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ISSUE 78
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| January 2006 |
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NSSF Seeks Meeting with Civil
Service Head
The Board of Directors of the National
Social Security Fund met yesterday morning and demanded
a meeting with Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura over
the sacking of managing trustee Naftali Mogere. A board
member, Gerishon Onditi, said the Board rejected reasons
advanced to it by Labour PS Nancy Kirui as to why Mogere
was dismissed. "We felt as a board that the reasons
were not valid, leave alone the move being undertaken in
total violation of the NSSF Act," said Onditi. Onditi,
the Executive Director of the Federation of Kenya Employers,
said that the board then resolved to write to the head of
the civil service, demanding an audience on the sacking.
"The PS merely told the board that she was under instructions
to communicate Mogere's sacking and that she too was not
aware of other reasons for the dismissal," Onditi told
The Standard on telephone.
"As far as we are concerned,
the Government did not follow the law. In any case, we as
a board had not detected any misconduct by Mogere and we
were satisfied with his work until we were taken by surprise
with the changes," he said. He
said it was the feeling of the board that Mogere be reinstated
immediately for continuity. "At
that meeting with Muthaura, we expect to be furnished with
details as to why the laid down procedures as per the NSSF
Act signed by President Kibaki last year giving powers to
the Board to hire and fire was not observed in Mogere's
case," said Onditi. The
board will also seek an audience with Labour minister Newton
Kulundu on the same issue. COTU secretary general Francis
Atwoli who is also a Board member confirmed the meeting
took place.
"We are not defending Mogere
in case he messed behind our back. But our concern is the
manner in which he was sacked with us as his employers being
left in the dark. That is why we insist for details and
a possible reinstatement," said Onditi. Acting managing
trustee Ms Rachel Lumbasyo was not allowed to attend yesterday's
meeting. "We won't have allowed her to attend our full
board meeting given that her appointment has not been gazetted,"
Onditi said. Atwoli, however, said Lumbasyo was allowed
back into the meeting. "It is true we have met and
among the issues we have discussed include Mogere's sacking"
said the unionist. While confirming Mogere's sacking, Kulundu
said the trustee's dismissal was in the public interest.
The minister was responding to protests from the NSSF board.
From EastStandard, January 4, 2006
Obasanjo Outlines Requirements
for Civil Service Promotions
President Olusegun Obasanjo has said
that federal character, seniority in service and the ability
to pass the requisite civil service examination would henceforth
be the main determinants for promotions. Speaking at the
swearing-in of seven new permanent secretaries in Abuja
yesterday, Obasanjo said that those occupying top gover-nment
positions must also be "reform-minded". He said
that government had in the past only consid-ered seniority
and federal character to fill vacancies and promote civil
servants, but noted that henceforth these must be in addition
to academic performance. He said that while examinations
and interviews were now mandatory, government would invite
consultants and those that have knowledge of management
to handle the tests.
The president also raised the 'vital
issue' of loyalty in service, and charged the permanent
secretaries to ensure that their performance and efficiency
was matched by loyalty."Loyalty to the service, loyalty
to the Head of Service, loyalty to the Head of Government
and loyalty to the nation that brings all this about. "To
me, there is no 99.9 per cent loyalty. It has to be total.
If you cannot give total loyalty, then you should look for
another job. "You have
heard of something they call military loyalty. If that means
total loy-alty, then there is no other thing except military
loyalty," he told the audiences, which include all
his service ministers, the secretary to government and the
head of service
From allafrica.com, January 5, 2006
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Yue Set to Head Civil Service
The government is poised to announce
a reshuffle that will likely see a new civil service chief
appointed when Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology
John Tsang leaves for a new job, sources said Wednesday.
Current civil service boss Joseph Wong is expected to take
over as commerce chief, effectively sidelining him, while
Tsang's current deputy, Denise Yue, will take up a key political
appointment as secretary for the civil service, sources
said. According to government sources, Chief Executive Donald
Tsang has made the recommendations, and it is now up to
Beijing to give the final seal of approval - which could
be as early as this month. "It
may take a little bit more time for the new appointments
to be made public as Denise has never held a politically
appointed position like a policy secretary," a government
source said.
The reshuffle came about because
John Tsang is likely to be the new director of the Chief
Executive's Office. That post will mean a pay cut, but it
will pave the way for him to become the next chief secretary
for administration, a post currently held by Rafael Hui,
who is expected to step down at the end of Chief Executive
Donald Tsang's term in 2007, a government source said last
week. For Yue, it will be a promotion. She is currently
permanent secretary for commerce, industry and technology.
"Donald chose her because she's very popular among
the 500 civil service administrative officers [directors],"
a government source said. An executive councillor, who declined
to be named, said Wong does not have cordial relations with
the powerful civil service unions. "Denise is capable,
popular, has the know-how and is able to communicate with
people. These are qualities that the chief executive is
looking for," a government source said.
Wong, 57, has been at the helm of
the civil service since 2000, and before that was secretary
for education and manpower for five years. Last year, the
Court of Final Appeal granted the government a HK$10 billion
reprieve with its decision that the cuts made in civil servants'
salaries in 2002 were legal. Wong's subsequent promise not
to cut salaries further was greeted with skepticism within
the service. As far as John Tsang is concerned, his appointment
as director of the Chief Executive's Office was given the
blessings of central leaders during the chief executive's
duty visit to Beijing last week.
It was his handling of last month's
World Trade Organization talks that drew the attention of
Beijing. "[John Tsang's] outstanding performance in
the WTO also earned him praise from President Hu [Jintao],"
a government source said last week. The
job of director of the chief executive's office is to represent
the chief executive at meetings with politicians, Election
Committee members and the local media, the source said.
The director's post has been vacant since Lam Woon-kwong
resigned in January.
From TheStandard.com.hk
January 5, 2006
Chhattisgarh PSC Cancels State
Civil Service Results
Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission
(CGPSC) today cancelled the results of state civil services
(preliminary) examination, ordering fresh valuation of answer
papers citing ''technical flaws''. Commission secretary
Manohar Pandey told newspersons here that the decision to
cancel the results, which were announced earlier, was taken
after ''technical flaws'' were detected in the model answers
and scaling system. ''It has now been decided to conduct
fresh valuation of answer sheets. It will start very soon,''
he said, adding, however that he was not in a position to
say when the results would be declared. Chhattisgarh
PSC had found itself in the middle of a controversy after
the commission posted on its website the model answers of
state civil services (preliminary) examination 2005, the
results of which were officially announced on December 19.
The candidates, who had appeared
in the examination, were taken aback after finding that
there were numerous factual mistakes in the model answers
posted on the website. One of the model answers described
the sunflower as the national flower. There were also discrepancies
in scaling process as a large number of candidates who appeared
for a particular subject had passed the examination. Besides,
there were also complaints about results leaking to the
media much before it was officially announced. As the mistakes
in model answers became public, candidates who appeared
in the examination took to the streets and staged a demonstration
in front of the PSC office, forcing the authorities to deploy
heavy police force. Meanwhile,
Chief Minister Raman Singh had also said he felt the need
for streamlining the functioning of PSC to ensure more transparency.
From newswenindia123.com, January 6, 2006
EO 366 Promotes Quality Government
Service - DBM's Relampagos
Davao City (10 January) - "We,
as government employees, should restore our commitment of
a quality government service for our clienteles", said
Mario Relampagos, Department of Budget and Management undersecretary
in the Arena XI 2nd General Assembly held yesterday (Jan.
9). Relampagos elaborated on
Executive Order 366 or the "rationalization of the
government". EO 366 is
the transformation of the various government agencies for
a more effective government service by means of eliminating
redundant and obsolete functions of government employees,
he said. "Ten days after
the position of an employee is declared redundant, the agency
is to submit the list of affected names and their positions
to the Civil Service", Relampagos explained.
"The Civil Service is tasked
to find other work for the eliminated employees so that
they would be employed soon. But then if the employee will
object to such arrangements, he/she can opt for the regular
retirement with the incentives", he added. Furthermore,
the Medium Term Expenditure Framework appropriated a P145
M budget until 2010. The DBM
undersecretary is calling out to government agencies to
"work within the budget given and have discipline in
managing the resources".
From PIA Information Service, January
10, 2006
Result Woes for Civil Service
Candidates
Raipur, Jan. 8: The fate of more
than 2,700 students hangs in balance after the Chhattisgarh
Public Service Commission (CPSC) cancelled the results of
the civil service preliminary examinations held last December.
The CPSC has ordered re-evaluation, a move that irked students'
organisations as well as two members of the commission who
had been crying foul over irregularities in the evaluation
process. The decision to cancel the 2005 results was taken
in a marathon meeting on Friday. Chandrashekhar Sahu and
Khelanlal Jangade, the two members, were not invited in
the meeting, which was chaired by CPSC chairman Ashok Darbari.
"We were not invited for reasons best known to the chairman.
I had raised my voice against irregularities in the evaluation
of answersheets. But no heed was paid. Even while announcing
the results, the meeting of the commission was not convened
according to the norms and only a few people took the decision,"
Sahu told The Telegraph.
Sahu met chief minister Raman Singh
on Friday and offered to put in his papers. "Since the credibility
of the commission has been affected, the image of the government,
too, is at stake," Sahu said, adding that he cannot work
in a system where students have lost faith in the CPSC.
On December 6 last year, 60,559 students had appeared in
the preliminary examination. The commission, as charged
by Sahu, declared the results in a hurry on December 19.
A total of 2,716 candidates were declared qualified for
the mains. Students' organisations
have reacted strongly to the development. "It was no less
than an irony that the students who failed in the examination
were jubilant while a pall of gloom descended on those who
passed," said Sanjay Joshi, the state president of the Akhil
Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the BJP's student wing.
The ABVP functionary demanded the
dismissal of the CPSC chairman as well as re-examinations.
Not to be left behind, the National Students' Union of India
(NSUI), has also demanded Darbari's ouster. President of
the NSUI's state unit, Vikas Upadhyay, said the commission's
credibility could be restored only through action against
the "guilty" officials. Darbari, who was summoned by both
the chief minister and Governor (Retd) Lt Gen. Krishna Mohan
Seth yesterday, declined comment. CPSC secretary Manohar
Pandey sought to give a clarification, saying the irregularities
were due to some technical snags in the computers used in
the evaluation process. Pandey,
however, refused to fix responsibility on examination controller
B.P. Kashyap as has been demanded by the students' unions.
From Telegraphindia.com, January 8, 2006
Public Policy, Private Benefits
The workplace policy of encouraging
the participation of women in the public sector is bearing
fruit - more women are being promoted to top management
positions. That trend is starting to affect the gender balance
in business as smart private-sector organisations tap into
this considerable talent pool. Jennifer Westacott is the
private sector's newest recruit. She left her position as
the director-general of the New South Wales Department of
Planning last September to run KPMG's NSW government practice.
She is part of a generation of women who are taking on some
of the most challenging and important public-sector roles
at state and federal levels. Westacott rejects notions that
their success is due simply to policy intervention. "They
are all very talented, and the amount of people coming across
to the private sector shows it," she says. (http://www.brw.com.au/freearticle.aspx?relId=16451).
From brw.com.au, January 12, 2006
MP Wins National Civil Service
Kabaddi Title
Madhya Pradesh Civil Service (MPCS)
won the All- India Civil Services Kabaddi Championship brushing
aside the challenge of Regional Sports Board, Mumbai by
19-17 in the finals at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda
here today. Bangalore claimed the third spot defeating the
hosts Goa 11-8. Ashok Mishra and Rajendra Yadav, both of
MPCS, were adjdudged as the best catcher and rider respectively.
Goa's Sandeep Kalgakar was adjudged as the best all rounder.
Earlier in the semi-finals, Mumbai beat Goa, while MPCS
edged out Bangalore to set up the title clash. The championship
was organised by Goa's Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs
under the aegis of the Central Civil Services Cultural and
Sports Board, New Delhi. Goa
Chief Minister Pratapsingh Rane gave the prizes.
From webindia123.com, January 15, 2006
Public Servants in Tonga Threaten
to Sue Government
The Public Service Association in
Tonga says it is prepared to sue the government as well
as take strike action if its members grievances are not
addressed. The PSA has already issued a notice of strike
action for next week by teachers if their concerns about
appointments are not looked at. The PSA assistant secretary,
Mele 'Amanaki, says teachers who took part in the public
servants' strike are being overlooked for promotion and
some have been transferred to the outer islands. Ms 'Amanaki
says the discrimination is against the Memorandum of Understanding
which ended the strike last year. The MOU stated that no
one would be disciplined or discriminated against over the
strike. Ms 'Amanaki says it is not just teachers who are
affected.
"Last year we have submitted
two letters to the cabinet reporting some grievances of
discrimination that has happened in some of the ministries
and they didn't respond to that. Based on the reply, if
they still breach the MOU we will take it up together with
the others. It's different ministries. We are prepared to
take this up to court."
From Radio New Zeeland, January 18, 2006
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Ministers' Office Staff Cost Taxpayer
€2.5m a Year
Civil servants working in the constituency
offices of ministers cost the Exchequer €2.5 million each
year, according to the latest official figures. Some 82
public servants are attached to the constituency offices
of the 15 ministers, some of whom have been seconded from
the respective departments. These
are as well as the civil servants working in the ministers'
private offices in their departments and the 63 civil servants
and press advisers working in press offices. However,
the figures also include those who would be employed on
a permanent basis in constituency offices by ministers,
in their capacity as TDs. The
figures were released on foot of a parliamentary question
submitted by Westmeath Fine Gael Deputy Paul McGrath.
From examiner.ie, January 2, 2006
Action to Defend Civil Service
Jobs and Services
Members of the PCS civil service
workers' union in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
have voted for strikes over job cuts, office closures and
other issues. Union leaders were expected to call a two-day
strike for the end of January at a meeting taking place
as Socialist Worker went to press. The PCS's 90,000 members
in the DWP do vital jobs in Britain's job centres, benefits
offices, processing and call centres. The government wants
to cut up to 40,000 jobs across the DWP as part of its civil
service jobs cull. It has already cut 15,000 jobs, leading
to a serious decline in the level of services workers are
able to deliver. Phil Pardoe, of the PCS's DWP group executive,
told Socialist Worker, "The members have clearly voted for
action. Frontline job centre staff understand how awful
things are and have voted accordingly. "Other parts of the
DWP where they are not experiencing the same cuts probably
didn't show the same level of support for striking. "But
I am sure that now the union has called a strike it will
be supported across the board. We have to involve the maximum
number of union members in the action and keep up the momentum
after next week's strike."
From socialistworker.co.uk, January 14,
2006
Ministers Cut Back on Civil Service
Jobs
The number of UK civil servants fell
last year as ministers took steps to streamline bureaucracy
in the face of criticism over public sector spending. Figures
released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS)
show that the number of civil service employees fell by
3,000 to 567,000 in the third quarter of 2005. This
follows five years of steady civil service job growth, with
employment experts predicting that this figure is set to
fall further in 2006. '2006
will see the public jobs bonanza on the wane while the bulk
of public sector employees will no longer enjoy the relatively
rapid pay rises of recent years,' said John Philpott, chief
economist at human resources group the Chartered Institute
of Personnel and Development.
'Although ministers are fully justified
in getting to grips with public sector payrolls and efficiency
as part of their overall effort to improve public service
delivery, this will inevitably make life difficult for public
sector managers already facing mounting trade union discontent
over job cuts, pay curbs, and a tougher stance on tackling
the sector's relatively high rate of absenteeism.' Nevertheless,
while overall civil service employment fell in the 12 months
to October 2005, most of the cutbacks occurred at local
and regional government level, with central government employment
rising by 42,000 over the year.
Overall public sector employment
did increase over the same period, rising by 72,000 to 5.83
million, although this rate of growth was significantly
lower than the 115,000 new jobs created in 2004. Health
and social work and education saw the largest increase in
the number of new employees over the year, rising by 45,000
and 25,000 respectively. Nevertheless,
with the rate of public sector growth slowing, the private
sector job market is now looking healthier, with employment
increasing by 249,000 in the 12 months to October, more
than three times the rate of public sector increase. The
public sector accounted for 20.2 per cent of total UK employment
at the end of the third quarter.
From Monsters and Critics.com - Glasgow,UK,
January 13, 2006
New Personal Data Protection for
Civil Service Forms
After two years of deliberation,
the House Finance Committee has completed legislation concerning
application forms for the appointment or promotion of public
servants. The amendment takes into consideration today's
living conditions and will adapt with provisions for the
protection of personal data. The application form, which
had remained essentially the same since the years of colonial
rule, is being altered so candidates will no longer have
to include personal photographs and will be given special
guidance in completing important parts of the form, such
as education and experience. Information will also be included
involving the rights of appointment for EU citizens, and
candidates will not have to submit personal data, such as
marital status, religion, salary or details of their spouse
and parents. Concluding the
meeting, Committee Head Aristos Chrysostomou stated that
it "was not in the Parliament's favour that it took nearly
two years to complete the examination of such an application
form."
From cyprus-mail.com, January 17, 2006
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News from Civil Service Employees
Association
Response of CSEA President Danny
Donohue to Governor George Pataki's 2006 State of the State
Address
Albany, NY - (01/04/2006; 1430)(EIS)
- "Governor Pataki laid out an ambitious national agenda
in his state of the state address. He offered some impressive,
far reaching ideas, but it's hard to imagine accomplishing
all of them in a year, particularly when there are very
real issues that must be addressed such as the crisis in
our public health care facilities, quality care in human
services, and continuing pressure on our education system."
From Empire Information Services, January
4, 2006
PNM: People Unfriendly Government
Party politics in TnT has finally
"boil(ed) down to simple dis: Is dog eat dog and survival
of the fittest." And the two major combatants are the
people unfriendly ruling PNM government and the power-hungry
opposition UNC. This unholy,
polarized political scenario has promoted the PNM as a government
by default. This is a valid conclusion to the extent that
ethnicity (not race) dictates that the majority PNM supporters
will not vote for "those people" in the UNC and
vice versa, the majority UNC supporters will not vote for
"those people" in the PNM. A
"those people" political conundrum now exists
in TnT and this conundrum is further exacerbated by the
politics of fear (PNM) versus the politics of race (UNC)
tug-of-war.
In other words, regardless of what
the PNM government does or does not do, its political directorate
is 100 per cent sure/confident that a certain percentage
of the ethnic electorate will vote in its favour as opposed
to the 'other' party. One ethnic group of party supporters
will never vote for the 'other' party. That is the stark,
raw nature of the political beast in TnT today. Only time
will usher in an era of political maturity; forty-three
years of putative political independence is just too short
a time period for such sanity to occur. The
fact of the matter is that this government by default syndrome
has precipitated an "arrogance of power" mind-set
in the PNM regime - a mind-set that is most evident and
pronounced in the area of public policy action or more specifically,
public policy in-action. In this regard, the PNM government
has been missing in action (MIA).
Indeed, the human fuselage from the
PNM government's public policy impotence, neglect and insensitivity
has been strewn all over TnT. For example, it can be detected
in the prolonged dry domestic taps in Belmont, Arima, Arouca,
D'Abadie, Valencia, Spring Village, Caroni, Las lomas, Penal,
Debe, Princes Town, Siparia, Moruga, La Brea, Morne Diablo,
Fyzabad, La Romaine and Rio Claro- Mayaro. In
addition, law-abiding, tax-paying residents of Central and
Trinidad's north coast are not only "sick and tired"
of begging this people unfriendly PNM government to clear
drains so as to permit the free flow of water but they are
also "sick and tired" of beseeching this government
to repair "deplorable conditions of roadways in their
area."
In the medical-care field, the chair
person of the Commission of Inquiry into Public Health Care,
Gladys Gaffoor, puts it best this way: "Poor patient
care is the major source of complaints about the country's
health care sector." In
his own words, Health Minister John Rahael agrees one hundred
per cent: "Too many public sector health care professionals
in TnT have no compassion for the patients in their care."
Diane Seukeran, Minister in
the Ministry of Trade, has also publicly criticized and
chastised the health care policy of the PNM government.
After recounting that the government has been in power for
the past three and a half years and, in spite of budgeting
millions of dollars for several projects to improve health
care, Minister Seukeran had to conclude that "the work
has not been done."
The PNM government's people unfriendly,
MIA-public policy in-action has been exposed to the fullest
extent in the wake of recent million-dollar fires in Port-of-Spain
and San Fernando. In the Port-of-Spain fire, "water
problems again plagued fire officers" while in San
Fernando, "inadequately equipped fire appliances, lack
of water supply and a non-functioning hose-laying lorry
that could have pulled water from the sea were all blamed
for the buildings being razed." The fact of the matter
is that this water supply cum antiquated appliances problem
still remains and persists in the fire services department.
How many more businesses owned by law-abiding, tax paying
Trinbagonians must go up in smoke, PNM government?The fact
of the matter is that in the abundance of "materialistic
progress" and petrodollars in TnT, "12.4 per cent
of the population exists on US$1 (TT$6.30) per day and a
further 39 per cent of the population live on less than
US$2 (TT$12.60) per day."
These Trinbagonians are the real
public policy boboolee under the PNM. PNM is a people unfriendly
government, by design not by accident. "Lack of caring"
for the "least of these" in our society is the
entrenched trademark of this uncaring, "unkind"
PNM government. Instead of caring and maximizing the basic
human needs (BHN) of the people, the PNM government decided
in its ultimate wisdom to build a TT$850m stadium in Tarouba.
And this public policy decision was taken despite the fact
that the brutal, harsh reality of all the afore-mentioned
human misery continues unabated compounded by the appalling
inhumane condition of police stations, magistrates' courts
and schools. This people unfriendly public policy decision
is just a simple case of putting "legacies" before
"people." The fact
of the matter is that legitimate, people-oriented public
policy decisions dictate that the permanent, macro interests
of the "people" must supervene any scintilla of
transitory, micro personal "legacies."
One inhumane and destructive addendum
to the afore-mentioned list of human misery is that the
legal/responsible profession of fishing and the livelihood
of fishermen and their families have been placed on the
PNM government's public policy extinction hit list. Indeed,
the record clearly reveals that this PNM government is not
only people unfriendly but also most vicious, antagonistic
and vindictive towards the labour movement and its members/workers.
This government treats this sector with utter contempt,
disdain and uncanny belligerence. It
is quite obvious to all and sundry that the Manning-PNM
government has declared an all-out jihad against the labour
movement in TnT. The non-implementation of the Occupational
Safety and Health Act (OSHA) is prima facie evidence of
such anti-people policy credentials.
In the midst of all this public policy
human tsunami, the unbelievable and unconscionable response
from this country's people unfriendly ruling PNM government
is that it is "armed and well prepared" to contest
the next general elections. Political survival and victory
are its only paranoid obsessions and focus 24-7-365. Ergo,
the PNM government is virtually nonchalant about the people's
safety and protection from uncontrollable and ever escalating
crime, kidnappings and mayhem. It is this wicked, anti-people
and non-caring altruistic public policy posture that forced
and compelled Minister of Housing, Dr. Keith Rowley, to
corroborate his ministerial colleagues' (Rahael and Seukeran)
on-target criticism and chastisement of the PNM government's
"performance" thus: "We're spending more
and more. (while the public is) getting less and less ('of
the value for the amount of money being spent') in virtually
every area" of the PNM government's people unfriendly
public policy decision-making process.
The politics of fear suggests that
Trinbagonians have been "bamboozled, hoodwinked and
took' by the PNM government. The politics of fear has resulted
in congosa, pappyshow and mammaguy people unfriendly public
policy decisions by the PNM government. The fact of the
matter is that under the PNM government, TnT is not a "failed
state"; it is a non-state in people terms. The State
has abdicated one of the basic functions of any democratic
government, i.e. to protect the interests of the people
- the multifaceted interests of the people. Moreover,
parochial politics in TnT indicates that PNM is the problem;
UNC is not the solution - "same khaki pants."
At present, TnT is wrapped
up in the swaddling clothes of a 15th century slave-plantation
society superficially functioning in the era of 21st century
putative independence. This is de jure Vision 00/00.
The inevitable conclusion that must
drawn is that in the arena of public policy decision-making
process and delivery, the PNM government has exemplified
no "compassion for the poor, the afflicted and downtrodden."
In general, TnT society is "living in jail" while
40 per cent is "living in hell." When the next
general elections come around, the majority conscious electorate
must indict the PNM government for unadulterated public
policy malfeasance and ministerial recidivism. "The
more things change, the more they remain the same."
The fact of the matter is that Laventille was a ghetto in
1956; it is still a ghetto in 2006 - thus celebrating fifty
long years of PNM's inhumanity.
In the final analysis, the politics
of fear may lend real or imagined fulcrum to the credo:
"Magnum Es PNM." Or it maybe the stark reality
that "there is no question that Dr. Williams would
have been ashamed of the PNM today, had he still been alive."
Nevertheless, the political
directorate of the people unfriendly PNM government needs
to be cognizant of the admonition of the legendary Afrikan-American
anti-slavery revolutionary Frederick Douglass: "The
limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those
whom they oppress." According
to Bob Marley: "You can fool some people some time
but you can't fool all the people all the time." This
is not political ex tempo. The PNM is not invincible. Dr.
Kwame Nantambu is a part-time lecturer at Cipriani College
of Labour and Co-operative Studies and University of the
West Indies.
From Trinicenter.com, January 4, 2006
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Africa:
Occultism in African Governance
For several centuries, African leaders
have always had recourse to occult manipulations by which
they blindfolded their followers. For instance, that the
UK-detained Governor of Bayelsa in the Niger Delta finally
returned to Nigeria is no longer news, but what will remain
a wonder in the annals of political history and world judicial
records is the manner and ease of his escape, disguised
as a woman with Israeli passport. Considering how he beat
the U K security apparatus and got to his village before
daylight, an American observer described it as simply 'magical'.
Yes to magic. This feat was not only
magical in the grammatical sense, but vitally so in both
literal and practical terms. A 'knowledgeable' African woman
aptly noted on the morning of the man's return that the
very dresses the escaping man wore must have been 'dressed'
the way occult candles are oiled before Wicca rites. Well,
this may only 'seem' magical to Europe and America, but
virtually every African knows that with black and African
arts, appearances and disappearances are possible. By the
way, who doesn't know that African political leaders immerse
themselves in such voodoo that even when they are oppressing
their subjects, those pitiable folks will still remain their
stoutest defenders? Diepreye's escape makes it doubtless
that you need more than wits, money, smartness and the right
connections to rule in the jungle.
Occult involvement and spiritism
are vital tools in the kitty of most black African leaders,
be they political, traditional or (sad to say) religious.
I used to doubt this till I encountered two highly respected
senior citizens, one in the Yoruba west, and the other a
full-blooded Ngwa patriot from Aba, in the eastern part
of the country. A 'business rival' of the Yoruba metaphysician/parapsychologist
told me that this fellow was as cruel and fetish as himself
save for the latter's learned posturing which had enabled
him to warm his way into the political leadership of Nigeria.
Up there, he screens political appointments, business meetings,
international visitors, and even dictates to their Excellencies
which days are 'lucky days', and which state functions to
cancel. Does this remind you of things like astrology, kabala,
ouija boards, tarot cards and water-witching?
Well, in Africa, till date, these
arts have not developed to where mere incantations to some
disembodied spirit or issuing of command to some invisible
Bromius can facilitate the accomplishment of any feat. No,
no, no. Instead, raw rituals, human sacrifices, and immolation
are the only route still used to attain such magical flights
like Diepreye's, endless court adjournments like Chief Nwude's
whose fraudulent closure of a South American bank and investment
of the hundreds of millions of dollars in Union Bank remained
in court for an unduly long time (sometimes, the trial judge
would be so ill he could not make it to court, or the prosecution
witness withdrew from the case, or the defendant's lead
counsel was absent, simply absent, and there was no sanctions,
or just something!); political victories like that of the
Ubas and Ngiges of Anambra, which ultimately require continuous
carnage, actual sacrifice of human lives through social
unrest; and the affliction of paralysis a nd cardio-vascular
diseases on perceived enemies without any physical contact
with the unlucky targets of such injuries.
This explains the bizarre scenario
of headless corpses often seen littering the streets of
major African cities, some of them having their vital organs
cut off by their ritualistic murderers. Powers gained from
these are used to cling to political office. The most astounding
of this phenomenon is that the bewitched citizens are esoterically
given the further burden of applauding and defending the
oppressive leader that is taking them for a ride, just like
Ikemefuna in Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart, was
made to carry the clay pot containing the fetish accompaniments
down the narrow path where he was sacrificed by the very
man he called father.
There is this story of a man that
assumed office in a government agency in one of the western
states of Nigeria, and froze on the seat in his very first
day on duty. When his retired predecessor was contacted,
he simply laughed it away, saying the new man was "only
a woman", and not 'strong' enough to succeed him; that
himself was only testing some of his powers. That was the
end of the matter. The law does not recognize magic and
witchcraft, but we all do. Then, there was also this near
decimation of Federal forces who went to quell a minor uprising
in the Niger Delta some years ago. It just couldn't be verified
or conclusively investigated how pythons, mutant lions and
other monstrous beasts appeared in the mangrove swamps of
the Niger Delta to eat up armed men without the sound of
a gun-shot, without the privilege of a gallant fight befitting
trained soldiers.
In Nigeria of today, there are two
enigmatic men who don't make it a secret that they respect
and employ esoteric assistance for their welfare and progress.
One is the Commonwealth heavy-weight boxing champion, Bash
Ali. Mr Ali does not hesitate to pay tribute to what he
cheerfully refers to as "Bendel Insurance", that
is, the Benin-engendered occult powers with which any one
in the world could be knocked out in a boxing or wrestling
match with minimal effort from the possessor and server
of the fetish. Even in television talk-shows, Bash Ali will
only cap up all his boasts with obeisance to this black
African art.
In the case of Diepreye's, one of
his closest advisers (if not ultimate instructor and coach)
is his fellow Ijaw indigene, simply referred to as Tuesday,
a spiritualist. For avoidance of doubt, Ijaw take deep solace
in the shelter of their local gurus rather than any outside
philosophers. In 1991, my colleagues and I encountered a
young soothsayer possibly in his mid-thirties who had been
hired, housed and apportioned a place for a shrine behind
the Asaigbene village on the banks of Taylor Creek, Nun
river. Our investigations revealed that he came from a nearby
community but had proven his mettle when it came to using
voodoo to protect this snake-infested community. Another
village covered by our voyage then was Kalama, where the
juju priest uses a peeled coconut tied at the entrance of
the narrow track leading to the village as closed-circuit
television. He sees you, your dressing, and any companions,
and confirms your name and mission before you arrive this
tiny river-side settlement. Like Kalama, Kaiama, Omekwe-ama,
Opruma and Opokuma, Diepreye's native Amassoma is no less
'powerful' when it comes to using the esoteric arts to protect
and consolidate the conquests of their natives. (The means
or victims of such 'conquests' matter very little in the
liturgy of such societies).
Thus, Diepreye's Tuesday had since
told the embattled Governor and his aides not to worry,
that their Governor-General will soon return to Bayelsa
to the astonishment and shame of his local 'persecutors'
and meddlesome colonial masters. Of course, Mr. Tuesday
gets more attention from the governor than any legal counsel
or political advisers can ever dream of. In the small hours
of the morning that Diepreye sneaked into Bayelsa, Tuesday
was there beaming with smiles, sure to continue in the services
of His Excellency with far better conditions of service
than those impatient legislators that were already working
to remove the Governor-General. Talk about conditions of
service for occult -advisers of African leaders, and you
remember the late Idi Amin Dada of Uganda whose spiritualist
had a private helicopter and more pay than the Vice-President
of their impoverished country.
Sickening as this is, it remains
the most intractable problem of the Third World. The problem
of inseparability of occult practice with leadership in
Africa craves a study. Unfortunately, neither do our laws
provide for such beliefs, nor does the average academic
grant consider such outlandish subjects as Esoterism. Shouldn't
we study esoterism to understand Africa's leadership problems?
Considering the toll unregulated
practice of esoteric arts takes on human lives, and the
sheer fact that you just can't regulate what you're not
conversant with, an officially approved and sponsored course
of study on the phenomenon will be highly beneficial. While
not standing brief for those who deem it a necessary tool
in governance, or my one-time Professor of Art, a Benin
prince, who informed us in the late '80s he was going to
get his 7th Doctorate Degree in Witchcraft from a South
American University, I think an in-depth study of these
arts, and their interface with governance can tame the wild
and invisible forces that have turned African governments
into a medley of trickery and blood sacrifices. It will
make these disembodied spirits, or blind elements, obey
ordinary orders, follow simple instructions as we see in
simple magic, and heed to decrees and commands issued them
by humans rather than demanding blood sacrifices and the
organs of the ritually murdered. Where as the former engenders
useful inventions in benignant climates, the latter spawns
the ignoble but fast-growing industry of ritual killing
now pervasive in Africa.
For instance, in China, in combination
with certain soil types, these arts have been used to produce
what I bought in the course of this research, called Miracle
Chalk. It is a poison that tears down the nervous system
of living things within a couple of minutes, as the target
passes parallel lines drawn with the chalk. It is said to
be "low" poisonous, whatever that means! But
now, this is harnessed for good ends, as an insecticide,
and not for homicide!
In the course of this research, I
travelled to the Niger Delta region afresh, and felt the
pulse of those who see these arts as an inheritance and
their only succor in the face of the challenges posed by
insensitive governments and household wickedness. At Aba,
some of my respondents insisted that powers gained by esoterism
are disarmed by lakes, rivers and oceans, and become ineffectual
in transit across such terrains. In Asaba, adherents and
inheritors of this phenomenon still hang simple calabashes
tied with tender palm fronds at the entrance of their homes
as booby-trap ( and how it works against their enemies!);
and in the villages of Ugwunagbo, people still plant local
species and variants of Aloe Vera as land-mines for any
intruders to their premises armed with hurtful intentions.
And does it work!
Don't let me fool you into believing
that magic works alone or can ever be effectual without
a combination of other sleight of hand and smart human moves.
Let me also not hoodwink you into believing that magic (or
the esoteric arts, to sound beautiful), can ever be successfully
employed for positive ends without a counter-balancing (or
commensurate payment in whatever currency demanded by the
invisible facilitating agencies). In the course of time,
the payment may be in form of an endless civil unrest, a
war of attrition, the kind that has seized West Africa by
the throat since the early 60s; when it seems to be abating
in one country, it is only flowing into yet another like
an evil tide. That is on the national/international level.
What about the individual level? Two knowledgeable respondents
I encountered in the Niger Delta area in the course of this
research explained that any individual that employs the
services of disembodied elementals pays via an annual ritual
carnag e like a ghastly road accident or air crash, or a
quarterly/monthly donation of a Living Thing.
The writer is an alumnus of the Universities
of Benin and Lagos, and Dean, Ministry Training Center,
Lagos, Nigeria. http//www.ministrytrainingcenter.net
From allAfrica.com, January 3, 2006
Good Governance Minister Attacks
Graft in Burundi
Four pubic finance ministry personnel
in Burundi have voluntarily confessed stealing government
funds, according to Joseph Ntakarutimana, minister of good
governance and public general inspectorate. The new government
had warned corrupt officials in an ultimatum to agree on
practical repayment terms with the authorities of the good
governance ministry by 31 December 2005. But just two accountants
and two cashiers confessed to Minister Ntakarutimana at
the end of the three-month ultimatum. They admitted stealing
about 3 million Burundian francs (roughly $3,000), the minister
said.
A forced recovery plan is under consideration
to deal with officials who will voluntarily report their
shady financial dealings to the ministry, while the police
will hunt and bring to court those whom Ntakarutimana calls
the "big fishes" who are still hiding. The
General Financial Inspectorate has already completed 100
corruption, embezzlement and misappropriation files on public
officials in order to pursue them. The
Corruption and Economic and Financial Malpractice Watchdog
(OLUCOM, independent) says that more than 40 billion Burundian
francs (about $40 million) went missing from public coffers
during the past decade when civil war and the decline of
public authority prevailed.
From AngolaPress, January 5, 2006
Africa Good Governance Program
on the Radio Waves
The World Bank Institute (WBI) has
launched an innovative program, "Africa Good Governance
Program on the Radio Waves," to support local government
capacity building and community empowerment via radio. The
program includes radio broadcasts in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania,
Uganda, and Zambia. By using innovative digital radio technology,
the program is able to reach out to remote rural areas and
help foster social inclusion and decentralization in the
participating countries.
The program includes four different
components. Three of these: Governing Municipalities without
Corruption, Civic Participation, and Municipal Finance/Participatory
Budgeting, are structured as formal capacity-building initiatives.
The fourth component, Africa Municipal News Magazine, uses
a magazine format and serves as an umbrella program to disseminate
information, share experiences, and provide news to municipal
stakeholders in the region. The
three capacity-building initiatives use an interactive methodology
that promotes active participation in the learning program.
"We need to build on Africa's tradition of oral knowledge
exchange using technology, which helps our voices and ideas
be heard." says Frannie Leautier, Vice President of the
World Bank Institute.
The goal of the learning programs
is the elaboration of action plans by the participants (mayors,
local public officials, members of local communities and
representatives of civil society) that can be incorporated
into ongoing reform work and have the potential to be replicated
in other municipalities and countries. "The Bank is supporting
African countries in strengthening governance and in developing
more effective states. In this context, the role of local
governments and the involvement of civil society in policy
development and implementation are critical to reduce poverty
and to deliver adequate services to the population." says
Guenter Heidenhof, Lead Public Sector Specialist at the
World Bank.
As part of this program, WBI has
joined forces with the Municipal Development Partnership
for Eastern and Southern Africa (MDP-ESA), the national
associations of local governments, and with First Voice
International. The first component of the program - Governing
Municipalities without Corruption - started on July 14,
2005. The other components will start in early 2006, and
run until June 2006. The program is currently broadcast
in English, and there are plans to include local languages,
French and Portuguese.
From The World Bank, January 6, 2005
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View - The Year of Drift - Dr.
Hasan-Askari Rizvi
Afghanistan, Great Britain and the
United Nations will host a conference to renew the foreign
community's commitment to peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan
as specified in the Bonn Accord. Afghan President Hamid
Karzai will present a proposed 5-year development plan to
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan and representatives of donor countries. The plan
addresses security, governance and development challenges,
and is expected to include Afghanistan's National Drug Control
Strategy. The Bonn accord was
adopted after the Taliban government was ousted in 2001.
It outlined the war-torn country's first steps towards democracy,
including the adoption of a new constitution and presidential
and legislative elections that were carried out with extensive
international help.
While the donors praise Afghanistan
for its achievements, they complain about the resurgent
opium production in the country. Their quid pro quo for
opening the purse wider for Afghanistan could be a stronger
commitment from the Afghan president to clamp down on poppy
production. The European Union wants to see more progress
on security sector reform, improvements in the rule of law
and the consolidation of a fair and impartial administration
of justice. The Europeans regard the country's trade in
drugs as the biggest challenge to its long-term security,
development and governance. should be part of the Karzai
presentation. On Sep 13 the
UN Security Council renewed the mandate of the International
Security and Assistance Force in Afghanistan. She welcomed
the adoption of Security Council resolution 1623 (2005)
on 13 September, which renewed the mandate of the ISAF in
Afghanistan.
From Ranil Wijayapala in Dahaka, January
13, 2006
India Open to Discuss
the Issue within Constitutional Framework
India said it was open
to any fresh idea of self-governance in Jammu and Kashmir
brought to its notice through back-channel diplomacy but
would discuss it only within the framework of its constitution.
On Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's pronouncements
on "self rule" and "demilitarisation" a senior Indian official
here said there was no change in New Delhi's position as
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had made it clear that there
was already a popularly elected government in Jammu and
Kashmir. About the question
of autonomy, the official, who requested not to be named,
said India had made it clear that it was prepared to discuss
the issue within the framework of the constitution. "The
question of autonomy is between the central and the state
governments," he added.
He stated that India had a very clear
position and a road map of engagement on Jammu and Kashmir.
"There was no need to deflect from that path," the official
said. He alleged that there was no end to the cross border
infiltration and terrorism. "The phenomenon of cross-border
terror hangs like a big question mark on the peace process."
He, however, said there was no evidence yet on the involvement
of Pakistani groups in Wednesday's attack on scientists
in Bangalore in which one person was killed. "If it's not
stopped, the public sentiment in favour of peace will evaporate,"
he said alluding to the Diwali-eve multiple terror strikes
that rocked New Delhi two months ago. "We hope that there
will be a determined effort on the part of Pakistan to dismantle
infrastructure of terrorism," he added. Hoping that 2006
would bring improvement in bilateral relations, the official
regretted that there was no "spectacular progress" in the
relations although during the past two years, there had
been significant improvement.
From DailyTimes, January 01, 2006
Afghanistan Presents
5-year Development Plan at London Conference
Afghanistan, Great Britain and the
United Nations will host a conference to renew the foreign
community's commitment to peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan
as specified in the Bonn Accord. Afghan President Hamid
Karzai will present a proposed 5-year development plan to
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan and representatives of donor countries. The plan
addresses security, governance and development challenges,
and is expected to include Afghanistan's National Drug Control
Strategy. The Bonn accord was
adopted after the Taliban government was ousted in 2001.
It outlined the war-torn country's first steps towards democracy,
including the adoption of a new constitution and presidential
and legislative elections that were carried out with extensive
international help.
While the donors praise Afghanistan
for its achievements, they complain about the resurgent
opium production in the country. Their quid pro quo for
opening the purse wider for Afghanistan could be a stronger
commitment from the Afghan president to clamp down on poppy
production. The European Union wants to see more progress
on security sector reform, improvements in the rule of law
and the consolidation of a fair and impartial administration
of justice. The Europeans regard the country's trade in
drugs as the biggest challenge to its long-term security,
development and governance. should be part of the Karzai
presentation. On Sep 13 the
UN Security Council renewed the mandate of the International
Security and Assistance Force in Afghanistan. She welcomed
the adoption of Security Council resolution 1623 (2005)
on 13 September, which renewed the mandate of the ISAF in
Afghanistan.
From Pak Tribune, January 02, 2006
Commentary:
For Public Welfare and Good Governance
As the Filipino people continuously
banking on a strong FVR-GMA alliance founded on a platform
of social reform, economic growth and political change.
The government is confident that whatever consensus arose
from the meeting will be for the good of the country. The
Palace welcomes the unifying role of FVR in support of the
administration programs for the common good and the welfare
of the Filipino people. FVR has always been considered a
staunch ally of the administration whose efforts at political
consolidation and economic diplomacy fall squarely in line
with the vision and goals of the Arroyo administration.
The public still believe that the
meeting was in pursuit of greater political unity for broader
pro-poor programs, a strong economy and political change.
Meanwhile, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said his office
is consistently calling on Congress to expedite the passage
of the 2006 national budget, for what is at stake here is
the President's pro-poor agenda and our full economic take
off. Instead of dignifying
unfounded allegations over the budget that could only further
delay its approval, the Filipino people is urging our lawmakers
to concentrate on their legislative work in the interest
of public welfare and good governance.
From PIA Information Service, January
04, 2006
Rules Published
on Options for Senior Managerial Officer
The China Securities Regulatory Commission
Wednesday made public its provisional rules on options for
senior managerial officers in a move to improve corporate
governance and promote sustainable development. Under
the rules, the total number of options to managerial personnel
should not exceed 10 percent of the overall amount of the
stocks of the listed firm involved, and listed firms should
introduce share reforms before they are eligible for option
schemes. China's ongoing share
reforms aim to allow about two thirds of the shares of the
listed firms to be floated through a package of compensation
for minority shareholders.
Domestically listed Chinese firms
had to promise two thirds of their shares will not be floated
for an unspecified period of time when the country's stock
markets were launched 15 years ago, which the commission
said has proved to be a bad policy that should be done away
with. The commission said the
rules were formulated as part of the efforts to implement
a package of decisions by the Chinese government for reform
and opening-up of the country's capital market and its recent
decision to improve corporate governance. The
Chinese version of the rules, which contain seven chapters
and 53 articles, are available on the official website of
the commission.
From China.View, January 04, 2006
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Strategy & Management: Corporate
Governance - Convergence on Principles, Not Rules
Investors and corporate governance
activists gathered recently in London to debate the pressing
need both for a pan-European corporate governance approach
and 'better regulation'. As part of the UK's presidency
of the European Union, the government hosted a number of
business debates towards the end of 2005. Better
regulation, social dialogue, stakeholder engagement and
corporate governance were all on the agenda for the UK presidency.
Called a lame duck by many it culminated in Tony Blair's
controversial compromise deal on the EU budget during December.
In mid-November hundreds of activist
investors, corporate governance campaigners, representatives
of think tanks and civil servants met at a Department of
Trade and Industry conference in London. The aim was to
discuss how, rather than whether, the EU and in particular
the European Commission should proceed on encouraging principles
and standards and delivering rules and directives on corporate
governance.
The commission is developing what
it calls a two-stage "action plan" on EU company law, following
a number of public meetings and consultations. The first
stage was launched after the corporate scandals at the turn
of the millennium and was designed to restore confidence
in the financial markets by enhancing transparency. At the
DTI conference, the EU's commissioner for internal market
and services, Charlie McCreevy, said the commission was
approaching the end of the first phase of the action plan.
Soon, he said, stakeholders across
the EU would be able to "get a clearer picture of a company's
corporate governance practices", thanks to the EU's moves
to encourage transparency in companies. The European Commission
is to modify accounting directives, which will require companies
to disclose both whether they follow a corporate governance
code and where they depart from it. McCreevy says the EU
is trying "to get the plumbing right" so cross-border shareholder
voting can flow. He said he intended to submit a draft directive
to the commission that would include these changes by the
end of 2005. After the corporate
scandals of the early 2000s, of which the meltdown of Italy's
Parmalat in 2003 was one of the most recent, the commission
issued a communication that improved auditing frameworks,
clarified board responsibilities and encouraged director
pay transparency and board director independence.
That Lisbon agenda... Now, says McCreevy,
the commission wants to focus on encouraging two things.
First, the economic competitiveness of EU companies, and,
second, better regulation of the EU's companies, which have
a total of more than 450 million customers. According to
the World Bank, only two EU member states feature in the
top ten list of the world's countries ranked on ease of
setting up and winding up companies. This, says McCreevy,
"is simply not good enough". "If we have
a competitive internal market, our firms will have better
chances of competing successfully abroad. Globalisation
might then be perceived not as a threat but as an opportunity,"
he told the DTI governance conference in London.
On the point of better regulation
of EU firms, the EU is focusing first on engaging with stakeholders
on what better regulation means to them, but it also has
a firm focus on cutting red tape and encouraging flexibility.
This is something that is seriously holding back the Eurozone
on competitiveness with Asia and the US, according to many
commentators. Germany and, in particular, France, are held
as the worst examples of countries held back by heavy regulation.
Principally, the EU wants to move to a regulatory system
for companies where legislation is the very last answer
to a collectively identified problem. Legislation that curtails
business flexibility will now be subjected to a "comprehensive
impact assessment" before being taken any further, says
the European Commission.
Better regulation has been a theme
of the UK's EU presidency and something the UK government
is seen as trying to push hard in Europe. Groups such as
the Confederation of British Industry are concerned about
the UK's competitiveness and have lobbied the government
to push for the simplification of European rules. Delegates
from the UK and across the EU at the DTI conference strongly
expressed their support for such moves. However, trade unions
and non-governmental organisations were not well represented
and many have markedly different views on regulation, calling
frequently for more, rather than less. This is particularly
true on environmental issues, such as the impact of chemicals
on human health.
An agreement to assess and authorise
chemicals, known as Reach, has been passed in the European
Parliament. It has been the subject of much controversy.
Business says it will place huge costs on the European chemicals
industry but excludes their foreign competitors, while NGOs
such as Greenpeace say the bill is essential to safeguard
human health. The result of
the negotiations will be a test case for the EU's new attitude
to business competitiveness, and may be an indication of
whether the commitment to less red tape on business really
goes all the way across the EU or is over-hyped when commissioners
visit the UK and make speeches.
Five principles for success? David
Pitt-Watson, chief executive of Hermes Focus Asset Management,
an activist investor whose Focus funds regularly outperform
the FTSE All Share index, said at November's conference
that the European Union needed to follow five principles
for corporate governance success. He
said it needed: accountable companies, responsible owners,
relevant information, independent monitors and open access
to markets. But, he said, we cannot legislate for this from
Brussels, or even possibly from a national government perspective.
"We need soft laws, we need ethics", he claimed.He
told the conference that over the past 15 years of UK corporate
governance, regulations have responded to change in company
practice, not the other way around, and that Europe cannot
have "a single regime" for corporate governance, since it
is a global issue. Some 30%-40% of EU company shares are
owned by non-EU investors, many in the US.
Pitt-Watson says that if Europe does
not "take a stand" on corporate governance principles it
may be overrun by the US corporate governance model, "which
is only about the integrity of capital markets, not about
accountability and responsibility". Alan Johnson, the UK's
Trade and Industry Secretary, told the conference that Britain
and the EU must sell business ideas abroad, talking of an
opportunity to tap markets in a world of changing demographics.
He used salient predictions
to make his point. Goldman Sachs predicts China's economy
will outstrip America's by 2041, while Yemen could outstrip
Germany in terms of population within 50 years. He said
that "the businesses that think global are the businesses
that will succeed".
Foreign takeovers of UK companies
are a sign of faith in the UK's economy, Johnson contended,
saying that the government's company law reform bill would
save 250 million Pounds a year for UK business. The proposed
changes to UK company law will abolish the need for company
secretaries, clarify directors' duties, and make it easier
for shareholders to hold directors to account. Investors
can make demands for corporate information on company financial
auditors, and the government is set to create a new crime
of "recklessly" submitting false information in
company accounts.
NGOs such as Friends of the Earth
are unimpressed at such moves. In late November at the House
of Lords, Friends of the Earth's director for England, Wales
and Northern Ireland, Tony Juniper, said the current company
law review would make companies less, rather than more,
accountable to wider stakeholders on important issues. Friends
of the Earth is proposing its own bill, which seeks to impose
on company directors a duty of care over the environment.
But Johnson clearly disagrees. "Legislation should always
be a last resort and never our first reflex," he concluded
at the London governance conference. The
tone appears to have been set, and corporate governance
principles, rather than rules, seem like the way forward
for the European Commission in 2006.
From the Ethical Corporation, January
04, 2006
Opening Pandora's Box: Governance
for Genetically Modified Forests
Planting genetically modified (GM)
or transgenic forest trees for wood production is now feasible
on a commercial scale worldwide. What are the benefits?
What are the risks? This became an open question two years
ago on December 10, 2003, when the United Nations declared
that every sovereign nation should decide on its own whether
or not to use genetically modified forests for carbon sequestration.
Although feasible on a commercial
scale, we are still in the early stages of GM technology
for forest trees. Some of the major determinants shaping
risks of commercial-scale use include type(s) of inserted
DNA construct or transgene, but also 1) reproductive biology
of the forest species, and 2) the forest production or silvicultural
systems. To date, GM forest trees are being tested in small
trials worldwide. Only China is planting GM forest trees
on a commercial scale.
Central to the issue of GM forest
trees is the question of biosafety. Will effective biosafety
protocols eventually become available, or should we accept
that escape of GM forest trees is inevitable and study ecological
consequences instead? Here I present the argument for the
latter and propose a public-private partnership for this
purpose, a technology trust.
Commercial GM Forests: Predicting
the Long-term Consequences
Each nation sanctioning genetically
engineering forest trees must decide 1) what biosafety protocols
should be considered, if any, and 2) weigh the consequences
in the event that gene flow from GM forest plantations to
the surrounding forest is not deterred. Two opposing schools
of thought are emerging in response to these two queries.
The first is the Biosafety Premise, which ascertains that
effective biosafety protocols will eventually be possible
for GM forest trees. The opposing view, the Ecological Premise,
is that transgene escape into the indigenous forest is inevitable,
so studying ecological consequences deserves a higher research
priority than continuing research leading to better biosafety
protocols. Each nation must also consider the lengthy timeframe
inherent to forest policy. To quote poet Wendell Berry:
"Invest in the millennium. Plant a sequoia." Here
we are reminded that the impact of GM commercialization,
whether harmful or not, will outlast a human life span and
certainly extend well beyond the purview of regulatory oversight.
Biosafety Premise: Biosafety measures
can prevent transgene escape from GM forest trees
In the U.S. and Canada, regulatory
agencies now recognize that one set of regulations do not
fit all plants. GM forest trees are only one of many examples
that require customized guidelines. Consider the case of
biocontainment zones commonly used for GM crop plants. The
width of the biocontainment zone around the transgenic planting
is usually determined by gene flow data collected experimentally,
but the distance for wind-pollinated conifers occurs on
the scale of kilometers that is too vast to be deterred
by a biocontainment zone around the GM planting. Using detailed
model simulations of pollen and seed trajectories in a turbulent
atmosphere shows that escape of seeds or pollen beyond a
1-kilometer periphery of the transgenic planting has a 100%
certainty. Biosafety for GM conifers will not parallel protocols
used for GM agricultural plants.
At the heart of the biosafety issue
for any GM forest species is the question of how to manage
for long-distance dispersal (LDD). Preliminary model simulations
show that, although local neighborhood diffusion (LND) accounts
for roughly 99% of the seeds and pollen, the dispersal process
of real interest is LDD, which accounts for dispersal of
the remaining 1%. With long-distance dispersal, seeds and
pollen are vertically uplifted above the canopy by updrafting
air currents, where they are rapidly moved on the order
of kilometers from the source. Transgene escapes via LDD
pose the greatest risk of remote GM colonization for forest
trees.
Models predicting LDD distances for
Pinus taeda not only predict dispersal distances but also
point to some testable hypotheses germane to developing
biosafety protocols. Proponents argue that this type of
research is too preliminary to be conclusive. Consider the
following four caveats as indications of how much more research
still remains to be done on GM forest biosafety.
1) Published LDD predictions and
associated diffusion rates for GM colonies model dispersal
from the GM source into a continuous forest canopy composed
of the same species at the same age and height. This means
that LDD predictions cannot be extrapolated accurately to
the case where the GM planting is surrounded by a taller
forest canopy at its periphery. Using old-growth forests
as a biocontainment zone around a commercial transgenic
plantation is an interesting but untested hypothesis for
reducing transgene escapes. This complex scenario could
be modeled using mechanistic approaches but reducing, not
deterring, gene flow from GM trees is the likely outcome.
2) A lower volume of dispersed seeds
and pollen corresponds to a drop in the absolute number
of LDD escapes. If number of LDD escapes is the risk criterion,
one could hypothesize that even leaky reproductive sterility
methods can provide an acceptable biosafety protocol. Absolute
suppression of reproduction may not be needed. If so, how
low must diaspore volume drop before LDD escapes fall below
an acceptable level? How does one determine the acceptable
level? The leaky mitigation hypothesis can also be addressed
using mechanistic models coupled with gene flow models.
Here, too, the argument is for reduced gene flow, not an
absolute deterrent.
3) LDD predictions are so specific
to the mating system particulars of each forest tree species
that this question must be considered on a case-by-case
basis. To date, dispersal distance and colonization predicted
for GM seedlings are specific to the mating system of one
forest tree species, Pinus taeda.
But all forest trees are not wind-pollinated;
some plantation species are insect-pollinated or even self-pollinated.
Even among wind-pollinated pines, some require fire for
seed dispersal. Age of reproductive onset varies widely
among commodity forest species, as does the volume of seed
and pollen dispersed each year. Many forest tree species
produce a high number of empty seeds due to physiology or
pest predation.
In any event, predictions of LDD
numbers are sensitive to these input variables from each
species' mating system, so generalizations from one commodity
species may not apply to each species in question. Gene
flow modeling is needed over a wider range of species.
4) Dispersal is only the first part
of the gene flow equation. We still do not know much about
actual gene flow via LDD at this time for any forest tree
species. LND dispersal distance has a close corollary to
average gene flow distances reported using organellar markers,
so LDD, as a rare event, goes undetected in most experimental
gene flow studies.
Escaped LDD pollen can travel long
distances for many hours or even days, so it is subjected
to harsh conditions during flight. What is the viability
for LDD pollen? Is it capable of germination or even fertilization?
Experimental data on viability along these intermediate
steps are needed before dispersal distances can be translated
into actual gene flow estimates.
Ecological Premise: Emphasis should
be on ecological consequences, not deterring GM escape -
Proponents here argue that gene flow from GM plants is inevitable
so research funding should be directed away from developing
sophisticated methods of mitigating transgene dispersal
and re-allocated to the study of ecological consequences
of transgene colonization. Similarly,
Canadian regulatory agencies also view transgene escape
in forest trees as inevitable, and once the escape of transgenes
has occurred into feral forest tree populations, it cannot
be reversed. If biosafety protocols prove futile given the
scale of gene flow from certain GM forest commodity species
then only two choices remain: 1) abandon the GM technology
for forest trees; or 2) opt for deregulation of GM forest
trees.
Indeed, some nations may decide that
a moratorium on GM forest trees is the best fit. For others,
pressure to deregulate GM forest trees will come from the
market place if GM technology is viewed as a critical part
of the portfolio for preserving national competitiveness
in global markets. Plantations do provide a disproportionate
share of the world's wood relative to the land area they
occupy, so here the relevant ecological question becomes
whether transgenic forest plantations, justified as a means
of sparing timber harvests in more fragile forested ecosystems,
will do harm to the very resource they purport to protect.
Despite market forces, deregulation
must be balanced against the impact of transgene escapes
on small family forests that surround larger corporate forest
plantations. In the U.S., it seems doubtful that even the
most affluent of the family forest owners will be early
adopters of transgenic seedlings for their own forest regeneration,
but with deregulation these owners will have to contend
with the unknown consequences of transgene escapes coming
from adjoining plantations. Transgenic effects of GM forest
trees, once released, constitutes a Pandora's Box. Will
the effects be beneficial, benign, or harmful? This unanswered
question is troubling for those who seek deregulated use
of transgenic pine plantations and the question is deeply
disturbing to those who view the forest as symbolic of nature
itself.a Studying ecological consequences of deregulation
implies a short timeframe for detecting transgene effects,
whether good, neutral, or bad. By favoring short timeframes
for research, we must overlook evolutionary consequences
as a criterion for decision-making. Consider the following
example.
Pines, among the oldest seed plant
lineage on earth, have persisted for nearly 200 million
years. Few advocates of GM pine plantations in the 21st
century have considered this decision from the perspective
of evolution. Many pine species have an open-ended hybridization
system, so conditions can favor indefinite persistence of
transgenes in groups of neighboring or sympatric species,
also known as species complexes. Species
complexes with a reticulating, open-ended fate of hybrids,
known as the homogamic hybrid system, occurs in several
forest tree species.9 From this system, one can predict
the conditions that will lead to a persistent fate for any
transgene. A DNA construct or transgene escapes from a transgenic
pine plantation into sympatric populations of a closely
related species.
Interspecific hybrid adults are fertile
and readily cross not only with the original parent species
but are also capable of hybridizing with other related species.
The transgene can persist indefinitely under two conditions:
1) if the transgene confers a positive selective advantage;
or 2) if the transgene is selectively neutral within a large
random-mating population. In some cases, deregulation will
result in a sharp tradeoff between meeting global wood demand
while ignoring unknown ecological (and evolutionary) consequences.
A better alternative is proposed here: form a public-private
partnership or a technology trust for studying ecological
consequences of GM forest trees.
A Caveat to the Ecological Premise:
A Technology Trust
An alternative to deregulation is
to form a technology trust - a short-term regulatory solution
for collecting data on risks and benefits. The technology
trust, formed as a public-private research partnership has
three parts: 1) a subset of transgenic forest field tests
designated as long-term study sites for collecting relevant
data for sound benefits and risk analyses; 2) a technology
tax on transgenic forest field testing which carries a hold-harmless
provision to the payee or protection against future liability
claims; and 3) formalizing a federal gene conservation program
as a hedge against molecular domestication of forests.
Relevant data on benefits and risks
would be openly available and published in peer-reviewed
journals. The technology trust would thus provide a platform
for public dialogue about emerging technology. The proposed
technology trust could be designed and run with scientific
oversight from government, university, and private-sector
research organizations.
The main advantage of a technology
trust is that it provides experimental data. It protects
national forests against risks inherent to molecular domestication
on private lands. And it opens public dialogue on the risks
and benefits associated with for-profit research in long-lived
forests. The latter is important in the U.S. and other developed
nations where private investment is funding the creation
of novel GM trees at a rate that is outpacing biosafety
and scientific assessment of ecological impact. In the case
of the U.S., no platform for public dialogue has been formalized,
yet this nation is the world's most powerful advocate for
biotechnology advance.
In summary, using GM technology for
forest trees is raising controversy but this is the least
of genomics-based technology yet to come. Using a snippet
of DNA inserted into chromosomes of naturally-occurring
plants and animals is only the beginning, not the finish,
of the controversy. Compare this recombinant DNA technology
to the commercial potential of synthetic DNA genomes. With
new technology looming in the future, now is the time to
center dialogue on the real question behind the controversy
of GM forests, a question which has no parallel in medicine
or agriculture biotechnology: what are the limits to our
biotechnology governance in the natural world? Will we protect
fragile ecosystems at the interface with production forests?
At the very least, a technology trust is essential for shaping
the fate of the forest itself - and a necessary part of
the portfolio for any nation deciding to go forward with
the use of GM forests for carbon sequestration.
On November 10, 2005, the Global
Justice Ecology Project and the STOP GE Trees Campaign announced
the release of A Silent Forest: The Growing Threat, Genetically
Engineered Trees, a 45-minute documentary narrated by Dr.
David Suzuki, host of PBS The Nature of Things.
From checkbiotech.org, January 04, 2006
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IT Panel Holds Meet on -Governance
- Oman
The information technology committee
held its first meeting of the year yesterday under the chairmanship
of Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki, minister of national economy
and deputy chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy
Resources Council, who is also head of the committee. The
committee reviewed a number of topics in the agenda and
adopted an appropriate decision on a number of issues including
achieving basic infrastructure for e-governance and providing
unified e-government network linking all government departments
with modern IT technology. The committee also reviewed other
projects in the framework of national strategy for Oman
digital society and e-government. The committee discussed
all necessary steps to be taken in future in order to achieve
development of the country in IT fields.
From Times of Oman, January 2, 2006
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Strengthen Governance at All Levels:
DG, FAO
The Food and Agricultural Organisation
(FAO) believes that it is time to strengthen the governance
of the food and agriculture system at the global, country
and local levels. Besides, there is a need to scale up public
investment for agricultural and rural development in order
to achieve the millennium development goals (MDGs). While
the flagship Food Security Programme of 1994 is working
on food security programmes, interestingly, the assistance
has declined by 50% - from $514 billion to $2.2 billion.
Hence, lending, which is an important criteria, has to be
increased, according to FAO director general Dr Jacques
Diouf.
''Public spending on research has
fallen from 0.8% to 0.03%,'' Dr Diouf said. Much has to
be done to translate research into concrete action. In the
present scenario, only South America and the Caribbean are
able to meet the MDGs. However,
the FAO intends to increase support to the National Agricultural
Research Systems for achieving the MDGs with proven technologies
and research. Incidentally, there are around 850 million
undernourished people of which 61% are in the Asia-Pacific
countries.
From Financial Express, January 5, 2006
WSIS - U.N. to Hold Consultations
on New 'Net Governance Body'
The United Nations will launch the
first round of consultations next month on creating a new
Internet governance body, as agreed by delegates attending
the global 'Net summit in Tunis last year. The
U.N., which hosted the World Summit on the Information Society
(WSIS) in November, is welcoming all stakeholders to attend
the consultations, which will take place in Geneva on Feb.
16-17, according to a statement published Jan. 11 by Swiss
diplomat Markus Kummer, who had previously participated
in the WSIS Working Group on Internet Governance.
The consultations will focus on developing "a common
understanding among all stakeholders on the nature and character"
of the proposed Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and to prepare
for the first meeting of the new body, to take place in
Athens, Greece, before year-end, the statement said.
Internet governance was, arguably,
the most controversial issue at WSIS, threatening to undermine
the entire summit. To defuse the heated war for political
control of the Internet, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan
proposed a temporary ceasefire of sorts by offering to create
IGF. Government delegates in Tunis agreed to the proposal.
Although the forum itself will have no oversight or decision-making
function, some governments view it as an opportunity to
sow the seed for a new Internet governance regime. Others,
notably the U.S., view it in much the same way they viewed
WSIS itself: a multilateral, multistakeholder, nonbinding
body with a very broad mandate but with no real power -
except to meet in Greece.
At WSIS and in talks leading up the
summit, the U.S. government reiterated that it had absolutely
no intention of relinquishing its unique position in managing
this critical global infrastructure. President
George Bush said the Internet must continue to be a private-sector-led
initiative under U.S. government supervision. He was joined
by several U.S. congressmen, such as Norm Coleman, and U.S.
enterprises including IBM, Google and Microsoft, which spoke
out in favor of maintaining the status quo. David
Gross, Ambassador of Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs
at the U.S. Department of State and the person who had led
the U.S. delegation, said in an earlier interview that the
Internet is best served by the bottom-up private-sector
approach and should continue to be run that way.
From Net Network World, January 12, 2006
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Join Fight Against Corruption
The Presiding Bishop of the Methodist
Church, the Most Reverend Robert Aboagye-Mensah, has tasked
the church in Ghana to join other civil society organisations
in the country for a nationwide anti-corruption crusade
this year. The Most Rev Aboagye-Mensah was delivering a
sermon at the Wesley Methodist Cathedral at Cape Coast on
the occasion of the 170th anniversary of the Church. He
warned that the cancellation of the country's debts would
be meaningless without a sustained war on corruption, laziness,
malingering, lateness and other vices that undermined the
proper management of the country's resources. "It's
our responsibility as Christians to work closely with all
stakeholders to ensure that corruption is minimised,"
he said.
He stated that if Ghanaians did not
change their attitude towards work for the better it would
be difficult to create wealth for the nation. He said Ghanaians
should strive to achieve excellence in all their endeavours
and cautioned against making "demigods" out of
their achievements. "You should remember at all times
that any time we make progress, it is God this year who
has been gracious to us," he said. The
Presiding Bishop urged Christians to renew their commitment
to God and strive to know him better. "Serve the poor
and the needy and also make disciples of all nations,"
the Most Rev Aboagye-Mensah said. Later
the congregation marched through the principal streets of
Cape Coast with brass band music and converged on the Castle
where a short ceremony was held to commemorate the beginning
of Methodism in Ghana.
From Graphic Ghana, January 26, 2006
Dragon of Corruption Too Fierce
to Confront?
The police force has for a long time
been rated by corruption watchdogs as the most graft-ridden
institution in the country. The degree to which the vice
has permeated the force has indeed been cited as the major
contributor to its inefficiency, which has seen crime rate
in the country spiral. This is why many lauded the director
of the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission (Kacc) Aaron Ringera
faulted the recruitment of police officers held last December
after it unearthed massive corruption in the exercise and
called for its cancellation. According to the KACC, report
submitted to the police commissioner, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali,
some applicants parted with between Sh40,000 and Sh70,000
and gave other favours to recruiting officers to secure
a place in the police force.
It was argued that the stream of
law enforcement in the country had been polluted at the
source with corruption and admitting 3, 000 successful applicants
to its training colleges would compromise its integrity
and efficiency. KACC, which also presented video tapes it
claimed contained footages of police officers engaged in
various malpractices further recommended that the recruiting
team which was made up of 175 officers be suspended to pave
way for investigations into the scandal. However,
none of the officers in the recruiting team was suspended
even as the force hurriedly revoked admission letters for
the successful applicants and began investigations. And
now a preliminary report on the probe has dismissed the
dossier handed over by Kacc as shallow and is requesting
for more evidence that can implicate the officers of any
wrongdoing.
The way this matter has been handled
by KACC itself and the force raise several fundamental questions
which need answers if the public is to believe that there
is genuine commitment by the two teams to resolve the accumulated
matter. KACC is mandated by law to investigate cases of
corruption and present them to Attorney General for prosecution
in case there is sufficient evidence to implicate any accused
person. However, in this matter, the commission decided
to throw the issue to the police, the very institution which
it accused of corruption. What else did the commission need
to complete its investigations, which began at the recruiting
centres where they claimed to have witnessed malpractices
in 80 per cent of the recruiting centres, to warrant for
fresh investigations by the police? The commission should
explain this malady in the case of the police force.
Since the commission was set up,
it is yet to prove its invaluable relevance in the fight
against corruption by solid deeds. The commission cannot
count any profile case of corruption that it has conclusively
investigated and presented to the Attorney General and has
been successfully prosecuted or thrown out in a court of
law. What Kenyans have witnessed is obsession with small
fishes while big ones who swim in the ocean of corruption
remain untouchable despite hue and cry from the public over
the length at which the tentacles of the dragon that is
corruption has grown.
Instead of proving its relevance
by 'spilling blood' or 'slaying the dragon of corruption
by its tentacles' as the government has continuously promised,
KACC appear inclined to engage in political sideshows that
have nothing to do with the war on the vice. In the case
of massive corruption in the recruitment of police officers,
the police is the accused institution and throwing the case
for investigation by themselves is as good as dismissing
the allegations that KACC itself came up with. The force
demonstrated unwillingness to 'victimise itself' as Ringera
expected by failing to send home the officers who presided
over the exercise and even if more incriminating evidence
were to be provided, their probe will yield nothing substantive.
KACC should, therefore, take over the investigations itself
and use the report it compiled and submitted to the force.
From Kenya Times, January 06, 2006
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New Effort to Stamp Out Chinese
Corruption
The Chinese Government is beginning
the New Year with a new effort to stamp out corruption.
It's set up a website for the public to blow the whistle
on lawbreakers. But it isn't expected to bring real change,
and it comes as the Government there further muzzles the
media. China Correspondent John Taylor reports. JOHN TAYLOR:
Corruption is estimated to cost China as much as much as
$100 billion a year. No one knows for sure, of course. The
Communist Government has for years tried to calm public
outrage by punishing corrupt officials, and tens of thousands
have been caught. A former cabinet minister was recently
sentenced to life in prison for taking bribes.
Officials like Fu Kui from the Ministry
of Supervision say corruption is evil. (sound of Fu Kui
speaking) "Corruption undermines the social order,
the image of the Government, as well as economic development.
It is the common scourge of all mankind," he says.
The Government has now launched a website for the public
to report corrupt officials. The site is run by the Communist
Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and
is sold as another step forward in curbing corruption. But
Li Xinde, a freelance journalist and anti-corruption writer,
doesn't think it will do much good. (sound of Li Xinde speaking)
"I can't deny it's out
of a good purpose," he says. "Actually,
the Chinese Government has already launched a series of
similar anti-corruption official petitioning websites and
a call centre. But I think the key issue is whether these
methods are being carried out practically and effectively,
rather than how many and in what formality they are,"
he says.
For all the talk about stamping out
corruption, Li Xinde says little is changing. (sound of
Li Xinde speaking) "I would say I am not optimistic
about it," he says. "On the one hand, we are strengthening
the efforts to fight against corruption, and on the other
hand, new corrupted officials keep coming up, even generation
after generation at the same official position," he
says. Some of the Government's efforts have been very theatrical.
Last year more than 67,000 anti-corruption songs were composed
and more than 24,000 singing concerts held, all to educate
officials about self-discipline. What many experts say is
needed is something off the agenda in China - real political
reform - reducing government power, allowing the rule of
law and a free media.
But reporters at a Beijing newspaper,
known for some gutsy reporting on corruption and other politically
charged issues, walked off the job last week. They were
protesting against the removal of their editor, seen as
part of efforts by the Government to tighten press controls.
Li Xinde says deep change is needed for corruption to stop.
(sound of Li Xinde speaking) "Political reform needs
to hurry up. More effective methods need to be taken. Otherwise,
it's just like stirring the soup to stop it from boiling,
which only solves the problems on the surface," he
says. But China faces a dilemma.
While corruption may destroy the state, fighting it may
kill the Communist Party.
From abc.net.au, January 02, 2006
VP Too Embarrassed
to Talk About Corruption
Vice President Jusuf Kalla said he
was too embarrassed to talk about corruption because Indonesia
Transparency (TI) had categorized political parties in Indonesia
as the most corrupt institution in the country whereas he
was also the leader of the biggest political party, Golkar.
"I actually feel really embarrassed to speak here because
according to TI, political parties are the most corrupt
institution in the country while I am the chairman of the
largest political party, Golkar. In this capacity, I could
be considered most responsible for the situation in Golkar,"
said Kalla. He was peaking at the launching of a book titled
"Combating Corruption, a Road Map for Indonesia"
here on Monday.
The Vice President said 2006 would
be a year when people would think twice to engage in corruption
because of the development of democracy in the country where
every negative issue would be made known openly to the public.
"Every single cent of my salary can even be calculated
because everything is open in this democratic era,"
he said. In his address, Kalla said the president and vice
president had no more power to defend themselves when they
had to deal with judicial authority. He added that the present
situation was very conducive to eradicating the corruption.
Meanwhile, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy
chairman Ery Ryanahardjapamekas admitted that the commission
had mostly imitated what has been done by Hong Kong in its
strategy to combat corruption.
The success of eradicating the corruption
in Hong Kong, according to Ery, has its own legend around
the world. At least four things the KPK has learned from
Hong Kong in corruption eradication, namely capacity improvement,
preventive measures, taking measures and mobilization of
people's participation. The book was written by an attorney
from Hong Kong, Ian McWalters, who also relates his experiences
in fighting corruption in the country. The book launching
was also attended by National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas)
Governor Prof Muladi, former Coordinating Minister for Economy
Rizal Ramly, Governor of Institute of Police Sciences (PTIK)
Insp Gen Farouk Muhammad, House member Alvin Lie and a number
of other officials.
From Antara.news, January 02, 2006
Government
Determined to Wipe Out Corruption from the Country: Speaker
NA
Speaker National Assembly Chaudhry
Amir Hussain has said that government is determined to eradicate
the menace of corruption from the country and urged all
strata of the society to pinpoint the corrupt elements so
that they could be dealt handedly according to law. Speaker
NA stated this while talking to chairman National Accountability
Bureau (NAB) Lt. Gen. (Retd) Shahid Aziz who called on him
at parliament house here on Tuesday. Speaker
said that NAB had played a vital role in eliminating corruption
from the country and added that the existence of corruption
in the society was very unfortunate that had resulted halting
the progress and prosperity of the country. "NAB
has confidence of the masses and it will succeed in countering
and rooting out the corrupt elements from the country,"
he added. The chairman NAB
briefed the speaker about the functioning and organizational
set up of NAB and said that NAB as an institution was rendering
valuable services in eliminating corruption and getting
back the looted money to the public exchequer.
Meanwhile, governor state Bank Dr.
Shamshad Akhtar also called on the speaker at his residence
and briefed the economic pace of the country. Speaker said
that continuity in the policies of the current government
had resulted in unprecedented pace of the economy and the
country was on the right track and added that country's
economic growth had restored the investors confidence and
enhanced the pace of industrialization. The speaker maintained
that economic policies of the government had ushered in
bulk of opportunities of investment in various fields of
the country and hoped that policy of merit and equal opportunities
had attracted investors. The
governor State Bank said that country economy had been geared
up for the last six years and expressed hope that with consistency
and continuity in government policies the momentum of present
economic growth would be sustained in future. The
governor further said that in order to meet the challenges
of the WTO Pakistan needed to diversify its economy and
expedite the process of economic liberalization and urged
the local and foreign investors to come forward and make
more investment in the country.
From Pakistan News, January 27, 2006
Back to Taws on Ethics
Stem cell scientists have been shattered
by this week's confirmation that their poster boy, South
Korean Hwang Woo-suk, is a fraud. Not Hwang alone, either.
Many of his 24 co-authors on a landmark paper claiming to
have cloned human embryos and created stem cell lines must
have been accomplices. Storm clouds are gathering over Gerald
Schatten, of the University of Pittsburgh, Hwang's co-author.
The Korean president's chief science adviser, also a co-author,
has resigned. Hwang may face criminal charges. It is one
of the worst cases of scientific fraud in living memory.
Koreans wept. Scientists groaned.
Patients felt betrayed. "I had pinned all my hopes
on Dr Hwang after I heard that he had cured a dog with a
spinal cord injury through stem cell treatment," paraplegic
Park Seung-yoo told the Joong Ahn Daily. "I think about
how I'm never going to walk again and I just want to die."
But in Australia, dreams blighted,
money wasted, reputations shattered and research tainted
are just a spot of bother. It's business as usual. "It's
sad, but the field will move on," says the chief executive
of the Australian Stem Cell Centre, Hugh Niall. "If
anything, it's going to stimulate more research." And
his colleague Martin Pera, agrees: "I don't think it
will interfere with the progress of this work."
Hang on, guys. When the Columbia
space shuttle disintegrated in 2003, NASA didn't sweep up
the mess and book the next flight. It launched a two-year
investigation before it tried again. And that's more or
less what Australia should do with plans to legalise therapeutic
cloning: shelve them. What
happened in Korea puts into question far more than the technology
of therapeutic cloning. This has been delayed, but no doubt
someone will eventually develop cloned stem cell lines.
What Hwang's fraud has exposed is glaring systemic weaknesses
involving this ethically controversial research, in which
human embryos are created and destroyed for their stem cells.
First of all, its claims are consistently
inflated by its practitioners. The first to clone an embryo,
the American company Advanced Cell Technology, organised a
media circus in 2001, which disgusted other scientists. A
British group at the University of Newcastle was denounced
by the journal Nature last year for rushing into print without
peer review. Hwang is not the only stem cell scientist who
wants to be a rock star. It's time for a bit of professional
humility.
Second, journals such as Science, The
New England Journal of Medicine and Scientific American are
nakedly biased in favour of therapeutic cloning. That helps
to explain why Hwang's faked results were not scrutinised
carefully enough. "It is common knowledge that the bar
for publication in this field often has appeared remarkably
low, with even well-respected research journals seeming to
fall over one another for the privilege of publishing the
next hot paper," commented David Shaywitz, of the Harvard
Stem Cell Institute, this week. It's time for some scientific
objectivity.
Third, it is dismaying how easily
governments are seduced by Amazing New Biotechnology Projects.
Hwang didn't have to spike the drinks of Korean politicians
to get them to pour millions into his research. They issued
a postage stamp in his honour and anointed him "supreme
scientist". Elsewhere it is no different. From Australia
to Singapore to Britain to California, penny-pinching pollies
who slash welfare budgets turn into sugar-daddy spendthrifts
when they hear the words "embryonic stem cells".
It's time to pour a bucket of cold water over our besotted
politicians.
Fourth, and saddest, the public simply
does not understand what is at stake, either ethically or
scientifically. After the exposure of Hwang's lies about
sourcing women's eggs for his experiments, hundreds of young
women volunteered to donate their own, oblivious to the
risks. Even this week, at the nadir of Hwang's reputation,
hundreds of demonstrating fans displayed "Biotechnology
Is Our Future" banners. Sixty-nine per cent of Koreans
actually think that this manipulative liar and charlatan
should be given a second chance. Is the Australian public
really better informed? It's time for an intelligent public
debate.
Finally, the Hwang affair suggests
that when it comes to ethics, Australian stem cell scientists
are not the sharpest knives in the drawer. For years they
have said, and the media has repeated, that human embryos
are no more than blobs of jelly. The public believed this
because they were high-minded and successful. But now their
celebrity colleagues have been exposed as shameless frauds
moved by vanity, peer pressure, complacency and greed, just
like the rest of us. Their embryo technology is still bogged
at the starting line while adult stem cells have done several
laps. What credibility can the crass utilitarianism that
underlies this research have now? It's time to go back to
taws on stem cell ethics. Last
month the Lockhart Review recommended that parliament legalise
therapeutic cloning. In the light of what has happened in
Korea, this would be a terrible blunder. It can no longer
be business as usual for Australian stem cell research.
From The Weekend Australia, Michael Cook,
January 12, 2006
Search for Public
Service Exemplars On
The Civil Service Commission announces
that the 2006 Search for Outstanding Public Officials and
Employees is now open. It is intended to give due recognition
to public service exemplars and high flyers in the civil
service. The search is by virtue of Republic Act No. 6713,
Administrative Code of 1987, and Executive Order No. 508,
s. 1992, as amended by Executive Order No. 77, s. 1993.
Three prestigious awards are at stake: the Lingkod Bayan
Award, Dangal ng Bayan and the Pagasa Awards. Nominees
may be career service and non-career service officials and
employees of the government including appointive barangay
officials and employees.
The Lingkod Bayan Awardee shall receive
a gold medal and a plaque containing the citation and signature
of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. On the other hand,
the Dangal ng Bayan Awardee shall receive a trophy designed
and executed by National Artist for Sculpture Napoleon V.
Abueva. Both awards carry a cash prize of P100, 000.00,
an automatic promotion or an increase in salary equivalent
to the salary of the next higher position. The
Pagasa Awardees shall each receive a gold (gilded) medallion,
a plaque containing the citation and signature of the Chairperson
of the Civil Service Commission, and P50, 000.00. Forms
and other pertinent information to the Search may be obtained
at the www.csc.gov.ph website or to the nearest CSC Office.
Deadline for the filing of nominations will be on March
31, 2006.
From PIA, January 23, 2006
Anti-Corruption Books
Distributed To Belait Schools
A ceremony to hand over educational
books to school Principals and Acting Principals of government
and non-government schools throughout Belait District on
prevention of corruption was held yesterday morning at the
conference hall of the Schools Department in Seria. The
ceremony was the last programme of handing over the educational
books after similar ceremonies had been carried out previously
in the other three districts. Present as chief guest was
the Deputy Director ofAnti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Awg
Hj Wasil bin Hj Md Taib. The
chief guest in his speech stated that the education on prevention
of corruption was one of the projects run by the Community
Relations Section and ACB Counselling Services with the
cooperation of Curriculum Development Department commencing
last year. The project also
has support from BSP, BLNG; BSM and BST. The prime objective
of the project is to implement pure moral values such as
honesty, trustworthyness and sincerity in the soul of the
students so it would become a daily life practice.
The education on prevention of corruption
is also hoped to produce awareness and barricade corruption
in the country, and this programme will be used as a continuous
education system from this year onwards, Awg Hj Wasil further
stated. "The education
on prevention of corruption will be carried out within levels
to create convenience to students studying and understanding
the topics taught and the project is expected to be carried
out throughout during the year 2011." "As
an effort to create a more efficient learning on prevention
of corruption, a few insights will be used among which are
the introduction of computer interactive and singing educational
songs on prevention of corruption," the chief guest
added.
"A briefing session and training
for teaching resource had been and will be carried out as
a step to provide early exposure to those on the prevention
of corruption before being delivered to the students."
Meanwhile the Assistant Director of Curriculum Development,
Awg Hj Matassan bin Hj Bungso in his speech noted that the
absorption of education on prevention of corruption into
the national curriculum at schools is in line with the country's
aspirations to produce a clean, honest, trustworthy and
`high integrity' population. He assured that "the Curriculum
Development Department will constantly provide cooperation
towards achieving its objectives". - Courtesy of Borneo
Bulletin.
From Brunie.Direct, January 22, 2006
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UK: Papers Mull US Corruption
Scandal
The Independent and Daily Telegraph
both carry the story of US lobbyist Jack Abramoff who faces
corruption charges. The Independent suggests he is about
to unleash a political scandal to match anything in US history,
involving congressmen, senators and their aides. The
Telegraph says he sought to win influence on Capitol Hill
for clients by showering gifts on politicians. The
favours were said to have included golf trips to Gleneagles,
holidays and tickets to top sports fixtures.
Caviar ban - Many of the papers
discuss the decision to suspend the worldwide trade in wild
caviar in order to save the sturgeon. The Times says that
to most of us caviar looks and tastes like pellets of black
salt soaked in seawater. Despite this, it says, the attempt
to curb sales will be like the attempt to ban beef on the
bone during the height of the BSE panic. It recalls how
shoppers were departing from compliant butchers with four
ribs of beef concealed among the lamb chops.
Kennedy's survival - Some
of the political correspondents believe Charles Kennedy
is an even more endangered species than the sturgeon. The
Daily Mirror has made up its mind that he is on the way
out, despite being the most successful Liberal Democrat
leader for 73 years. Merely surviving Hogmanay has been
a considerable achievement, it says, but he will not see
in 2007 as head honcho. The Sun says a bunch of grey figures
are waiting to fight it out for the worst job in British
politics.
Rocker's warning - The Morning
Star says the miners' union wants the government to stop
squandering energy sources. The plea comes after a Russia-Ukraine
gas crisis unsettled many European countries and the EU.
And finally, the Times says The Who's Pete Townshend has
issued a warning to the iPod generation to turn down the
volume, to preserve their hearing. The Sun says the Rolling
Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood has a new addiction - stamp
collecting.
From BBC.News, January 04, 2006
Corruption Worsens,
Goods Offer Improves in 2005 - Poll
Czechs say that corruption and financial
crime increased most steeply, while the offer of goods and
services and the environment considerably improved in the
Czech Republic in 2005, according to a poll conduced by
the CVVM polling agency last December and released to CTK.
About 50 percent of respondents also say that public safety,
unemployment and welfare worsened last year, but not to
such a high extent as reported in 2004. The
country's economic situation was viewed less negatively
than in 2004 when more people criticised it. On
the contrary, agriculture and the health care system faced
a sharper criticism as 45 percent of respondents say that
the situation in these sectors worsened in 2005, which is
more than in December 2004.
Over two-fifths of Czechs say that
the political situation in the country worsened, while one-third
of people experienced a lower living standard and a worsening
of the transport system and the state of the judiciary and
immigration. On the contrary, one-third of respondents say
that the situation in culture and foreign relations improved
in 2005. The education system, the economy, the Czech Republic's
position in the EU and the human rights observance were
most frequently assessed as unchanged last year, according
to the CVVM poll. Compared to a similar poll from December
2004, the Czech economy, unemployment, living standard,
welfare, political situation, education, military as well
as science and research were assessed more positively in
2005. On the other hand, a
higher share of respondents criticised the situation in
health care, agriculture and transport, and pointed to the
rise in corruption in 2005, compared to 2004.
From Ceskenoviny.cz, January 09, 2006
Finci: Experiences
of Poland's Civil Service Could Be Helpful on BiH's Road
to European Integration
Director of the Civil Service of
the Republic of Poland Jan Pastwa, who is paying a three-day
visit to BiH, held a lecture on Friday on the experiences
and practices of the administration in Poland and on this
country's experiences in the EU. According
to him, Civil Service has a special significance for every
country because its role is to enhance the functioning of
the state and serve the citizens. Civil
Service is very important on the road to European integration,
because it fulfils the tasks set by the Parliament and other
state institutions. Pastwa
stressed that Poland has realized her primary goal with
the admission into the EU, but that this objective was primarily
subjected to the interests of the Polish citizens, because
the process of European integration was conducted in the
interest of the Polish citizens, and not the institutions.
This is why it is important to have
a stable and strong Civil Service that fulfils these tasks.
Poland has achieved its goal thanks to the Civil Service,
said Pastwa. Director of BiH
Civil Service Agency Jakob Finci declared that the visit
of the Polish Civil Service Director is one of the steps
BiH is taking to learn what must be done when she joins
Europe. Each civil service
in the EU is organized in a special way, and the BiH Civil
Service Agency is trying to learn the best practices that
are applicable in our country. Finci
deems that the Poland's experiences, given that this used
to be a socialist country, could be of great help for BiH.
From Fena.ba, January 20, 2006
Civil Servants Vote
Not to Strike
Civil servants in Northern Ireland
have narrowly voted against all-out indefinite strike action,
the public service union Nipsa has confirmed. About 53%
of the the 13,000 Nipsa members who voted were against the
strike, with 47% in favour of the union's call for industrial
action. The union's executive called for action over an
"insulting" government offer giving most people
a 0.2% salary rise. Nipsa's John Corey said the close vote
was evidence of civil servants' anger. "This does not
mean that civil servants accept the disgraceful way they
are being treated on pay by direct rule ministers,"
he said. "This unfairness
has been ongoing for the last three years and cannot continue.
"It is damaging the Civil Service
very badly and destroying morale and motivation across all
departments." Nipsa had
accused ministers of discriminatory treatment of the Northern
Ireland Civil Service compared with other public servants
in Britain. In September 2004,
civil servants in Northern Ireland accepted a pay officer
from the government, narrowly voting against an all-out
strike. It ended 10 months
of industrial action which caused widespread disruption
to the workings of government.
From BBCNews, January 31, 2006
Civil Service 'Bible'
Review Needed
The Civil Service code - the "bible"
for thousands of Sir Humphreys - needs a shake-up to bring
it into the 21st century, Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell
said. He announced a three-month consultation to draw up
the revised code, which was first published 10 years ago.
Sir Gus, who became Whitehall's most senior mandarin and
head of the home Civil Service in September, also announced
the first three reviews of Government departments to make
sure the ministries are up to the mark. The
Department for Constitutional Affairs, the Home Office and
the Department for Work and Pensions will undergo "capability
reviews" to assess them for "leadership, strategy
and delivery". If they
are found lacking in any of these areas, an "action
plan" will be drawn up for change.
All ministries will eventually be
subjected to the reviews. Sir Gus, speaking on a visit to
St Albans, Hertfordshire, said: "The code is an anchor
for the high standard of behaviour that I expect of civil
servants. "It contains
our traditional values - which have stood the test of time
- but shapes them to have meaning for 21st century civil
servants. "It needs to
make sense in real-life situations and connect with all
civil servants - wherever they might work and whatever they
might do." The new code,
which deals with issues such as the impartiality and propriety
of advice to ministers, will include a "whistle-blower"
clause, allowing civil servants to complain about alleged
breaches direct to the Civil Service Commissioners.
From This is London, January 27, 2006
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Syria to Try Former Vice President
Khaddam for Treason, Corruption
The Syrian government will try on
high treason charges former vice president Abdel Halim Khaddam,
who has accused Damascus of involvement in the murder of
Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, and investigate him for
corruption. The announcement came after Khaddam's explosive
allegations that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had threatened
Hariri before his death, which he made in an interview Friday
on Al-Arabiya television. 'The Council of Ministers will
take the necessary measures to try Khaddam for high treason,
and to open an inquiry into corruption in a series of matters
which will include seizing his assets,' the official daily
newspaper Ath-Thawra said. The
newspaper said the government announcement meant it would
follow up on demands made by loyalist MPs, who called for
Khaddam to be tried for treason and corruption.
Syria's ruling Baath party said Sunday
it had expelled the ex-vice president for comments it described
as 'slander which violates the principles of the nation'.
Khaddam, long the architect of Syria's military and political
domination of neighbouring Lebanon, accused Assad of threatening
Hariri just months before his murder, dealing a fresh blow
to the increasingly pressured Syrian regime. 'I
will destroy anyone who tries to hinder our decisions,'
Khaddam quoted Assad as telling Hariri during a meeting
in Damascus. Khaddam, who broke
his silence for the first time since resigning in June and
was speaking from Paris where he and his family now live,
said the meeting took place a few months before the February
14 assassination of Hariri.
The popular five time prime minister
was killed in a Beirut bomb blast for which a UN probe has
implicated Syrian intelligence. 'We must await the results
of the investigation, but no Syrian security service could
take such a decision unilaterally,' Khaddam said. Meanwhile,
the UN commission of inquiry probing Hariri's murder asked
to interview Assad, Khaddam and Foreign Minister Faruq Shara
and was awaiting an answer from Syria, a spokeswoman said.
She added that the commission wanted to meet Khaddam 'as
soon as possible.'
From Forbes.com, January 02, 2006
Sharon's Son Quits over Corruption
Trial
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's
eldest son resigned his parliamentary seat today, ahead
of a January 22 sentencing over charges of illegal fund-raising
for his father's 1999 election campaign, a spokeswoman said.
Omri Sharon pleaded guilty in November to falsifying corporate
documents, perjury and violating party funding laws. Under
a plea deal, prosecutors dropped charges of fraud and breach
of trust but are demanding imprisonment on the other counts.
The charges carry a maximum of five years in prison, but
the sentence is expected to be lighter, possibly a suspended
term or community service. Under
Israeli law, a legislator convicted of an offence defined
as one of "moral turpitude" loses his or her seat.
Although the court has yet to rule
on that issue, Omri Sharon's spokeswoman Mirit Cohen said
he did not wish to draw things out more than necessary.
"He saw no point in waiting," she said. Omri Sharon oversaw
parts of the campaign and fund-raising activities for his
father's victory in the 1999 primary in the Likud Party.
Prosecutors decided not to charge Ariel Sharon with involvement
in the same scandal.
From Ireland On-Line, January 03, 2006
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The Story Behind Jack Abramoff
and the Beltway Bandits
The Republicans may dominate most
of America's government, but their prospects in this year's
midterm elections look increasingly dicey. George Bush has
no shortage of familiar problems - from a botched war in
Iraq to the fuss over wiretapping . But none has more potential
to topple the conservative movement he leads than corruption.
The case of Jack Abramoff - the super-lobbyist who pleaded
guilty to sundry crimes this week - is a nightmare for the
Republican establishment. To begin with, it is much easier
to follow than most such scams. Here is a Beltway Bandit
whose banditry was so obscene that it shocked even other
Beltway Bandits. Abramoff charged
various Indian tribes - innocent in the ways of Washington
but newly enriched by casinos - around $80 million in lobbying
expenses and used his ill-gotten gains to build an empire
of influence.
Millions flowed to favored lawmakers
in the form of Scottish golfing vacations, food and booze
in swanky Washington restaurants (one of which Abramoff
owned), tickets for sports events and sundry other perks.
All the while, Abramoff celebrated his own amorality, referring
to his clients as 'morons.' The Abramoff affair, the biggest
corruption scandal for a generation, will surely entangle
some Democrats. But most of those caught up in his affairs,
however innocently, are Republicans. Tom
DeLay, the former majority leader already under indictment
in Texas for campaign-finance irregularities, was one of
Abramoff's golfing buddies. Michael Scanlon, Abramoff's
partner in crime, who has already pleaded guilty, used to
work for DeLay.
There are also plenty of congressmen
and senators scuttling to explain and return donations.
The danger is that, as with the cronyism exposed by Hurricane
Katrina, Bush and his lieutenants will claim this as a case
of a few bad apples. In fact, the Abramoff affair is a case
study of how the conservative movement has gone wrong. Abramoff
originally arrived in Washington as one of the young conservative
idealists who wanted to shrink government and drain the
Washington swamp. He supported Newt Gingrich's crusade to
get rid of the ruling Democrats' "culture of corruption."
Nowadays, Abramoff, like so
many other Gingrich revolutionaries, has been engaged in
influence-peddling on an epic scale. Rather than trying
to cleanse K Street, the capital's lobbying centre, the
Republicans had a "K Street project" to conservatize
the industry.
This has produced millions for the
Republican Party. But much has been lost in the process.
Gone is the enthusiasm on the American right for slimming
government. Under the free-spending Bush, everybody has
become a "big-government conservative." Gone,
too, is any enthusiasm for term limits; indeed, most Republicans
spend their time trying to gerrymander districts to keep
them there for life. And there is little willingness to
change. You might have imagined, for instance, that the
fury about money going to build two "bridges to nowhere"
in Alaska in the wake of Katrina would have scuttled the
projects. But the bridges are going ahead. For
the Republican establishment, Abramoff's plea is a final
warning to clean house. In Bush's case this means not just
purging the White House of cronies (he has less sway in
Congress), but also vetoing spending bills.
The number of "pork-barrel projects"
- ones that get around normal budget rules - increased from
2,000 in 1998 to 14,000 last year. The political cost of
inaction could be high. Most Americans long ago made up
their mind on the Iraq war and they actually agree with
Bush on the wiretapping fuss. But there is no surer way
of losing elections than sleaze. This creates an opportunity
for the Democrats, though it is hard to see them taking
it. Their party notably lacks a Savonarola, even a flawed
one like Gingrich. Their main objection to pork is that
it has been diverted to Republican causes, not their own.
The man who has shown most enthusiasm for tackling corruption
is John McCain, a Republican senator who has railed against
Abramoff's ilk for years and tried (not always successfully)
to change the rules to make the exchange of favours for
votes more difficult. McCain, who still harbours presidential
ambitions for 2008, may yet prove to be the big winner from
the current mess.
From the Hamilton Spectator, January 07,
2006
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India to Set Up Diaspora Knowledge
Network
India today decided to create a Diaspora
Knowledge Network to tap the expertise and skills of overseas
Indians in the development process of the country. Under
a decision taken at the fourth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas,
the network would be utilised for exchanging knowledge between
India and its diaspora so as to convert the 'brain drain'
from the country to 'brain gain'. "The network will
be a means to leverage the knowledge resources of overseas
Indians for a meaningful and mutually beneficial contribution
to the development of the country," said UNESCP additional
director general Abdul Waheed Khan. The
Information and Communication Technology can today enable
such a network function for the benefit of India, he said
at a session chaired by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman
Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
The network would ensure that though
highly qualified Indians leave home to pursue careers abroad,
they could still contribute to the development of their
country. Also, the skills acquired by overseas Indians during
their stay abroad could be tapped as a 'brain gain', said
Dr Khan. Under a roadmap outlined during the session, the
Diaspora Knowledge Network would be a platform for dynamic
exchange of knowledge between India and its diaspora. An
appropriate information space would be designed for exchange
and interaction. Knowledge management strategies would be
formed to enable flow of knowledge and expertise from the
overseas Indians to India and facilitate collective action.
From WebIndia.123, January 8, 2006
South Korea Promotes Open Source
Uptake
Two state-owned financial institutions
in South Korea are rolling out open source internet banking
services, according to a report in the EFY Times. The projects,
run by the Korea Post and the National Agricultural Cooperative
Federation, are part of an initiative by the Ministry of
Information and Communication to encourage the use of open
source software among public bodies. "The ministry
is fostering open source software such as Linux in order
to end the monopoly by Microsoft. Linux system users have
demanded the new banking system as well," said Korea
Post official Oh Kwang-soo. "We believe that private
firms will follow once our Linux online banking system proves
successful," he added. The government said it plans
to spend at least KRW100 billion (around EUR82 million)
next year on promoting the adoption of open source software
in the public sector.
From ElectricNews.net, January 4, 2006
China Launches E-government Portal
The Chinese government has officially
launched its e-government portal, www.gov.cn, according
to a report by the People's Daily Online. The site, available
in both Chinese and English, provides a central resource
where citizens and businesses can go to access the more
than 10,000 government websites that are online. The site
is divided into four sections: information on government
affairs, online services for citizens, information for businesses
and foreigners, and an area for interactive communication
between government and citizens. All decrees and documents
that have been released by the central government since
2000 have also been published on the site. The portal's
editor, Zhou Xisheng, said the site aimed to improve the
transparency and effectiveness of the government
From ElectricNews.net, January 4, 2006
Vietnam Unveils E-government Portal
The government of Vietnam has officially
launched its e-government web portal, www.vietnam.gov.vn,
reports online newswire VietnamNet. The site, which will
be rolled out in a number of phases, will eventually facilitate
online transactions between government agencies and citizens
and businesses. As well as providing information on government
management and publishing economic and social reports, the
site will help government agencies to share information
and promote the country to foreign investors and visitors
from abroad. The site, which will be available in English
from September, will also feature live question-and-answer
sessions with government officials and, in the second phase,
will allow citizens to lodge motions with the government.
"The site will help build greater trust from local
residents in the government through promoting policy transparency
and openness, as well as in clarifying the accountability
of government agencies," said Doan Manh Giao, head
of the Government Office, which developed the website.
From ElectricNews.net, January 19, 2006
E-Government Champions Training
Program
One of the critical factors responsible
for the slow growth and uptake of e-Government Projects
is the lack of champions who have the right skills, knowledge,
aptitude and leadership qualities, occupying decision making
levels and managerial positions. This,
in turn has lead to the under-utilization of the exciting
opportunities offered by the e-Government for improving
quality of services to the citizens and businesses. The
situation is further complicated by other problems like
failure to conceptualize and design the appropriate financial,
technical and business models, and lack of Project Management
skills and capabilities within the government.
One of the critical factors responsible
for the slow growth and uptake of e-Government Projects
in India is the lack of champions who have the right skill
sets, knowledge, aptitude and leadership qualities, occupying
decision making levels and managerial positions. This is
leading to several situations like failure to take advantage
of the exciting opportunities offered by e-Government for
improving quality of service to the citizens and businesses,
lack of skill sets to conceptualize and design the appropriate
functional, technical and business models and deficiencies
in Project Management skills and capabilities.
From digitalopportunity.org, January 9,
2006
E-government Pays Attention to
Phishing
London - Are you being 'phished'?
Have you recently received emails from anyone claiming they
are from your bank and want personal details of your account?
If the answer is yes then you have been 'phished'! Email
fraud, particularly "phishing" has been on the rise in Britain,
so much so that banks and building societies have been forced
to send out emails to customers warning them not to divulge
account details and important personal information to anyone
without proper verification. With
people working longer hours and having access to computers
all day, online banking has become the norm, where the identity
of a customer is no longer verified by a signature, but
with a password or confidential personal details like birthdays,
addresses and pin numbers. Some
14 million people use online banking facilities in the UK.
Banks and building societies have
taken recourse to sending out personalised letters to their
customers warning them against divulging confidential details,
and have devised their own methods of identifying themselves
to their clients with various "proof of authenticity". Nationwide,
one of Britain's largest building societies also promised
their customers that they "would never ask for confidential
details or security information such as account details
or Pin numbers in an email". "Nor would they direct customers
to websites requesting similar details, or give out customer
information to any other company". Identity fraud, with
cheats and thieves donning another person's identity to
carry out online banking crime is rising rapidly, so much
so that the government has sponsored a website to offer
advice on various aspects of online security.
These include ways to stop viruses,
how to block hackers, avoid spam email and safeguard against
'phishing'. John Hutton, Cabinet Minister responsible for
e-Government, explained: "The internet has become an essential
tool for businesses and consumers, and has brought enormous
benefits to our everyday lives, but we all know there are
risks too. That's why we're
running the Get Safe Online campaign to make the internet
a safer place to make financial transactions and exchange
personal information". The
government have also advised everyone not to discard banking
papers, tax forms or any papers which include potential
information which could be used in identity fraud in recycling
boxes. They urge shredding of such papers to prevent cheats
piecing together details. The
www.getsafeonline.org website is sponsored by the British
government as well as leading banks and businesses and offers
tips on how to protect yourself against 'phishing scams'
and how to shop safely online.
From dnaindia.com, January 13, 2006
Kazakhstan Attended Singapore
Conference on E-government
Kazakhstan delegation consisting
of reps of the Tax Committee and Customs Committee of the
Finance Ministry, National Information Technologies JSC
participated in the conference on e-government and trade
promotion held January 24-27 in Singapore. The Forum under
the aegis of the Asian Development Bank and foreign trade
department of the Singaporean Trade and Industry Ministry
welcomed the representatives of the customs and tax services
of Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan,
Mongolia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Singapore, Kazakhstan
MFA's press service informs. The
conferees got familiarized with Singapore's practice how
to implement e-government (under tax reforms and customs
modernization), create free economic zones and tax administration.
In the course of the trip Kazakh
experts held talks with reps of the leading Singapore's
information technologies companies like Crimson
Logic and NCS, with process of practical appliance of e-government
in Singapore's state organs, particularly, in Information
Communications Development Agency and Public Revenue Agency,
also visited customs checkpoints on the border with Malaysia.
At present National Information
Technologies JSC as a national interdepartmental interaction
operator has been involved in initiating web-portal of electronic
Government of Kazakhstan in the framework of state e-government
forming Programme.
From inform.kz, January 28, 2006
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NI Firm Wins Contract for European
Survey
A Northern Ireland consultancy has
won a European Commission contract to carry out a survey
of e-government initiatives across Europe. County Down-based
Helm Corporation secured the STG250,000 contract to study
e-government projects in the 25 EU member states and Norway.
The two-year study will assess the impact of e-government
initiatives on citizens and highlight measures needed to
further commercialise the opportunities available through
the re-use and re-sale of public sector information (PSI).
Data produced by the study will also enable the European
Commission to test the effectiveness of the EU Directive
on the use of PSI, and to consider how governments can make
information available quickly, effectively and cheaply.
Helm has established a network of researchers in each of
the 26 countries to undertake the study at a local level.
The researchers will scan relevant websites for public sector
data in specific areas such as business, geography, legal
issues, meteorology, society and transport.
From ElectricNews.net, January 4, 2006
UK Reaches Online Government Target
The UK government has announced that
local authorities have e-enabled on average 97 percent of
their services. The statement, issued by the Office of the
Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) in late December, noted that
3 percent of services were not moved online on account of
"legal or operational" barriers to e-enablement.
Local e-government minister Jim Fitzpatrick pronounced the
figures to be "very satisfying" and said that
the government's targets for online public services had
been achieved. "The challenge for local government
now is to ensure that this valuable work continues and that
innovation and focus on the needs of local people continue
to be at the heart of local e-government," said the
minister. A national campaign will be launched early this
year to raise awareness of online government services and
to encourage citizen take-up and usage. The campaign will
focus on the benefits of accessing council services over
the internet.
From ElectricNews.net, January 4, 2006
UK Government Is Top Employer
of IT Contractors
More than a quarter of IT contractors
in the UK are now employed by the public sector, according
to a survey by contractor services provider Giant Group.
Over the last two years the Government has more than doubled
its usage of freelance IT consultants, making it the largest
employer of IT contractors in the country. The financial
services sector, formerly the third-largest employer of
IT contractors, is now the second-biggest user, according
to the study. "The public sector has always been the
poor relation in terms of its utilisation of temporary IT
staff, but efficiency drives and increased scrutiny of major
IT projects have persuaded civil servants of the necessity
of bringing in private sector expertise," explained
Matthew Brown, managing director of Giant Group. Brown warned,
however, that the Government could end up competing with
the financial services sector for the best IT staff in the
future, as the Government continues to spend on IT and the
City increases its security and compliance budgets.
From ElectricNews.Net, January 19, 2006
Local e-Government Minister Launches
Local Directgov Programme's Complete End to End User Journey
The Local Directgov Programme is
to unveil the technical web solution on 17th January, with
an official launch event at the Office of the Deputy Prime
Minister. Lead Local Authorities London Borough of Brent
and London Connects will be presenting the solution to partners
and ICT managers, and with a Ministerial speech from Jim
Fitzpatrick, Minister for Local e-Government, cutting a
virtual ribbon to mark the official launch of the Programme's
software. Other key note speakers will include: Julian Bowrey,
Divisional Manager for Local e-Government at ODPM; and Ian
Watmore, Head of the e-Government Unit at the Cabinet Office.
The Local Directgov Programme is
a strong example of the effectiveness of joint working,
and all English Local Authorities have been engaging with
the Programme. Patrick Clark, Programme Manager of the Local
Directgov Programme explains: "The Local Directgov Programme
is building a robust technical solution which will simplify
citizen access to all government services - both local and
central. This unique technical solution will carry users
from Directgov, straight to the specific Local Authority
service page they require, via the Local Directgov application,
in a single user journey which will appear seamless, based
on specific links agreed with each of the 388 Local Authorities
to increase accuracy."
Mr Fitzpatrick commented: "I believe
the Local Directgov Programme is making a significant contribution
to Local e-Government. It will prove an invaluable aid to
Local Authorities, helping them to meet efficiency targets,
increasing traffic to Local Authority websites and encouraging
citizen take-up of those online services. When fully developed,
it has the potential to revolutionise how citizens interact
with government, offering a more customer focused, joined
up approach. "Local and Central Government working in partnership
has been an important factor in the success of Local e-Government.
I recognise that much of the Local Directgov Programme's
success so far has been due to the co-operation and efforts
of Local Authority staff in meeting the requirements of
the Programme. It is important that we continue to work
together to provide an effective service for all citizens."
Dane Wright, IT Strategy and Service
Development Manager, London Borough of Brent, Lead Authority
for the Local Directgov Programme said: "The Local Directgov
Programme will benefit both councils and citizens alike.
The Programme will help Local Authorities to make their
services more easily accessible, transcending physical boundaries
via the internet and making the access of information more
convenient. Through the Local Directgov Programme, users
will be able to easily find all the information and services
they require, enabling them to engage with both their own
and other Local Authorities in a far more sophisticated
manner." The Programme will continue to engage with all
English Local Authorities from now until March 2006 to collect
a further, fuller set of data and inputting it into esd-toolkit,
in order to continue creating links between Directgov and
Local Authority websites.
Notes to editors - The Local Directgov
Programme, led by Brent Council and London Connects, and
supported by the ODPM, is an extension of the successful
Directgov Programme (www.direct.gov.uk) which currently
provides the citizen with direct online access to a wide
range of Central Government services, and has already established
itself as the fourth most visited government website, with
over 2 million users every month. The technical solution
will enable users to identify the service that they are
searching for in Directgov and will seamlessly refer them
onto the Local Directgov application which will carry the
user straight to the single most relevant web page on a
Local Authority website, for the service they have requested.
Whilst some other portals currently provide a similar service
on a county-wide basis, most of these rely on a search engine
technique, which is less reliable or accurate. The Local
Directgov Programme is the only website which can link users
to all English Local Authorities.
From egovmonitor.com, January 17, 2006
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US Agencies Fail to Meet E-gov
Goals
Government agencies in the US have
not yet achieved the goals set down under the E-Government
Act of 2002, according to a new White House study, reports
ZDNet. The "Expanding e-Government" report says
that so far only four federal agencies have successfully
implemented the e-government plans: the National Science
Foundation, the Department of Labor, the Department of Transportation,
and the Small Business Administration. Of the 26 agencies
evaluated, nine were deemed to have an "unsatisfactory"
status, while the remainder achieved "mixed results."
The four top-rated agencies achieved good results in three
areas: being able to justify and manage their IT investments,
"with benefits far outweighing costs"; achieving
less than 10 percent variation on cost, schedule and performance;
and enabling citizens and government decision-makers to
find information "easily and securely".
From ElectricNews.net, January 4, 2006
South Carolina Campaign Information
Available Online
Candidates running for constitutional
offices in the state of South Carolina in the US are now
able to file their campaign finance information electronically.
Candidates can upload their campaign contribution and expenditure
information, which is then made available for public viewing
on the state's official website, www.SC.gov. The new method
replaces a time-consuming procedure that involved filing
paper forms with the South Carolina State Ethics Commission.
Visitors to the site can conduct a search of filings by
candidate or contributor name. "Putting this information
on the internet for every South Carolinian to see is another
important step forward in realising our goal of creating
a more open and accountable government," said Governor
Mark Sanford. The system is the first element in a move
to create a comprehensive electronic filing system for the
State Ethics Commission. An upgraded system that will include
additional disclosure and reporting capabilities is tentatively
scheduled for launch in early 2007.
From ElectricNews.net, January 19, 2006
IT Outsourcing Market Set to Grow
in US
The US federal IT outsourcing market
is expected to increase from USD12.2 billion in fiscal 2005
to USD17.6 billion by fiscal 2010, according to a report
by market research firm Input. The almost 8 percent annual
growth rate will be driven in part by the Office of Management
and Budget's Lines of Business (LoB) initiatives. The LoBs
include human resources management, financial management,
grants management, case management, federal health architecture
and IT security, and agencies will need to keep spending
on outsourcing in order to meet the OMB's targets in these
areas. "While not strictly centered on IT, the six
initiatives will require entire business processes to be
transferred from agencies [to other agencies specially designated
as Centres of Excellence]," said Chris Campbell, senior
analyst, federal market analysis for INPUT. "As a result,
agencies will focus on transitioning major programmes out
of their agency to a shared service provider."
From ElectricNews.net, January 19, 2006
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Finders Keepers
Keeping Found Things Found is a multi-year
project at the University of Washington Information School
by Professors William Jones and Harry Bruce, with Susan
Dumais of Microsoft Research. The team is studying the various
ways people attempt to make interesting Web pages they've
found easily accessible later. With $500,000 in National
Science Foundation support, the KFTF team identified techniques
like sending an email including the URL to ourselves or
adding a link to a personal Web site, in addition to the
more obvious methods like bookmarking a page, saving a local
copy, or even printing it out and adding it to a huge pile
of paper documents (likely never to be read again).
Bookmarking a favorite is the most
common technique for making a Web page re-findable. The
next most common behavior is to do nothing at all and expecting
that the page will be found again in the future through
a search engine (which is the most common way of finding
things in the first place). Bookmarking is not only more
reliable, it also allows for additional organization that
facilitates finding favorite sites again. With a little
bit of bookmark organization, you can arrange things in
a taxonomy of folders and subfolders for finding them later.
Arranging your stuff is formally known as Personal Information
Management (PIM) or, by some, Personal Knowledge Management
(PKM). Today we may recognize it as a problem in Personal
Content Management (PCM).
When you come across a piece of content,
there are things you can do to make it "yours"
within copyright and fair-use limitations, in order to improve
your ability to do your job or pursue your career or other
interests. Top KM gurus like Jerry Ash, Tom Davenport, and
David Gurteen all tout the power of PKM. Professor David
Karger of MIT has developed Haystack, a powerful personal
semantic-Web tool for organizing everything in your information
universe. But let's return
to the relatively simple problem of making a Web page re-findable.
It seems a problem crying out for tagging with a little
metadata, the way del.icio.us lets you tag your bookmarks.
Since bookmarking is the leading way to make a page re-findable,
the added value of del.icio.us-type tagging, plus the participation
in a community of taggers who share your interests, appears
to be an obvious plus.
Even bookmarking has its foibles,
though. (Don't worry, tags may help here too.) What if a
bookmarked site disappears into a 404 black hole? You could
save the page with an online service like LookSmart's FURL.
The FURL toolbar can be added to your browser to provide
one-click saving of a Web page to your FURL account. FURL
offers some limited categorization tools, which let you
share documents with others, but you will probably want
your own categories. Or you could protect yourself by saving
a local copy, using advanced tools like InfoSelect or NetSnippets
to capture the page and add organizing metadata. Don't forget
to add the original URL and the date you cached a copy so
you can get the current version easily, if there is one.
Some tools will do this for you. Then you can use desktop
search tools from Google, Apple, Microsoft, or others to
re-find your stuff.
As I mentioned, search engines are
the most common way people find sites of interest in the
first place, and often the place they turn to re-find those
sites later. In their work on Keeping Found Things Found,
Jones and Bruce asked test subjects what they called the
"Google Question": "Suppose that you could
find your personal information using a simple search (fast,
effortless to maintain, secure and private). Can we take
away your folders?" Thirteen
of fourteen respondents said "No." And the fact
is that not only does Google want to help you organize your
content, they want to know how you are doing it. But there
must be a better way, especially for companies that want
to keep their knowledge and content organization to themselves,
locked securely behind their firewalls.
The new Memetic Web initiative proposes
that you reuse your existing taxonomies or keyword lists
by creating meme IDs with your own memespace and taxospace
prefixes. You then simply tag a saved Web page with your
meme IDs and they can be precisely re-found with any search
or desktop search engine. Tagging with unique IDs from your
existing knowledge organization scheme greatly increases
the return on investment in such classification schemes.
Knowledge workers in a corporate environment with a shared
controlled vocabulary can leverage that vocabulary as they
categorize found documents.
The folks behind Memography (I'm
a principal, not incidentally) plan to develop tools for
capturing Web pages and automatically inserting meme IDs,
original URL, and date captured, to keep the found things
as richly valuable as the original documents. In the meantime,
unless you are heavily armed with corporate and personal
content management tools, you will just have to print out
favorites - like this column - or send yourself an email
with the URL to keep your content found.
From EContent, January 03, 2006
Is CRM Dead?
Alive or dead, CRM is vastly changed
from the acronym we once thought we knew. With the acquisition
of Siebel by Oracle, many of us are pondering the question,
"Does this mean that CRM as we know it is dead?" As a long-time
industry watcher and former analyst, I actually do look
at this deal as a potential endpoint in the evolution of
a model that has developed over the past 15 years or so.
But I also see it as further evidence of the sea change
taking place in the overall enterprise applications market,
which despite challenges and the potential changing of the
"old guard," is in fact undergoing a bit of a renaissance
- especially when it comes to bringing powerful new capabilities
to the masses of business users and empowering customers
to betterserve themselves.
Customer relationship management
or CRM as a model has it roots in three primary areas: call
center systems, help desk applications and sales force automation,
or what some have called the "front-office functions." In
the mid-1990s several platform providers like Siebel and
Clarify (now Amdocs) emerged, driven primarily by acquisitions,
to offer consolidated functionality across the entire front-office,
while the "back-office" providers like SAP and Oracle generally
remained focused on areas like finance, supply chain management
and as it emerged, e-business.
In a way, the consolidation of front-office
and back-office functionality under one umbrella - like
we see with the Oracle-Siebel deal and saw before that with
the PeopleSoft-Vantive deal - has been a long time coming.
The benefit of having one database and common set of end-user
tools is attractive. Plus, the return on traditional, stand-alone
CRM investments has been mixed at best, especially when
it comes to large-scale deployments. I know of several global
organizations that have spent more than $100 million on
CRM projects and are still uncertain what real value they
have received!
It's (still) about the customer -
Despite its name, one can argue that the greatest shortcoming
of CRM is that it never really was about directly helping
customers. Solutions were sold to executives running call
centers or sales organizations as a way to wring out inefficiency,
force standardized processes and gain better insight into
the state of the business. In particular, what most CRM
and CTI systems provided was a way to track customers, route
and facilitate inbound communications and report on the
progress of various marketing, sales or support activities.
But what these solutions generally
did not address was the need to help organizations resolve
customer problems, answer their questions faster or help
customers solve their own problems. For this reason, we
have seen a slow but steady shift in focus and investment
from automating core internal front-office functions to
streamlining edge processes like online customer support,
product returns or account management.
In parallel, there has been a recent
wave of innovation powered by Internet standards, open source
software and on-demand delivery models, as well as a renewed
interest in areas like knowledge management and what some
are calling service resolution management or SRM. As defined
by leaders in this sector like Knova Software, SRM aims
to improve access to corporate knowledge by breaking down
silos, simplify the authoring and capture of new content
and provide more consistent answers across all sales and
service channels.
Other innovators who are filling
the gaps inherent in "old-school CRM" include e-commerce
and personalization pioneer ATG; RightNow with its innovative
on-demand customer support and self-service offerings; e-billing
and online account management specialist Netonomy; Genesys
and Talisma with their customer interaction management solution
platforms; and content optimization specialist SafeHarbor.
At the same time, several vertical solution providers like
Astute Solutions and Chordiant have created next-generation
applications which fill industry-specific requirements.
A new model for CRM v.2 - What is
the future of CRM - or CRM v.2 if we decide that CRM v.1
is, in fact, dead? First, there must be a core driven by
business rules and even knowledge management, rather than
just a database. Second, solutions must address all modes
of interaction, whether with an agent or salesperson, on
the Web via self-service, or peer-to-peer via user forums
and other collaboration techniques. Third, solutions must
be adaptive, by applying analytics and personalization approaches,
so that organizations can anticipate customer needs, proactively
push out solutions, recommendations or offers based on who
the user is, their skill level, what their preferences are,
etc. More generally, the on-demand
delivery model appears to be here to stay, although we feel
that all deployment options should ideally be supported.
The use of open source and developer source-based components
such as those from Jive Software are also gaining momentum,
especially for multi-channel "edge" functions like customer
forums or enterprise instant messaging.
For the design center, we look for
CRM v.2 to be simpler to use, more open and more adaptive.
It also must be inherently multi-channel, as Gartner's customer
interaction hub model suggests. The customer adaptive solutions
theme announced at Siebel CustomerWorld also seems on the
right track. And there is the argument being made by Greg
Gianforte at RightNow that on-demand delivery coupled with
open source infrastructure may be the most efficient way
to bring these types of applications to market, a view that
has a lot of merit.
So, while CRM as a model is continuing
to evolve, as a market it is definitely entering a phase
where "big-bang" deployments are likely to be the exception,
and ways to more efficiently reach underserved users and
improve responsiveness via add-ons like user forums, a self-service
knowledge base or customer analytics become the focus. Solutions
will also need to be integrated, if not as part of one platform,
at least in terms of common standards, and a common focus
on the customer rather than only customer processes. The
future of CRM as a viable approach and market depends on
it!
From CIO.com (author: Allen Bonde), January
03, 2006
The Avian Flu Case Study: A Pioneering
Tutorial for Using Business Intelligence in the Public Sector
For the Public Sector, this hypothetical
avian flu case study provides an excellent business intelligence
tutorial. When participants at the April 2004 E-Gov Knowledge
Management Conference reflect on the event, they must think
we were truly prescient. It was late 2003 when we were planning
the conference. I had committed to teaching a tutorial on
building knowledge management environments. While looking
for a case study for discussion, I read some of the headlines
coming out of Asia regarding the avian flu. After noticing
these stories, I decided to pick a potential avian flu crisis
as the case study for our tutorial. In February the Washington
Post carried many similar stories like "Bird Flu Strain
Is Discovered in Chicken Flock in Delaware" and "Maryland
Bans Live Poultry Sales as a Precaution."
This was long before the first cases
of transmission to humans appeared in Thailand and Vietnam.
Once this happened, the specter of human-to-human transmission
started to emerge. When the threat of a pandemic began capturing
national attention and the problems of a vaccine - or lack
thereof - arose, it seemed to be old news to our group.
Clearly, we had been examining this problem at least a year
earlier.
The process of the case study is
interesting because it mimicked what might happen in real
life situations. For the tutorial's purposes we created
a fictitious government organization called the National
Emergency Center for Knowledge Sharing (NECKS), which was
responsible for "disseminating accurate and timely knowledge
to all agencies involved in addressing emergency situations."
NECKS' logo - pun intended - was a chicken with its neck
outstretched in apparent expectation of the axe; and its
motto was "Saving our necks together by sharing our common
knowledge."
The fictitious scenario we presented
was straightforward. Three cases of avian flu in humans
appeared in Delaware. This generated significant concern
at both the state and local levels. The Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) was informed and the Secretary of Health and
Human Services briefed the President. Key questions were
asked and answers were needed to address the problem and
take an appropriate course of action. Consequently, NECKS
was ordered to assist in generating relevant knowledge for
the agencies involved in dealing with the actual emergency.
The exercise began with a mock phone call from the White
House to NECKS where the director answers, "Yes, Mr. President.
We'll get right on it." The "President" has just asked a
series of critical questions that demand answers, in the
form of business intelligence, in order to determine a course
of action:
- What do we know about avian flu?
- Who are the experts?
- What populations are at-risk?
- Where are they?
- What measures need to be taken?
- What might be the economic impact?
- How do we identify and contact the necessary authorities
in the at-risk locations?
- What do we tell them?
The first module basically set the stage. Many questions
had to be asked. What is avian flu? What do we know about
it? Is there a vaccine? Who is affected? There are underlying
themes of tacit knowledge, knowledge spaces, content management,
concept searches, taxonomies and others. We introduced an
"Avian Flu Knowledge Space" that had been developed by using
the web, as well as large agricultural and health care research
sources. This also allowed us to demonstrate the use of
search engines, federated searches and concept search tools
to start navigating the knowledge space.
The second module focused on finding
the sources of expertise on "avian flu." Who are the experts?
Where are they? What are the criteria that qualify them
as experts? Their identification, vetting, contacting and
collaboration included themes of communities of practice,
best practices and collaboration. These allowed us to show
the results of queries to the avian-flu knowledge space;
identify people involved with the issue; establish qualifying
criteria for being deemed as "expert" (i.e., authors, speakers
at relevant conferences, faculty teaching related topics,
researchers in relevant firms); develop a list of expert
resources; set up a collaboration vehicle; and even show
a video clip of one expert addressing the topic.
Next, we moved on to address the
question: what populations are at risk? After asking this,
there were the logical follow-up questions to consider:
Where are they? What are their characteristics? This again
allowed us to use query tools, document navigators, summarizers
and begin introducing geospatial processing to address the
question of location, the where dimension. We were able
to introduce the concept of the data mart, OLAP tools and
queries and visualization techniques as we built a small
data mart with data from both Census 2000 and the National
Agricultural Census. We did this to show statistics on poultry
production by county and the location of chicken farms.
We were also able to compute ratios of chicken per person
in high-density counties.
This allowed us to project these
queries on maps to identify the location of populations
at risk by capturing business intelligence about poultry
industry labor statistics, its density and where there was
a high concentration in these locations of very young and
very old people, since these were the populations most vulnerable
to the virus.
What is the economic impact? This
was the next question to tackle. Identifying the economic
impact followed from analyzing the same sources and available
information. We looked at demographics, labor statistics,
poultry industry figures and inventory of farms. After completing
this, we extrapolated the potential economic impact as reflected
in the gross domestic product of a county or state if there
was a need to undertake a massive destruction of poultry.
Again, visualization on maps was very helpful. This showed
queries, such as income from sales of chicken or the median
income in affected counties.
Then, we addressed the question:
How do we identify and contact the necessary authorities
in the at-risk locations? This raised a number of additional
related questions: Who are they? Where are they? What do
we tell them? How do we tell it to them? How do we get ready
to assist? These questions, in turn, introduced themes like
leadership, storytelling, learning, collaboration and security.
Here we relied on the excellent resource provided by the
federal, state and local editions of the Yellow Book (Leadership
Directories) to quickly prepare contact lists with names,
titles, telephones, and electronic as well as postal addresses.
Lastly, we were ready to take action.
The crux of the matter was determining what measures needed
to be taken. And these, of course, come in several categories,
such as medical, economic, security, transportation, security,
communications and press relations, among others. As the
need to work with local authorities and the themes of leadership
and lessons learned emerge, we again needed to demonstrate
knowledge management tools. This had to be done to investigate
what was done in other countries/incidents, obtain recommendations
from experts and identify resource sites on the Internet.
Essentially, the avian flu provided us with an excellent
case study for a business intelligence tutorial. Hopefully,
we have learned enough to help when we are actually confronted
with a real pandemic.
From B-Eye, January 05, 2006
Metadata Among 2006 IT Priorities
What technologies will agencies be
implementing this year? According to GCN's exclusive survey
of federal, state and local readers, metadata will play
a key role in several critical IT initiatives. Data warehousing,
service-oriented architectures and Extensible Markup Language
all rank high among the IT projects that agencies will be
embarking on or expanding in 2006, and all rely on metadata
to enable information sharing, gathering and organization.
"There will be a lot of focus on
the technologies that support the movement of data back
and forth between agencies," said Payton Smith, public sector
director at the research firm Input Inc. of Reston, Va.
"If you've got a collaborative environment where multiple
agencies will be using the same systems, how do you make
sure the information is in the right bucket?" The answer,
increasingly, could be metadata.
In fact, Input identified several
software categories it expects federal agencies to procure
this year, and several are data-intensive, including document/content
management and knowledge management. GCN's readers seem
to be thinking along those lines, too. Thirty-five percent
of respondents to our survey, a larger share than for any
other technology, said they'd be implementing records management
systems this year. Records management is closely aligned,
and often overlaps with, document and knowledge management
projects.
Going beyond mere data, agencies
predictably said they would continue working on security
technologies and new communications systems, including wireless
networks, voice over IP and video conferencing. What
about Microsoft Windows Vista, arguably the most anticipated
technology launch of this year? In a separate question,
readers said they were in no hurry to roll out the new operating
system. Assuming Vista comes out around July, as Microsoft
has indicated, only 4 percent of respondents said they'd
deploy it this year. Instead, 25 percent said 2007 will
likely be the year Vista appears in their agencies; another
20 percent said they are eyeing 2008.
From GCN.com, January 09, 2006
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Wolokollie Declares
Intention for Speaker
A member of the incoming
House of Representatives, Mr. Dusty L. Wolokollie has declared
his intention to contest for the position of Speaker. Announcing
his intention over the weekend, Mr. Wolokollie who is representative-elect
for District Number 4, Montserrado County , said, "time,
circumstances and events over the years have tested and
prepared him for the level of leadership he is now asking
his colleagues of the house to confer on him." He said,
he sees himself as a reflection of the Liberian mosaic in
the nation's fight for justice, equality, peace and democracy
as well as a reflection of the Liberian dream of oneness,
hard work and effort. Mr. Wolokollie
who won on the ticket of Unity Party of President-elect
Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, said he did not arrive at this
decision lightly, stressing that he is coming to the position
with a wealth of experience both in the public and private
sectors.
Recounting on the role he played
over the years as a social advocate, the Speaker-aspirant
said he has served on the frontline in the Liberian people's
quest for freedom, justice, democracy and a better Liberia
. According to him, as president of the St. John's High
School in Grand Cape Mount County as well as the University
of Liberia Student Union respectively, he did not waver
in seeking the Liberian people's interest, adding, "also
as president of the Liberia People's Party (LPP), we pursued
the path of freedom and democracy. This is the profile,
experience and weight we intend to bring to the office of
the Speaker." Mr. Wolokollie then used the occasion
to call on his fellow representatives-elect to join and
rally around him in what he called "this historic quest
to restore our country's dignity and revive the vitality
of the honorable House of Representatives." He assured
his colleagues that he will uphold their trust and confidence
when elected, stressing that with his experience, he will
fight to bring respect to the honorable body and achieve
Liberia 's development agenda.
The Montserrado County representative-elect
holds a BA Degree in Economics from the University of Liberia
and a Master of Arts Degree in Development Economics and
Public Finance in June 1983 from the New School for Social
Research in New York City , State of New York , United States
of America . He once served as Assistant Minister for Administration
at the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs from 1981
to 1982 and Senior Economist at the same Ministry. He
represented the Ministry on the Economic and Financial Management
Committee (EFMC) Secretariat along with other colleagues
from the Ministry of Finance, the Bureau of Budget and the
National Bank now known as the Central Bank of Liberia .
From 1998 to 2002, he worked for
the International NGO, the International Foundation for
Education and self help (IFESH) as program Manager for Training
and Technical Assistance. Meanwhile, four legislators-elect
were denied travel to Accra , Ghana to participate in the
World Bank organized legislative orientation. Those stopped
from traveling to Ghana with their colleagues are Montserrado
County Representative-elect Edwin M Snowe, Jr., Bong County
Senator-elect Jewel Howard Taylor, Nimba County Senator-elect
Adolphus Dolo and Grand Gedeh County Representative-elect
Kai Farley. According to reports they were stopped because
their names are on the United Nations Security Council Travel
Ban list.
From Allafrica.com, January 3, 2006
With Six Days to Inauguration:
Ellen Approves 10 Cabinet Nominees - Others Still Under
Scrutiny
The NEWS has credibly learnt that
the President-elect, Mrs. Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf has given
the green light to the appointment of ten cabinet ministers
in her incoming government. The information comes within
just six days of her historic inauguration as the first
female President of Africa's oldest Republic, Liberia slated
for January 16, 2006. A well-placed Unity Party source hinted
this paper Monday that Mrs. Sirleaf's approval of the ten
names for senior cabinet positions was made following the
submission of several names by Vice President-elect Ambassador
Joseph N. Boakai, Chairman of the Transitional Presidential
Appointment Committee. "Please
don't ask me to disclose the identities of those who have
been selected to serve in the new cabinet because I'm not
the President-elect nor her spokesperson to officially inform
the press on this issue.
Besides, this is not the appropriate
time to make such a pronouncement," the source pleaded.
Mrs. Sirleaf, who is also Africa's first President-elect,
is expected to announce the names of some members of her
cabinet as well as heads of public corporations and autonomous
agencies including the Central Bank of Liberia during her
inaugural address or immediately following the ceremony.
Notwithstanding, our source named the Ministries of State
for Presidential Affairs; Lands, Mines and Energy; Defense;
National Security; Justice; Finance; Planning and Economic
Affairs as areas where the heads have been named. "The
prospective officers already know themselves, but are keeping
their fingers crossed pending official pronouncement from
Mrs. Sirleaf," the source maintained.
He could not confirm whether these
appointments include some members of the opposition. However,
the President-elect has persistently assured that her government
will include the opposition. But the "Iron Lady"
has emphasized that such appointments would be based on
competence, good human rights record, and corruption free,
among others set standards. Meanwhile, the vetting process
continues of potential applicants for consideration for
the over 400 public offices. Although the source did not
reveal the names of the ten nominees, the News believes
that the following could not be afar from the real stuff.
Minister of Finance: This pivotal
job will require an individual of substantive orientation
and training in the area of public finance and fiscal management.
This individual, in order to be effective, must have the
unfettered support and backing of the President. A good
knowledge of the workings of the international financial
community, especially multilateral financial institutions
like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF),
and the African Development Bank Group (ADB), preferably
hand-on working experience. Given this background, this
paper believes that two persons in the Unity Party can handle
this position. The first is Miatta Beyslow. Ms. Beyslow
is a former Vice President of the National Housing &
Savings Bank under the leadership of Mr. Hilary Dennis,
in the mid '70s and early '80s. She left and joined the
African Development Bank and rose to the position of Division
Chief for the Disbursement Department, responsible for the
release of loan proceeds from loans approved by the Bank
group. She is a long time friend and confidant of Mrs. Sirleaf.
Beyslow later honorably retired from the bank after over
ten years. Her experience, education, training, and proximity
to the President-elect, make her a suitable candidate.
Dr. J. Mills Jones: Dr. Jones is
a twenty-five year veteran of the International Monetary
Fund (IMF), which he joined in 1979 following a stint at
the Ministry of Planning and Economics Affairs. At the IMF,
he rose to the position of Advisor to the Executive Director.
He later joined the World Bank as Alternate Executive Director
for the twenty-two-member constituency including Liberia.
Dr. Jones ranked second in the search conducted for a Central
Bank Governor in 2004. The search panel comprising representatives
of the IMF, the World Bank, the United States Treasury,
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and
the National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL).
A holder of a doctoral degree in Economics, Dr. Jones came
home early last year to serve as Executive Director of the
RIMCO, the implementation and coordination mechanism of
the Result Focused Transitional Framework (RFTF). Unlike
his colleagues, he has worked in the Government, rising
to the position of Assistant Minister in the Ministry of
Planning & Economic Affairs.
Richard Tolbert: Mr. Tolbert is a
long time resident of Wall Street, America's premier address
for bank and corporate finance professional and careerists.
The son of former President-pro tempore, Frank E. Tolbert,
this young Liberian is currently serving as Vice President
of Paine Webber/Chase. His appointment could restore confidence
of the financial markets in our country, and make borrowing
terms and conditions affordable. This, however, may not
be the case because Liberia cannot do any commercial borrowings,
because the country's credit worthiness is so poor. An insider
told The News that Mr. Tolbert was one of the major financial
contributors to Mrs. Sirleaf.
Antoinette Sayeh: A senior economist
at the World Bank, Dr. Sayeh has been with the World Bank
for the last twenty-two years, serving in various capacities
including Desk Officer, Country Economist, etc. The daughter
of one of Liberia's prominent foresters, Mr. Anthony Sayeh,
Ms. Sayeh holds a PhD. in Economics. Her appointment to
this prestigious position will make Liberia the second country
in West Africa, which has looked to the World Bank for a
Finance Minister. The first was the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, which appointed Ngozi, then a Vice President of
the Bank, as Finance Minister. One common draw back which
exists in the case of the three persons, is that almost
all of them have never worked in the public service, and
have not lived in this country for at least the last twenty-three
years. However, at a recent meeting with heads of radio
stations and newspaper editors, the President-elect disclosed
that women would occupy some of the most senior positions
of her government. Our speculation and analysis continue
for the other positions in our subsequent edition.
From allafrica.com, January 10. 2006
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Enhance Tax GDP Ratio to 15 Per
Cent: ASSOCHAM
New Delhi: The Associated Chambers
of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) today asked
the Finance Ministry to enhance its tax GDP ratio to over
15 per cent, which had earlier fallen to 9.3 per cent in
2003-04 from 10.6 per cent in 1987-88, in order to help
India get over its major public finance crisis. The
paper, 'Reforming Management of India's Expenditure', brought
out by ASSOCHAM and the Economic Management Institute (EMI),
highlights that out of its total budgeted expenditure of
Rs 5,14,344 crore for the fiscal 2005-06, almost 12 per
cent will go waste in terms of subsidies extension in areas
of food, fertiliser and petroleum products as its targeted
audience hardly gains out of it.
ASSOCHAM President Anil K Agarwal
suggested that a 15 per cent GDP ratio is necessary given
the current public finance crisis India is currently facing
as the combined fiscal deficit of the central and state
governments alone adds up to 9.4 per cent of GDP. As a consequence
of the continuing high fiscal deficit, the combined outstanding
liability of the central and state governments have risen
from 67.8 per cent of GDP at the end of 1990-91 to 75 per
cent of GDP at the end of 2000-01 and to 87.1 per cent at
the end of 2003-04. Including the debt of public enterprises,
total public debt is now 107 per cent of GDP with contingent
liability from loss making public enterprises alone adding
up to 12 per cent of GDP. ''The Finance Ministry, therefore,
needs to save money through elimination of distortions and
leakages in its expenditures and raise additional rupee
through taxation,'' Mr Agarwal said.
The budgeted expenditure of Finance
Ministry for 2005-06 is Rs 5,14,344 crore, of which the
fertiliser subsidy will be Rs 16,254 crore, food subsidy
- Rs 26,200 crore and petroleum subsidy will work out to
be Rs 3,644 crore. The Chamber has further said that out
of the budgeted allocation of Rs 18,854 crore for public
enterprises, equity investments will account for Rs 14,040
crore, loans for Rs 4,812 crore and grants for Rs 2 crore.
''The entire equity investment and loans of Rs 3,554 crore
are meant to help public enterprises in financing their
investments during 2005-06. Out of this, Rs 1,258 crore
is meant for meeting shortfall in resources of public enterprises,
financing revival schemes of public enterprises and financing
voluntary separation scheme and statutory dues of public
enterprises, and also to enable public enterprises implement
voluntary retirement schemes. The chamber, is its Paper,
has suggested that public enterprises be encouraged to borrow
directly from the market on commercial terms and revised
and updated 'General Financial Rules' with focus on greater
delegation of authority to administrative ministries in
managing their financial affairs.
From newkerala.com, January 3, 2006
Tanigaki Urges BOJ Caution in
Ending Loose Policy
Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu
Tanigaki on Monday urged the Bank of Japan to use caution
in determining when to end its ultra-loose monetary policy,
even though he expects the nation's economy to shake off
deflation in 2006. "It
is a fact that deflation still continues in a moderate form,
but I think Japan can emerge from deflation some this year,"
Tanigaki said after giving a speech at the Japan Society
in New York. The latest central
bank data show Japan's core consumer price index rose 0.1
percent in November from a year earlier, signaling an end
to seven years of deflation. The
rebound in prices, along with a recovering economy and surging
stock market, has bolstered expectations the BOJ would soon
ditch its ultra-loose monetary policy, known as "quantitative
easing," by mid-2006.
"There is a need for (the BOJ)
to make a careful assessment of data. It should not rush
things," Tanigaki said when asked when he thought the
BOJ might switch policy. While
the BOJ uses the core CPI as its main gauge for policy,
the government has urged it to refer to a wider range of
data, such as the GDP deflator. The
government is wary that a premature reversal of the BOJ's
accommodative stance could ruin Japan's chances of a full-fledged
economic recovery and hamper its own efforts to trim public
debt. Asked about the recently
volatile yen, Tanigaki simply repeated the government's
mantra that currency rates should reflect fundamentals and
move in a stable manner.
"As the G7 statement has said,
foreign exchange should reflect fundamentals and move in
a stable manner ... The G7 approves of governments taking
appropriate action when moves are out of line with those
conditions," Tanigaki said to a group of reporters.
"I do not comment on specific
levels, but basically we will determine policy within that
G7 position," Tanigaki added. Officials
are concerned that a rapid rise in the yen could hurt Japanese
exporters and dampen the strong business recovery of the
past year, but Tanigaki and other officials have so far
not shown any urgent desire to intervene. The
dollar was last quoted at around 114.75 yen <JPY=>,
recovering from an earlier fall to three-month lows around
113.78 yen.
Financial markets will be watching
for any comments from Tanigaki on dollar/yen during his
week-long visit, especially as he is due to meet U.S. Treasury
Secretary John Snow on Wednesday. Tanigaki's
meetings with various high-profile officials, including
outgoing Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, is expected
to bolster his political profile ahead of an election for
the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party - a job
that carries with it the prime ministership. Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi steps down in September. Tanigaki,
in his speech on Monday, also addressed the issue of consumption
taxes, set to be a crucial and controversial issue in Japan's
leadership election. Tanigaki,
a proponent of plans to raise the rate from its current
5 percent, said debate was needed on the issue.
"Given the present state of
public finance, it is clear that it will be next to impossible
to accomplish fiscal consolidation by just reducing expenditures,"
he said in the speech. "We
will have to engage ourselves in public debate ... on reforming
the entire tax system including the consumption tax, while
of course closely monitoring trends in economic activities,"
he said. The consumption tax
has remained a politically thorny issue, especially since
the last rise in 1997 was followed by a deep economic recession
that led to the downfall of then Prime Minister Ryutaro
Hashimoto. But most economists
say Japan will eventually need to raise the tax to tackle
swelling public debt. Japan
is burdened with the biggest pile of public debt in the
industrialized world, amounting to roughly 150 percent of
its gross domestic product.
From Reuters, January 10, 2006
Public Bank Keen to Expand into
China
Public Bank Bhd, which announced
yesterday record profits for another year, signalled its
intention to venture into China. The
bank, with the second largest amount of loans in the country,
wants 100% stake in a bank in China but will consider owning
less if there are synergies to be found with a joint-venture
partner, according to managing director Datuk Seri Tay Ah
Lek. "We are looking at directly
expanding into greater China,'' Tay told a media conference
to announce Public Bank's 2005 financial year results. He
said Public Bank was ready to venture into China but would
not use unit JCG Finance Co Ltd, now known as Public Finance
Ltd, for the purpose. Public
Finance has an asset base of HK$4.4bil but must have an
asset base of US$6bil in order to qualify.
Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow - "It will
most probably be through a direct acquisition,'' he said.
Although Public Bank has sufficient asset base to qualify
for a branch in China, it must satisfy other conditions
before it may be considered. Funding any acquisitions in
its China move can be through a number of ways, given the
bank's strong capital base and it might consider issuing
a hybrid Tier-1 capital. Plans for such an expansion was
unveiled after the bank announced it had recorded a net
profit of RM1.45bil, or 44.23 sen a share, for its financial
year ended Dec 31, 2005, compared with a net profit of RM1.27bil,
or 39.5 sen a share, a year earlier. Revenue
rose to RM5.9bil from RM5.04bil while pre-tax profit crossed
the RM2bil mark for the first time in its history to RM2.05bil
from RM1.85bil.
The bank also announced a final dividend
of 20 sen a share less tax and a special dividend of 15
sen a share less tax. Including an interim dividend of 20
sen a share, total dividend for the year was 55 sen a share
less tax. Total dividend payout amount to RM1.3bil. "Total
assets surpassed the RM100bil mark to stand at a record
RM111.6bil, which is two-and-a-half times the group's asset
size of RM45.3bil at end-2000,'' Public Bank chairman Tan
Sri Teh Hong Piow said in a statement. Public Bank's net
interest income and net Islamic banking financing income
expanded by 7% to RM2.89bil. Other operating income grew
24% to RM918mil as a result of higher sales of unit trusts
following the launch of seven new funds. The
bank's loans grew by 20%, or RM11.2bil, to RM68.1bil at
end-2005. Its loans had been growing at or above 20% each
year since 2001 and that had enabled the group to become
the second largest lender in the country with a 12% share,
Teh said.
"The group's lending activities continued
to be focused on the retail sector, with consumer loans
for the financing of residential properties and vehicle
hire-purchase as well as commercial lending to SMEs accounting
for 72% of the group's total loan portfolio and 76% of total
new loans approved of RM27bil in 2005,'' he said. Public
Bank has forecast loans to grow in the "high teens" in 2006,
mainly due to the huge growth in the bank loans base over
the past few years. Tay said loans for the purchase of vehicles,
which account for 25% of the bank's loans at RM16.7bil,
would see "stable growth" this year and would be linked
to car sales, which are expected to rise marginally this
year. He said the bank should also see "steady growth" in
residential property loans, which account for 26%, or RM17.8bil,
of the bank's loans base.
Tay said Public Bank, which had
made a bid for Asia General Holdings Ltd (AGHL) along with
Southern Bank Bhd (SBB), was still interested in buying
a life insurance company. "Life
insurance in Malaysia is relatively untapped and there is
a business case for an insurance arm,'' he said. With
SBB having aborted the RM2bil acquisition of AGHL after
failing to obtain approval from Bank Negara, Public Bank
senior general manager Leong Kwok Nyem said the bank now
"intends to make a go at it (AGHL)''. On
the outlook for Public Bank, Teh said it would continue
to record "satisfactory performance" in 2006, adding that
the implementation of the new accounting standards was expected
to have a positive impact on the bank's bottom line. "The
Public Bank group's strong lower-cost deposit structure
will provide it with the capacity to remain competitive
in the lending business,'' he said. "Rising interest rates
will also be a positive for interest margins, as loans re-price
faster than deposits in the rising interest rate environment.''
From Malaysia Star, January 24, 2006
Centre Can't Do Much To Push Growth
Few finance ministers have the comfort
of a booming economy as they sit down to frame a Budget.
As finance minister P Chidambaram starts penning his third
Budget, his hands have been strengthened by three straight
years of robust growth, and one that is spread across sectors.
The challenge will be to sustain the almost certain 7% plus
growth that India is sure to get this financial year and
perhaps accelerate it to 8%. There's little the Budget can
do to spur growth, is what most economists feel. "The Budget
won't have much to do with growth," says Saumitra Chaudhari,
chief economist at rating agency Icra. M Govind Rao, director
of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP)
underscores the point, insisting that undue importance is
given to the Budget and the government.
"The growth has happened in spite
of the government and the Budget can do precious little
on that front." Perhaps, but there's no denying that it's
the economic growth that is giving North Block an extremely
favourable environment in which to frame the Budget. Undoubtedly,
the single most significant advantage that Chidambaram has
is the oodles of confidence in the Indian economy both within
and outside the country, which economists call unprecedented.
"The environment is very, very positive," exults Chaudhari.
Sure it is. Latest figures
on the index of industrial production show that industry
grew 8.4% in April-October and, within that, the manufacturing
sector grew 9.1%. Capital goods, which reflect the investments
being made, grew 16.6%. it's not just industry which is
feeling upbeat. Consumer confidence is also high and people
are spending more. Proof: the 13.2% growth in the consumer
goods sector in April-October.
"There is a feeling that we can do
it and this is driving investment and consumption," says
S S Bhandare advisor, economic and government policy at
the Tata Strategic Management Group who feels this is the
most important factor for economic growth that needs to
be nurtured. More importantly,
the growth has come with moderate inflation, which is ranging
at slightly below the 5% mark, something that hasn't been
there for many years, Bhandare points out.But
the advantages are considerably set off by pretty severe
handicaps. The main one, of course, being the state of the
exchequer. Management of public finances has not been good
at all, says Ashima Goyal, professor at the Indira Gandhi
Institute of Development Research. She certainly has a point,
if the figures relating to public finance up to November
are seen.
On the face of it, expenditure has
increased only by 10% while revenue receipts are up 16%.
But look at the quality of expenditure. Revenue expenditure
(on salaries and other running expenses) has increased 11%
on the non-Plan account and 39% on the Plan account. Capital
expenditure (on asset creation) has fallen under both heads
- by 28% on the non-Plan account and 18% on the Plan account.
Even accepting the argument (though it's not entirely tenable)
that much of the revenue expenditure is on essential social
sector schemes where current expenditure is high, this still
shows a certain undesirable skew in expenditure patterns.
The worrisome fiscal situation,
something about which the Prime Minister has often expressed
concern, will certainly put pressure on finances needed
to fund physical infrastructure, the crippling lack of which
will inhibit growth.
Notwithstanding what the economists
may say, there's no denying that government spending is
still crucial for infrastructure projects. Though, as Bhandare
points out, infrastructure investments are hampered equally
by policy, Goyal has an equally strong case for increased
government spending in the sector. There
are other wild cards too that Chidambaram will have to keep
in mind. Global oil prices, currently fluctuating around
rather high levels, is one. If
they continue to rise that could spook growth. And if the
government still refuses to pass on the burden to consumers,
that will throw both the oil marketing companies and the
exchequer into a tailspin.
There's also the global slowdown
that's expected in 2006. India may not be as dependent on
the global economy as many other countries but its exposure
is certainly higher than it was a decade back. With export
markets going into a probable slump, there will be demands
for sops and concessions from exporters and export-oriented
industries. Perhaps a case
of the enviable situation not being so enviable after all?
From Daily News India, January 10, 2006
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Fastest Growth in 10 Years Slices
Czech Budget Deficit
The Czech Republic on Monday posted
a 2005 central government budget deficit of 56.4 billion
koruny, safely below the maximum approved by Parliament,
as the fastest economic expansion in 10 years and higher
tax rates bolstered revenue. The shortfall, equal to $2.3
billion, compared with a deficit limit of 83.6 billion koruny
approved by lawmakers, the Finance Ministry said. Revenue
totaled 866.5 billion koruny, compared with the projected
824.8 billion koruny; spending was 922.9 billion koruny,
compared with the planned 908.4 billion koruny.
The country, which has been an EU member for 20 months,
must keep squeezing its budget deficit if it is to adopt
the euro in 2010 as it hopes to do. But it now appears the
government can afford to increase spending before elections
in June, as faster-than-expected economic growth and higher
taxes are producing more revenue than expected.
A large increase in spending in December
"illustrates the efforts to include the maximum items
in the budget at the end of the year," said Michal
Brozka, an economist at Raiffeisenbank in Prague. "Behind
the lower-than-drafted deficit, there's merely the favorable
development on the revenue side." The Czech economy
grew 5 percent in the first nine months of 2005. The year's
budget - 37.3 billion koruny less than the 2004 budget -
had been drafted on the assumption that economic growth
would be 3.6 percent. The government put aside about 25
billion koruny in 2006 reserve funds, the ministry said,
as stricter rules for public tenders delayed some investment
projects. The reserve money was included in 2005 spending
under national methodology, which EU rules exclude.
When off-budget funds and municipal
and regional budgets are included, the 2005 shortfall was
4.2 percent of gross domestic product, compared with 3 percent
of GDP in 2004. "It's a very good result, the smallest
shortfall since 2002," Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka
said. "The public finance performance in 2005 under
the European Union methodology was the best since 1997."
Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek's fiscal policy, which does
not include spending cuts, has been criticized by the central
bank and some economists because the government would find
it difficult to help the economy in a slowdown or recession.
"Stabilization of public finances through higher taxation
works in the short term, though it's harmful in the long
term," Zdenek Tuma, governor of the Czech National
Bank, said in an article Monday in the Hospodarske Noviny.
"Short-sighted utilization of the Czech economy's good
performance to increase state spending could threaten the
desired stabilization of public finances, and finally, it
could jeopardize the euro adoption by the planned date."
From International Herald Tribune, January
3, 2006
Closer Watch on Public Spending
Undeterred by the fact that it amassed
more public revenues than expected last year, the government
is working on a draft law to form an independent team of
investigators to check on the finances of state bodies,
sources told Kathimerini yesterday. The government hopes
the checks will lead to the reduction of waste and corruption
in the civil service. Currently, inspectors look into the
finances of prefectures, regional authorities, ministries
and the office of the Greek president. These bodies are
responsible for spending some 6 percent of the state budget.
However, sources said that a bill now in the hands of Economy
and Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis proposes to empower
a new inspectorate to look at the books of public utilities,
local government offices and public services.
The bill is due to be submitted to
Parliament next month and is expected to give the new Public
Finance Inspectors the power to check not only if money
is being spent legally by the various bodies but also if
it is being spent appropriately, and whether the organizations
are monitoring their own expenditures. Alogoskoufis has
made it clear that cutting back on public waste is a significant
tool in Greece's battle to reduce its deficit. Although
buoyed by the news yesterday that the increase in public
revenues for 2005 came in at 6 percent rather than the projected
5 percent, the government shows no sign of letting up in
its efforts to tidy up public spending. The
new body will have the power to take temporary measures,
such as suspending civil servants, in cases where inspectors
believe there is some form of mismanagement. They will also
be able to put an end to practices that appear to be damaging
a public body until a full investigation is conducted.
From Kathimerini, January 3, 2006
Poland's Gilowska Named Finance
Chief, to Cut Deficit
Poland named Zyta Gilowska as finance
minister, turning to the opposition party's former deputy
leader to cut the budget deficit and smooth the country's
path into the euro. Gilowska, 56, replaced Teresa Lubinska,
who was ousted by the ruling party after calling for a higher
deficit and higher fuel taxes. Gilowska, vice chairwoman
of the opposition Citizens' Platform until last May, was
also appointed deputy prime minister. The two-month old
minority government of the Law & Justice party is pledging
to trim the shortfall below 3 percent of gross domestic
product from the current 4.5 percent to qualify for the
euro as early as 2010. "It's been my firm determination
to establish order in public finances and I have always
fought against any waste of money,'' Gilowska, an economics
professor, told a Warsaw press conference today. ``Public
spending has to be disciplined and rational.'' Gilowska's
former party attempted to set up a coalition government
with the Law & Justice party after elections in September,
though talks collapsed amid differences over economic policies
and power sharing.
Budget Cuts - The
Law & Justice government under Prime Minister Kazimierz
Marcinkiewicz agreed last month to cut the 2006 deficit
to 30.5 billion zloty ($9.7 billion), compared with 32.6
billion zloty set by the previous government. The budget
bill will be voted by legislators Jan. 14. ``Financial
markets should show a positive reaction to Gilowska as finance
minister because she's known for her strong views on social
spending,'' said Jacek Wisniewski, chief economist at Raiffaisen
Bank in Warsaw. Poland's $264
billion economy grew an annual 3.7 percent in the third
quarter, faster than 2.8 percent in the previous three months,
the Central Statistical Office reported Nov. 29. Full- year
growth for 2005 is estimated by the government at about
3.5 percent and this year's budget assumes the pace will
accelerate to 4.3 percent.
Marcinkiewicz reiterated today he
is expecting the economy to grow faster than the target
rate and said Gilowska will help the government fulfill
its economic program by overseeing all economic ministries
as deputy prime minister. Gilowska
``has outstanding expertise in public finance and is very
well known for her restrictive views on state spending,''
President Lech Kaczynski said at a televised ceremony in
Warsaw today. Former finance
chief Lubinska criticized Tesco Plc and other retailers
opening hypermarkets in Poland for creating low- skilled
jobs and driving out smaller shops. She also called for
an increase in the deficit. Lubinska,
53, will continue to be employed by the government, Marcinkiewicz
said, without saying what job she will have.
Bloomberg, January 7, 2006
Polish Government Delays Presenting
Country's Euro Convergence Plan Till Jan 17
Polish government will asked European
Commission for a delay in presenting country's euro convergence
program, as it plans to present it on January 17, MinFin
spokesperson Marcin Mazurek told PAP. "The
government will not discuss the program today," Mazurek
said. "We will ask the European Commission to extend
the deadline by a week." "It
means we will present it on January 17," he added.
In the new version of the convergence
programme, the Finance Ministry assumes an increase of mid-year
inflation from 1.5% this year to 2.5% in 2008 as well as
gradual deficit reduction to 1.9% within three years. In
the case of deficit, the forecast is based on the assumption
that pension funds means make a part of the public finance
sector.
EURO PAP, January 10, 2006
CEC Privatization Could Be Deferred
for Two Years
The board of administration of the
Romanian Savings Bank (CEC) has been asked by the privatization
commission to present a two-year strategy based on the possibility
of privatization not taking place. If the business plan
presented by the CEC board persuades the commission that
the restructuring and development of the local bank without
the involvement of a strategic investor are feasible objectives,
the privatization could be postponed. Sources from the Ministry
of Public Finance (MFP) say the board of CEC and the privatization
commission will meet next week. CEC president Eugen Radulescu
confirmed that the board he heads was elaborating a business
plan for the period up to 2008 which does not depend on
privatization being carried out. The CEC official does not
exclude the possibility of the commission asking the board
to elaborate a strategy based on several scenarios.
At the beginning of the year the
Minister of Public Finance Sebastian Vladescu said he was
not happy with the preliminary takeover offers and was still
analyzing the best option for the privatization of the Romanian
Savings Bank (CEC). The privatization of CEC is no longer
an urgent priority for the government and the opinion that
the state should remain involved in the Romanian banking
system, as has happened on other markets in Central Europe,
appears to be gaining ground. Sources from the banking market
claim that authorities are considering keeping the bank
for some time and investing in the consolidation of its
position, which has weakened in the last two years. The
government's document calling for offers for the privatization
of the bank includes an option for the Romanian state to
interrupt the process at any time.
Initially the deadline for the submission of binding offers
was November 28, 2005, but this was subsequently postponed
indefinitely, until the completion of the privatization
of the Romanian Commercial Bank (BCR).
BCR president Nicolae Danila suggested
the state may have jumped the gun by selling BRD too early,
before re-capitalizing it. The seven investors participating
in the tender had submitted preliminary offers by October
21 but media reports suggested that none exceeded 300 million
euros, despite experts' estimate that the stake in CEC on
sale could raise 650 million euros. The seven investors
bidding for CEC are Erste Bank, the National Bank of Greece,
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, Dexia Bank, EFG Eurobank,
OTP Bank and the consortium composed of Raiffeisen International
Bank and Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterreich Aktiengesellschaft.
The strategic investor which would buy CEC will have the
possibility of taking over up to 75% of the capital but
no less than 50% plus one share, according to the bank's
privatization strategy adopted by the government. Currently,
CEC is being reorganized. Its services and products portfolio
is being developed to take better advantage of its large
rural distribution network in areas which other banks have
difficulty penetrating.
CEC registered a net profit of 870,000
euros in the first nine months of 2005, which it expects
to reach one million euros by the end of year, Radulescu
stated earlier this month. The CEC official's forecasts
rely on the spectacular growth of the credit portfolio whose
monthly progression rate is 50 million euros. At the end
of September, total credits had reached 417 million euros
and were estimated to have reached two billion euros by
the end of last year, representing at least a threefold
increase compared to 2004. Radulescu expects credits to
be boosted by the completion of the bank's computerization
process. Over 700 branches are to be connected to the central
CEC unit through a system in which the bank has already
invested 8.5 million euros. Experts say CEC is a good acquisition
opportunity because it is the last large bank to be privatized
in Romania and buying a bank of comparable size on the market
would be very difficult and even more expensive.
From Bucharest Daily News, January 18,
2006
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Tardy Privatization of TRC Harms
Economy
The long awaited economic benefits
expected to arise from privatization of Tanzania's railway
system are no longer in sight. The single-gauge track was
laid down ninety years ago during German colonial rule,
and reached the shores of Lake Tanganyika in 1914. It was
then mainly used to transport migrant labourers and cash
crops from the interior to international markets. Old age,
coupled with lack of proper and consistent maintenance since
independence, has drastically reduced its economic value.
Of late, the northern link line joining Kibaha and Arusha
has been rendered a white elephant as it fails to compete
with all weather tarmac roads. Worst,
the rolling stock is now outdated, thus making operations
inefficient.
Official estimates show that about
Tsh.70 billion is urgently needed to revamp the railways,
hitherto managed by the public parastatal, the Tanzania
Railways Corporation (TRC). The
state was ill prepared to raise this amount of financing,
hence the resort to privatization.The recent discovery of
nickel in Kigoma region has attracted an investment worth
USD 500m, but mine development is said to have been hindered
by delayed privatization of the railways. The
central railway-line also traverses virgin land with untapped
agricultural potential. Before
April last year, PSRC had already pre-qualified Rites Consortium
of India and the Great Lakes Railways Consortium as preferred
bidders seeking to run TRC on a concession basis. The
two firms were ultimately required to submit technical and
financial bids for final selection. The bids were received
on April 13 last year.
The Great Lakes Railways Consortium's
technical bid was then rejected due to failure to meet terms
and conditions of the concession. Subsequently,
it challenged the selection in court. However,
in June last year, the lost bidder withdrew the case unconditionally
at the Commercial Division of the High Court. As
of now, the Indian Consortium is awaiting government's nod,
having offered USD100m (over Tsh.100bn) as concession fees
for 25 years. Traditionally,
the development expenditure of TRC had been borne by donor
countries, notably Germany, England and Canada, but since
2000, they have remained on the sidelines to pave the way
for privatization. The president
of the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture
(TCCIA), Mr. Elvis Musiba, said that poor and outdated infrastructure
is hurting the economy.
According to Musiba, a number of
investors have already made decisions to start exploring
for minerals, but they wanted a reliable infrastructure
that could withstand the hauling of minerals in bulk to
outlet points. Malaysian investors have also shown interest
to invest in planting 700ha of palm oil trees in Kigoma
region. The Central Railway line also serves the landlocked
countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Zaire. The intended
major rehab of the system would reduce costly and sporadic
accidents while allowing timely delivery of goods. TRC's
2,700 kilometres long rail, infrastructure, engines and
tracks need major repairs to improve safety standards, which
have deteriorated over the last century. In June 2002, 288
passengers tragically died when the train they were travelling
in suffered mechanical impairment, sped backwards uncontrollably
ramming into a cargo train in Mpwapwa district, Kigoma Region.
Mr. Musiba was commenting on the
state of infrastructure development as well as improvement
and the general view on the business environment during
the ended year 2005. 'Infrastructural problems are not well
addressed, and this is partly because of the bureaucrats'
attitude of mind which is resistant to changes,' he said.
According to him, the stumbling blocks facing the Tanzanian
business community are well known to all stakeholders, and,
unfortunately, frequent dialogue has so far failed to get
to the bottom of them. Mr. Musiba said that the business
community through the Tanzania National Business Council
(TNBC) had even labeled all problems facing business people
as red, green and yellow, but yet the pace at which those
problems were being addressed was not satisfactory. In November
last year, the TRC appealed to the government to hasten
its privatization as the corporation's operations were fast
deteriorating at an estimated rate of 20 percent a year
for lack of funds. TRC has been experiencing an average
of 40 broken railway sections and 100 locomotive failures
every month, and breakdowns were frequent.
From Allafrica.com, January 3, 2006
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Country's Public Education Still
in Crisis
Senate President Franklin Drilon
said public education in the country continues to be in
crisis having a budget gap of P10.5 billion. Speaking over
the Grand Centennial Alumni Homecoming of Baluarte Elementary
School in Molo, Iloilo City last December 30, 2005 the Ilonggo
legislator lamented the lack of government support to education.
Drilon cited that education should have been given importance
by the government as it is the key to personnel advancement,
people's advancement and the nation's advancement. Drilon
disclosed that the country lacks 10,500 classrooms which
if constructed would cost around P4.6 billion. Schools also
lack 1.2 million desks which amount to P720 million and
12,000 textbooks costing around P1.2 billion.
The country's schools, he said, also
need additional 12,000 teachers to achieve the 1:40 teacher-student
ratio. The need for additional teachers require P1.2 billion
budget a year. To note, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
submitted to Congress a P1.05 trillion budget for the year
2006. However reports say the proposed budget focuses on
socioeconomic renewal and fiscal health. The P1.05 trillion
budget is 14.7 percent higher than the year 2005 budget
of P918.6 billion and accounts for 17.6 percent of the country's
gross domestic product (GDP). "Despite the programmed
increase in the budget next year, we look forward to fully
financing it, at the same time bring down the budget deficit
to P124.9 billion from the current year's target of P180
billion"; the President said in her budget message.
Relative to the country's GDP, the budget deficit is down
to 2.1 percent compared to 3.4 percent this year. Government
projected revenues for 2006 are expected to reach P968.6
billion, P874.3 billion or 90.2 percent of which will come
from taxes while the remaining P94.3 billion will be derived
from non-tax sources such as fees and charges, income, privatization
proceeds and foreign grants.
From News Today Online, January 4, 2006
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State to Keep Control Over Romanian
Lottery
The sale of stakes owned by the government
in the Romanian Lottery and the National Printing House
represents only a "partial privatization" and
the state will maintain its full control over the two institutions'
activities, according to the Ministry of Public Finance
(MPF). The transfer of the 20 percent stake in the two companies,
the initiation of public secondary offers and the offer
of shares to employees of the two companies are obligations
stipulated by the Romanian legislation, specifies the MFP
in a release. According to the ordinance draft for the privatization
strategy of the two institutions, 32 percent of the social
capital of the Romanian Lottery and the National Printing
House will be sold.
20 percent of the stock will be allocated
to the Proprietatea Fund (the fund created for the compensation
of the victims of abusive expropriations under communism).
Another five percent will be sold by secondary public offers.
The remaining seven percent of the stock to be sold will
be offered to the current employees of the two companies,
but also to those retired and to the members of the administration
boards through an association to be created to this effect.
The draft law also stipulates that the two companies will
become limited liabilities in which the Romanian state will
continue to hold a majority participation of 68 percent
of the social capital.
From Bucharest Daily News, January 8,
2006
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Daniels Continues to Make Case
for 'Privatization'
In his first State of the State
address last January, Gov. Mitch Daniels announced a moratorium
on state approval of school construction projects. This
triggered debates across the state over "local control,"
but it also did something else. It ignited local conversations
about spending by government in places like Hobart and Middlebury
and Vincennes, where school corporations were responsible
for some of the bigger increases in the local tax rate.
The result? "The Department of Local Government counts $87
million that came out of proposals that had come to them,"
said Gov. Mitch Daniels last Wednesday. "$87 million! And
those are the ones they know about. These are the ones that
were slimmed down. As of today, no proposal has been rejected."
"What we know but we don't know the
number for was that many more the pencils were sharpened
before the proposals came," Daniels said. "That's exactly
what I hoped would happen. We're still home rule people
around here. We're not interested in telling people what
the right dollar amount or what the right school size is.
But if you're above the national average, then think twice.
Up to this point it is having an effect. It didn't slow
anybody down. Nobody was smacked down."
In Daniels' home school district
(and also mine) - Washington Township Metropolitan Schools
in Indianapolis - some $19 million was cut, some coming
out of money budgeted for a swimming pool. I mentioned to
Daniels how I wish the school district had explored teaming
up with the Jordan YMCA across the street to build a joint
public-private acquatics facility, to which he responded,
"I hope sometime while I'm governor, two school corporations
build an athletic facility together and share it." "We're
trying to get that kind of thinking going," Daniels said.
But, this isn't necessarily new thinking.
A dozen years ago, when Stephen Goldsmith
was mayor of Indianapolis, he called upon a couple of Mitches
… Daniels and Roob - to serve on something called SELTIC,
which stood for the Service Efficiency and Lower Taxes for
Indianapolis Commission. Fast forward the tape a dozen years
and, it is Roob who now heads the Family Social Services
Administration. He explains, "The same three players are
in place, just operating in different positions." It's Gov.
Daniels and off in the wings at Harvard University is Stephen
Goldsmith, the unsuccessful 1996 Republican candidate for
governor who would have brought the concepts of "privatization"
to state government eight years ago had he won. The three
of them are again taking some of the same concepts Goldsmith
used in Indianapolis to the state.
SELTIC's mission was to review every
function performed and service provided by city and county
government. As described by Sheila Kennedy and Ingrid Ritchie
in their book "To Market, To Market: Reinventing Indianapolis,"
SELTIC was charged with three essential goals: to determine
whether a function should be performed by government at
all; the real cost of that function to government; and if
the service were still to be provided by government, how
might it be done more efficiently. Roob will be in the news
a great deal in 2006, with his plans of privatizing state
services like the Fort Wayne Developmental Center, which
houses 200 patients and has a history of abuse and neglect.
There are efforts elsewhere, such as the Indiana Department
of Corrections, to shift functions such as cooking meals
to the private sector with significant savings.
Kennedy and Ritchie contend in their
book that while privatization is "first and foremost a commitment
to fiscal prudence," Mayor Goldsmith cut the local government
workforce by 62 percent saving $149 million, but shifted
the jobs and functions to the private sector which cost
taxpayers $290 million. They also say that Goldsmith left
Indianapolis deep in debt. And it was fascinating that while
mayors from across the nation came to study Goldsmith's
Indianapolis experiment in public/private competition, it
was not widely trended by his Hoosier counterparts. Like
Goldsmith, Daniels doesn't care much for the term "privatization."
But as the FSSA and efforts to lease the Indiana East-West
Toll Road move forward, Gov. Daniels tries to make the case
for new thinking, just as he did with school construction.
"It shouldn't be scary at all," he
said. "A huge percentage of state government servies are
delivered privately now. We don't build all our own roads,
we hire private companies to do it. We don't clean our own
buildings. Think of the single biggest program that state
government runs - Medicaid. Almost all of it is privatized."
Medicaid also poses the biggest challenge to state government,
reining in its costs, which were estimated to increase by
10 percent a year by the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute.
The last biennial budget Daniels signed pegged the increases
at 5 percent, putting Roob in a sensitive performance perch.
The irony here is that the progressive
conservative Daniels drew on the liberal New York Gov. Mario
Cuomo. He was quoted in David Osborne's book "Reinventing
Government," and recalled by Gov. Daniels as saying, "the
job of government isn't to deliver services itself, but
to make certain they are delivered effectively." Daniels
explained, "To me this is purely practical, to look at every
service to see if this is the best way to get this done.
Now, the State Police will always be full-time, 100 percent
employees of state government. But any good business today
asks itself, what are our core competencies. And on the
other things, hire someone where that's their core competency.
When I was at Lilly, it was a very well managed company
but I started asking, 'Why are we doing laundry? Why are
we running buses? Cooking food? We're here to discover miracle
drugs and find a way to manufacture them.'" For
Gov. Daniels, it comes down to this: "When you get a competition
going, you usually get a better price for taxpayers."
Decatur Daily Democrat, January 4, 2006
Hochtief Realizes Public-Private
Partnership Project in Chile
In Santiago de Chile, one of the
country's most important toll highways was opened to traffic,
three months ahead of schedule. The Vespucio Norte Express,
as it is called, links Chile's north and south highways.
A consortium in which Hochtief PPP Solutions GmbH has a
45 percent share will operate the 30 kilometer long northwestern
section of the beltway around Chile's capital until 2033.
Hochtief Construction AG was one
of the main contractors. The project has an investment volume
of EUR 520 million, which will be refinanced through tolls
over the 27-year operating period. Upon expiry of the concession
contract, the road will be transferred to the ownership
of the Chilean state. With an anticipated 75, 000 vehicles
a day in 2006, rising to some 150, 000 a day in 2020, Vespucio
Norte Express will be one of the most heavily frequented
roads in Chile. The northwest of Santiago de Chile is the
fastest growing part of the capital and is seen as a center
of real estate and industrial development in the city.
From Construction and Maintenance News,
January 5, 2006
A New Path for Bolivia
Newly elected President Evo Morales
promises to break with 20 years of U.S.-imposed conservative
economics. Late last year, Bolivians made history, for their
own country and for all of Latin America, when they elected,
by a wide margin, an Aymara Indian as their next president.
The victory of Evo Morales signals many things here, but
first and foremost it marks a broad popular rejection of
two decades of conservative economic policies imposed on
Bolivia from Washington. The vote brought to the ballot
box a wave of public anger that has been exploding in Bolivia's
streets for more than five years.
The poorest nation in South America,
for two decades Bolivia has been the unwilling lab rat for
a set of economic experiments known as the "Washington
Consensus." These policies have included giving control
of national resources to foreign corporations and economic
belt-tightening that hits the poor hardest. The World Bank
and International Monetary Fund - both Washington-based
and dominated by the United States - made the adoption of
these policies a condition of receiving critical foreign
aid.
In Bolivia, one government after
another has dutifully followed those orders from Washington.
The nation's economy, however, has only gotten worse. Five
years ago, Bolivians began to take to the streets to demand
reversal of those policies, winning one major victory after
another. In 2000, the citizens of the city of Cochabamba
stood down government troops to take back their public water
system from the U.S. corporate giant, Bechtel, reversing
a privatization forced by the World Bank. In February 2003
in the nation's capital, La Paz, mass protests that included
national police, forced the government to drop plans for
a tax increase on the poor, a program initiated under IMF
pressure.
In October 2003, Bolivians took to
the streets again to block a mistrusted government plan
to export the nation's gas to California. After soldiers
killed more than 50 protesters, the president backing the
plan was forced to resign, setting up the chain of political
events that eventually led to last month's early elections.
Morales and his Movement Towards Socialism party have played
a key role in many of these protests. Recently he told his
supporters, "We will change the economic models that
have blocked development for the people." That change
begins with Morales' plans to take back control of the nation's
vast gas and oil reserves and renegotiate all the nation's
contracts with foreign oil companies. The economic battle
that led to Morales' huge victory is less a debate between
left vs. right ideology than about the staggering gap between
Washington economic theory and Bolivian economic reality.
Time and time again, Bank and IMF
officials proclaimed that privatization and austerity would
deliver huge leaps in economic growth, new jobs and skilled
management of the nation's resources. Time and time again,
however, Bolivia's economy contracted and faltered. Austerity
translated into tax increases on people earning $120 per
month. Privatization produced huge leaps in water prices
and backroom deals that made foreign companies the owners
of the nation's resources at bargain prices.
If the economic prescriptions handed
down from Washington had worked, Bolivians would likely
have embraced them. I have lived here among Bolivia's poor
for eight years. Ideology, left or right, is generally a
luxury that poor people can't afford. They are more interested
in practical things. Do they have water? Are there jobs?
Do they have any economic hope for the future? The Washington
Consensus has been rejected soundly here - first in the
streets and now at the polls - not because of ideology but
because it just plain failed to deliver the goods after
a 20-year opportunity to do so. I knew that Morales might
well be on his way to the presidency last October, when
I spent five days in a small Quechua Indian village. One
sunny afternoon I sat with the village leader. I asked him
if the coming election was big on people's minds.
"No, we are really more worried
about whether it will rain soon." I asked him if people
were excited about Evo Morales and the prospect of electing
an Indian as president. "Well, he is really just a
politician." Then I asked him whether the people of
the village would vote. "Oh yes, we will vote. All
400 of us will walk together 45 minutes to the place where
we vote and we will all vote for Evo." On
Dec. 18, Bolivians by the millions marched distances short
and far to give Morales the biggest mandate of any president
in half a century. Now Morales will seek to turn that mandate
into a new economic course, including a reversal of the
market fundamentalism brought here from the north.
To be sure, there are many in Washington
who would love to see Morales fail. He rose to political
prominence here as leader of the nation's coca growers and
has been a nemesis of the U.S. government's "war on
drugs." For months U.S. officials have been pounding
out the message that he and the social movements that back
him are pawns of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuban
President Fidel Castro. But, as the United States claims
to be fighting a war in one part of the world to support
the cause of democracy, it will now need to demonstrate
whether it means those words here, with a clear democratic
choice not to its liking. Last month Bolivians chose a new
course, whether those in Washington agree with it or not.
From Sacremento bee, January 8, 2006
Governing in the Fast Lane
For a year, Gov. Mitch Daniels has
been at the controls of an accelerating locomotive, driving
Indiana's state government toward change.
Some Hoosiers are on board. Others fear derailment. The
governor is "still frustrated with the pace, even though
other people, including the legislators, feel like we're
holding on by our fingertips to stay on this train speeding
down the track," said Kevin Brinegar, president of
the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. Yet Brinegar said the governor's
blurring pace of changing the way government works in his
first 12 months in office - Daniels' anniversary is Tuesday
- is a fresh, welcome attitude in the Statehouse. On Wednesday,
Daniels will deliver his second State of the State address,
giving his annual report on what's been done so far and
what he plans to do next.
Daniels said his changes are favored
by Hoosiers. "I believe that we have a solid and growing
coalition for change in this state," he said. "The
record of these 12 months shows that Indiana chose to do
that over and over and over again. That is not always easy
to do." But not all are applauding. "I'd rank
him as willing to go where everyone else fears to tread.
I don't think change for the sake of change is a good thing,"
said House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend.
"He made a lot of changes, but whether they were improvements
is questionable."
In his first full day as governor last year, Daniels ended
collective bargaining for state employees. In his eighth
day, he used his first State of the State address to seek
a one-year tax increase on higher-income Hoosiers in order
to balance the state's budget - an increase his fellow Republicans,
who control the Indiana General Assembly, promptly rejected.
Before he'd even hit the half-way
mark, he'd pushed through daylight-saving time, the twice-yearly
time change that Hoosiers had resisted for three decades,
and sparked a statewide debate that hasn't ended yet on
which time zone counties should observe, Central or Eastern.
He stood by Bureau of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Joel Silverman,
who closed 27 license branches, drawing the wrath of lawmakers
and motorists. Now, Daniels is starting 2006 by calling
for more change. When he speaks to Hoosiers statewide Wednesday
night, he'll push hard for his Major Moves transportation
project, which calls for leasing the Indiana Toll Road,
possibly to a foreign company; raising the tolls there;
and making new highways, including the long-planned I-69
extension from Indianapolis to Evansville, toll roads. He'll
call for cuts in school administrative costs to move more
dollars to the classroom, and more freedom for local governments
to consolidate. And he's widely expected to call for the
elimination of some political fiefdoms, such as township
assessors.
From Indianapolis Star, January 8, 2006
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