mikraj or the Ascension of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon
him, should be taken as an example among the Muslims, including
government officers and staff. Muslim civil servants will
then be able to run their daily life, particularly in managing
official affairs and community, based on the Islamic teachings.
The Ministry of Home Affairs last night organised an Isra'
Mikraj celebration as an effective way for its officers and
staff, including penghulus and kampong ketuas who serve in
the ministry. The religious function was held to instil the
teamwork spirit among them. Present at the ceremony was Dato
Paduka Haji Awang Adnan, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs.
A religious talk by Awang Haji Alihassan Bin Haji Mohammad
Said, a lecturer from the Islamic Dawah Centre, highlighted
the ceremony. The Isra and Mikraj event is commemorated to
guide Muslims to always conduct excellent services. Courtesy
of Radio Television Brunei.
From Bru Direct, Brunei, 7 October 2003
Minister Bats for Efficient
Civil Service
Tutong - The civil service should be
enhanced, efficient and more effective to ensure the implementation
of development programmes are in accordance with the country's
inspiration. Dato Awang Haji Adnan, Home Affairs Deputy Minister,
made this remark at the Civil Service Day Celebration for
Tutong District at the Tutong Civic Centre yesterday. He said
the civil service acts as catalyst for development, progress,
peace, welfare and harmony of the residents in the country.
Dato Awang Haji Adnan said with the development of Information
Communication Technology (ICT), the civil service should not
only act as provider, facilitator and regulator but should
act as agent of change, creative and thinker. He also presented
certificates to retired government staff for the Tutong District.
More than 100 people, including 52 women received their certificates.
The Deputy Minister also presented appreciation certificates
to nine people for exemplary service rendered in the district.
The winners of the poetry writing competition in conjunction
with the Civil Service Day for Tutong District level also
received their prizes. First place went to Dayang Hajah Safiah
Binte Metusin who wrote 'Kearah Kecemerlangan Perkhidmatan
Awam'. Second place went to Awang Jaman Bin Haji Jumahat with
his poem entitled 'Tonggak Negara' and third Awang Abdul Manan
Bin Haji Rauf with his poem 'Nasihat Perkhidmatan Awam'. Courtesy
of Radio Television Brunei.
From Bru Direct, Brunei, 7 October 2003
Budget to Benefit Public
Servants, Pensioners
The Budget 2004 will be investment
and development oriented, Finance Minister K.N.Choksy told
the Daily News yesterday. The Budget will be presented in
Parliament next month. Public officers, corporation employees
and pensioners will also be beneficiaries, he said. The Minister
presented the Appropriation Bill in Parliament yesterday.
The total expenditure slated for 2004 will be Rs. 352 billion,
of which Rs. 209 billion will be for recurrent expenditure
and Rs. 143 billion for capital expenditure. Additionally
there will be debt service repayment and pension payments
in a sum of Rs. 313 billion. There is no reduction in outlay
for Samurdhi, the fertiliser subsidy, school uniforms and
textbooks. The total provision for foreign funded projects
has been increased from Rs. 70 billion in 2003 to Rs. 89 billion
in view of the enhanced foreign aid. This will be invested
in road development, supply of power, enhancing agricultural
production and development of irrigation. Consequent upon
the Government's success in reducing interest rates, the Interest
Bill for 2004 will be Rs. 121 billion as against Rs. 130 billion
in 2003. This saving has been allocated to capital expenditure.
The projected increase in revenue is Rs. 30 billion. Steps
have been put in place to enhance revenue collection.
According to a Finance Ministry release
yesterday, the expenditure is for maintaining the Public Services
and undertaking development work. The expenditure figures
included in the Appropriation Bill do not include certain
items of expenditure for which Parliamentary approval has
already been granted under various laws such as those on re-payment
of Public Debt, payment of Interest on Public Debt, Pension
Payments etc., amounting to Rs. 313.8 billion. Therefore,
the total expenditure that has to be incurred during the year
2004 will be Rs. 668.6 bn. On the receipts side, the revenue
and foreign grants are estimated to be Rs. 356.1 bn. Hence,
approval is sought by this Bill to borrow Rs. 312.5 bn from
both domestic and foreign sources. Both the expenditure and
revenue have been estimated on the existing basis without
taking into consideration any policy change. Certain sectors
such as highways, and water supply have been allocated more
funds than was done in 2003 due to the inflow of foreign aid.
Out of the estimated receipts of Rs. 356.1 bn tax revenue
amounts to 81% while non-tax revenue and other receipts amounts
to 19 per cent. Of the tax revenue, direct taxes amounts to
17.5 per cent while the remainder is from indirect taxes such
as Value Added Tax, Import Duties, and Excise Duties.
From Daily News, Sri Lanka, 9 October 2003
Empathy Required from
the Civil Service
"The Civil Service should not
consider the public a rival but instead consider them as good
partner. It is from the public that civil servants are able
to find weakness and shortcomings in the management and the
government administration." This was the Titah of His
Majesty the Sultan, during the 10th Civil Service Day held
at the BICC, on Oct 4. The core message in His Majesty's Titah
is the requirement for the Civil Service to have "empathy"
which according to the dictionary means "the capacity
to understand and respond to the unique experiences of another"
"Good citizens deserve a good government with the latter
depending on the mechanism. All parts of the civil service
are government mechanisms. In this respect, civil servant
must be determined, honest, transparent and forward looking"
stated His Majesty. "Contributions from the public do
not cause authority and credibility of the public service
to diminish.the procedures and conditions applied to the public
including foreign and local businessmen should always encourage
an environment for growth and healthy and quality entrepreneurship."
There are many who would regard the "titah" as mere
reminders for the civil service to do better. Very few would
look at the "titah" as criticisms of the "Civil
Service". And yet very few would regard the "Titah"
as a signal to an organizational "crisis" that requires
immediate attentions and remedy.
The core component of His Majesty's
leadership is that of "care" and there have been
many occasions where he has been branded as the "caring
monarch". "No one should be unduly concerned because
our public service is transparent. It has been put on a pure
and true track, following the teachings of Islam" The
good teachings of Islam that that places demands on us to
build an "ummah" where "empathy" is the
main essential ingredients and values. The "caring monarch"
projects the visions well articulated by Dr A Ciaramicoli
of Harvard Medical School as follow: When we are empathic,
meaning that we are capable of understanding each other on
a deep level, actually feeling the emotions and understanding
the thoughts, ideas, motives, and judgments of others. Empathy
is the bond that connects us, helping us to think before we
act, motivating us to reach out to someone in pain, teaching
us to use our reasoning powers to balance our emotions, and
inspiring us to the most lofty ideals to which human beings
can aspire. Without empathy we would roam this planet like
so many disconnected bits of protoplasm, bumping into each
her and bouncing off without so much as a how-do-you-do, awake
but unfeeling, aware but uncaring, filled with emotions but
having no means of understanding or influencing them. By
increasing our awareness of other people's thoughts and feelings,
empathy shows us how to live life fully and wholeheartedly
Empathy is primarily interested in that process of becoming,
enlarging, and expanding, or in truth that's what empathy
is - an expansion of your life into the lives of others, the
act of putting your ear to another person's soul and listening
intently to its urgent whisperings.
Who are you? What do you feel? What
do you think? What means the most to you? These are the questions
empathy seeks to explore. This is a good passage on empathy
and reflects many of the essentials in the Islamic "ummah".
The ideals of "persaudaraan" the ideals of "neighbours
or jiran" are all encapsulated in the passage. There
are very many programmes and procedures in the Civil Service
that focuses on working together in teams. There are many
projects that looks at the problems and provide technical
and procedural solutions but there are few that addresses
the "empathy" or the caring aspect of the administrations.
The "caring" values
for people. The "ingau ku" for people. The "ingau
ku" for the public. The "ingau ku" for the
success of your business. There are officers who defines the
caring administrations are those related to the work of Pusat
Dakwah, and the Welfare Departments in providing care for
the unfortunates and the displaced. Providing homes for the
fire victims, collecting charities are all that represent
good governments. They may not consider good customer relations
and good customer cares as the foundations for good governance.
They are wrong because there are many unexpressed frustrations,
there are many minor crisis, there are many more temporary
loss of income and many more discomfort and hardship that
can be averted through "empathy" in the front lines
of the administrations. Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin.
From Bru Direct, Brunei, by Bakar Jair,
10 October 2003
Record-high Wage Cuts
for Civil Servants
Tokyo - The House of Councillors enacted
an amended law Friday to carry out record wage cuts for central
government employees to make their pay match sagging private-sector
wage levels. The government-proposed revision to a law governing
salaries for central government employees, which has already
passed the House of Representatives, will take effect Nov
1. (Kyodo News)
From Japan Today, Japan, 10 October 2003
Brunei Civil Service
Could Face A Major Shake Up Says Minister
Kuala Belait - Brunei's Civil Service
could be in for a major shake up. They are to be reformed
to meet the challenges of a changing world. And Civil Service
members are urged to continue their efforts in finding new
ways to ensure the smooth running of the administrative machinery
and to be more dynamic, progressive and responsive towards
public needs. The staff should also be able to solve problems
on time professionally. Dato Haji Suyoi, Deputy Minister of
Education speaking at the Public Civil Day celebration for
the Belait District yesterday added that the government was
taking various steps for public civil service to become an
excellent sector. These include efforts to reform the public
civil service to become a catalyst to be prepared to meet
challenges of the 21st Century.
The reforms include promoting quality
work culture through teamwork, introduction of civil service
innovation award, a revision of the various departments' organisational
structure. These efforts will propel the service towards empowerment
in line with future demands and a civil service vision for
the 21st century. Sixty retired government officers also received
their certificates at the event. Apart from that government
staff and officers, village heads, penghulus and kampong ketuas
as well as retired government officers and staff had a health
check-up by officers from the Suri Seri Begawan Hospital,
Kuala Belait. The theme of this year's civil day celebration
is "Toward Excellence of the Public Civil Service".
- Courtesy of Radio Television Brunei (Brudirect.com News)
From Bru Direct, Brunei, by Dato Haji Suyoi,
11 October, 2003
CEO of Civil Service
College Attends Launching of Dubai's Premier Institute for
HRD
Singapore - Dean and CEO of the Civil
Service College of Singapore (CSC), Brigadier-General (NS)
Yam Ah Mee, will be attending the opening ceremony of the
Dubai Institute for Human Resource Development (DIHRD) in
Dubai on Monday. A statement from the Civil Service College
said, CSC is the only Asian institution invited by DIHRD to
attend the opening ceremony. In August, a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) was signed between CSC and DIHRD to engage the services
of CSC in providing training and development for government
employees of Dubai. This is the first MOU signed between government
institutions of both countries, following the official visit
by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong to the United Arab Emirates
in February 2000. The MOU covers delivery of standard short
courses, tailored courses and study tours, staff secondment,
student exchange, IT system acquisition and E-Learning services.
DIHRD recognises CSC's experience in providing public administration
and management training. Its other prestigious partners include
the UK Civil Service, Bradford University School of Management
and Edexcel International. Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defence
Minister, General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum will
be the guest of honour at the ceremony. DIHRD is set up under
the directive of the Crown Prince, with the vision of unleashing
human potential and setting the pace for innovative management
thinking and practices.
From Channel News Asia, Singapore, 13 October
2003
Asean Civil Servants
Gather In Brunei In Spirit Of Cooperation
Bandar Seri Begawan - The 12th Asean
Conference on Civil Service Matters (ACCSM) has agreed that
further evaluation be carried out by a working group and will
report to the next technical meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan
next year. Dato Haji Hazair, Permanent Secretary at the Prime
Minister's stated this in his capacity as chairman of ACCSM
Executive Committee in a media conference at the close of
the meeting yesterday afternoon. Dato Haji Hazair added that
the conference has also been able to identify and chart the
areas of future cooperation in the field of civil service
by taking stock and supporting Asean leaders' aspirations
towards Asean Vision 2020 and initiative towards Asean integration
with particular reference to the Bali Concord Two.
Earlier, Dato Haji Hazair and other
Asean delegation leaders signed the "Letter of transmittal".
In his closing remarks the Permanent Secretary noted that
the success of the conference is a manifestation of true spirit
of commitment and determination between Asean civil services.
The gathering also serves to strengthen the scope of cooperation
in the field of civil service and further cement the bond
of friendship, understanding and cordial relations between
Asean agencies through civil service. The event took place
at the Empire Hotel and Country Club in Jerudong. On Tuesday
night, the leaders and representatives attending the 12th
Asean Conference on Civil Service Matters were entertained
to a dinner hosted by Pehin Isa, Special Advisor to His Majesty
at the Prime Minister's Office and the Minister of Home Affairs.
- Courtesy of Radio Television Brunei (Brudirect.com News)
From Bru Direct, Brunei, 15 October 2003
Civil Servants, Soldiers
to Plant Trees
Bogor - Civil servants and soldiers
have been told to donate 10 trees each for the municipality's
regreening project that culminates on Nov. 12, an officer
said on Friday. Capt. Dede Komaruddin of the Bogor district
military command said an estimated 53,000 trees would be collected
from the bureaucrats and soldiers. "The trees will be
planted along the banks of the Ciliwung and Cisadane rivers,
and along several roads downtown. Some of the trees also will
be donated to residents of the Cimanggu housing complex, who
have no trees in their backyards," he said. He added
that soldiers had been cultivating longan and durian fruit
tree seedlings over the last five months.
From Jakarta Post, Indonesia, 17 October
2003
Forum to Discuss Civil
Service
Government Reform - The local and international
experts will talk about exams, management and training issues
related to how a government bureaucracy works - Distinguished
international and local academics and government officials
will participate in a two-day symposium starting today that
aims to give advice to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
on how to modernize the nation's civil service. Examination
Yuan President Yao Chia-wen said the purpose of the International
Symposium on Government Reform and Civil Service System is
to provide a forum where Taiwanese academics can exchange
views and ideas with overseas academics on various issues
relating to government reform and the civil service. "It
is through this exchange that we hope to learn from other
countries' experiences and development of civil service systems
which can therefore help the country enhance its overall national
competitiveness," Yao said last night at a welcoming
banquet at the Examination Yuan. "We also hope that this
exchange will result in various visionary and novel ideas
that can result in a blueprint for the country's development
on government reforms and the civil service system,"
Yao said.
According to Yao, the symposium will
deal with four main topics: examination system for the legal
civil service; the effect of government reform on the civil
service; efficient management of civil servants and training
for higher-level civil servants. Among those giving speeches
are Deborah Hensler, Stanford University professor, Udo Bartsch,
president of the Federal Academy of Public Administration
of Germany's Federal Ministry of the Interior, and Examination
Yuan Secretary-General Chu Wu-hsien. Yao, Han Chung-Mo Law
Foundation Chairman Lee Hung-hsi and Judicial Yuan President
Weng Yueh-sheng will preside over some of the discussions.
A reputable specialist or scholar in each field will give
a speech in each session, which will be supplemented and analyzed
by other interlocutors from either the government or academia.
Aside from civil servants, symposium participants will include
members from civil groups, the private sector and universities,
according to a press release from the Examination Yuan. The
symposium, to be held at the National Library in Taipei, is
organized by the Examination Yuan, the Han Chung-Mo Law Foundation
and co-organized by the Law School of the National Taiwan
University, the Ministry of Examination, the Ministry of Civil
Service and the Civil Service Protection and Training Commission.
From Taipei Times, Taiwan, by Huang Tai-lin,
13 October 2003
NTUC Income Cuts Monthly
Insurance Charges for Civil Servants to 60 Cents
Singapore - NTUC Income is cutting
insurance premiums for civil servants and statutory board
employees and their families to just 60 cents a month. This
is a 25 per cent reduction designed to make life and accident
insurance more affordable for the 50,000 workers who fall
under this scheme. The government puts civil service insurance
out to tender every three years. NTUC Income has had the contract
since 1997 and recently re-secured the business for another
three years, starting the first of this month.
From Channelnewsasia.com, Singapore, 21
October 2003
Civil Service Alignment
Meet Draws to a Close
The two-day symposium on 'Civil Service
Alignment Programme', co-organised by Management Services
Department and Civil Service Institute of the Prime's Minister
Office drew to a close yesterday. It was held at the Ministry
of Industry and Primary Resources premises. The symposium
was officially launched Tuesday by the Permanent Secretary
at the Prime's Minister Office, Dato Paduka Awang Haji Hazair.
Also present were Permanent Secretaries, Deputy Permanent
Secretaries, Directors, Head and Deputy Heads of Department
as well as senior government officials. The Civil Service
Alignment Programme was first introduced in January earlier
this year. It aims to assist Civil Service Management in ensuring
that projects and activities conducted by ministries (and
departments under it) are in line with the objective of the
National Development Plan (RKN) and the vision of Civil Service.
Various activities have been implemented to educate relevant
parties on the procedures of the Civil Service Alignment programme.
Among them were Alignment Workshop for the Department Directors
(January 27-29), Extra Alignment Workshop for Ministries /
Department Directors (May 10), Leadership Seminar for Permanent
Secretaries and Deputy Permanent Secretaries (June 16-17)
and visits to ministries.
Meanwhile, the main objective of the
symposium on Civil Service Alignment Programme was to shed
some insight on the strategic planning and projects that would
be implemented by each of the ministries and departments under
them. The main purpose of holding the symposium is to improve
and upgrade transparency and accountability of all levels
in ministries and departments under them. It also hopes to
upgrade the coopertation and synergy of all levels within
the Civil Service, as well as to implement and ensure that
resources allocated for project plans from each ministry and
departments under them would give 'good value-for-money'.
Additionally, it hopes to promote the sharing of information
on strategic planning by ministries and to upgrade the alliance
between ministries. The symposium is in line with His Majesty's
titah, which was delivered during His Majesty's 57th birthday
celebration in July. It stressed the need for all ministries
and government departments to focus on alignment programmes.
During the closing ceremony yesterday, the Director of Civil
Services Institute, Dr. Azaharaini bin Haji Mohd Jamil delivered
his closing remarks. He is also the co-chairman of the symposium
committee.
From Borneo Bulletin, Brunei Darussalam,
by Achong Tanjong, 23 October 2003
Civil Service Slams
'Salt in Wound'
Civil service unions attacked the planned
11 per cent cut in the government's operating expenditure
over the next five years, warning that the quantity and quality
of public services would be affected. Henry Tang has yet to
announce details of the cuts, but has said not all bureaus
and departments would suffer cuts and that the timing was
flexible. Civil Servants' General Union chairman Felix Cheung
said public-sector staff were already under tremendous pressure
in the face of pay cuts, restructuring and other cost-cutting
measures. He said the civil service had already suffered after
1.8 per cent was trimmed from the operating expenditure and
the additional 11 per cent would add salt to their wounds.
Local Inspectors' Association chairman
Tony Liu said the cuts would have a big impact on the quantity
and quality of police services, especially because demand
for manpower would only increase at border checkpoints to
deal with the influx of mainland tourists. "There's no
way but for the police force to reprioritise the services
again. Non-core duties such as looking for lost dogs or repairing
water pipes will be greatly reduced," Liu said. "I
don't worry about police morale - I worry more for the safety
of the public because our services will be affected."
Democrat Cheung Man-kwong said he was greatly disappointed,
predicting "bloodshed" in the education sector.
"They [the cuts] amount to more than HK$5 billion and
will deal a heavy blow to the education sector. How can education
reform be carried out without money?" the lawmaker representing
the sector asked. "Policies such as four-year university
education and small group classes will be dumped."
From The Standard, Hong Kong, 23 October
2003
Top Civil Servant's
Joyrides Only a Tip of Iceberg
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