Anti-Corruption Portal: News http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/AllItems.aspx RSS feed for the News list. Sun, 20 May 2012 03:33:01 GMT Windows SharePoint Services V3 RSS Generator 60 Anti-Corruption Portal: News /_layouts/images/homepage.gif http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/AllItems.aspx Creating a clean and efficient bureaucracy http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1522 Date: 20/04/2012
External Link: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/04/12/creating-a-clean-and-efficient-bureaucracy.html
Region: Asia and the Pacific
Sub-Region: Southeast Asia
Country: Indonesia
Body:
Eko Prasojo, Jakarta | Thu, 04/12/2012 10:47 AM For most people in this country, the state’s role is the provision of public services commensurate with their economic and social needs. At a higher level, the state’s absolute role is to safeguard the nation and maintain the rule of law while guaranteeing citizens’ freedoms within constitutional limits. The goal of statehood, as mandated by the Constitution and promoted by the nation’s leaders, becomes futile unless it is combined with a strong commitment to create a non-corrupt and efficient bureaucracy. A clean, accountable and efficient government system and bureaucracy is the key to success in achieving a state’s goals. Economic, social and political developments mean nothing if the bureaucracy is incapable of running the administration or sustaining development. A poor bureaucracy will not only impede a country’s development, but will also destroy the resources needed to improve the people’s welfare. The poor quality of government in Indonesia is a result of the deep-rooted corruption that plagues the nation. This disease infects three loci, namely corruption in politics, corruption in law and corruption in bureaucracy. All three intermingle and create a mutual symbiosis which is very hard to eradicate. Corruption in politics occurs because the recruitment procedure for candidates in legislative elections is not based on meritocratic selection. In fact, in many cases, the motive to get involved in politics is to gain better access to the state’s resources. This situation is further exacerbated by the high cost of attaining political office that must then be paid by those representatives. Hence, instead of striving for the people’s interests, they abuse their authority. Certainly this doesn’t happen in all cases, but it happens often enough within the election process as well as in the appointment of candidates for certain political posts. Corruption in the judicial system is manifest in the poor culture of law enforcement. It is not surprising to find that people are actually more afraid of the law enforcers than the law itself. Laws are perceived merely as sanctions, rather than the limits and standards of behavior of a society, nation and state. This poor legal enforcement is not without a cause. One has to admit the regrettable fact that law enforcers’ rights are not properly appreciated. Apart from that, the recruitment process, performance measurement and promotion of personnel in law enforcement agencies are still not based upon competence and performance. The insufficient remuneration given to prosecutors, police and judges, as well as the poor monitoring of their codes of conduct become the very reason why corruption in the judicial system is very difficult to overcome. This situation is alarming as it causes a ripple effect, spreading corruption to other sectors. If the law can not be properly enforced, there is nothing else that can serve as the pillar of a clean and respectable government. The corrupt bureaucracy stems from the lackluster management of the state apparatus. This starts with the civil servant recruitment process, which is hardly professional or independent. It is reinforced by poor remuneration that encourages civil servants to seek extra income, an appointment system that forces civil servants to build political patronage and affiliation and the lack of a proper appraisal of individual performance. As the saying among civil servants goes, “smart or dumb, equal income”. There is neither appreciation for achievement and good performance, nor sanction for violations or poor performance. In fact, no matter how bad a civil servants’ work, they cannot be fired unless they commit serious violations such as crime or subversion. These three types of corruption form a vicious circle that synergies each other and, hence, generates an extremely low standard, inefficient and corrupt government. This results in an administration hampered by a poor quality of service and development, an opportunistic mentality and rampant abuse of power. The government ends up being more of a hindrance than a help. In daily life, corruption becomes endemic, at the street level, in procurement, in law enforcement and most dangerously, corruption becomes policy. The difficulty in creating a clean and efficient bureaucracy is made worse by systemic resistance to change within the bureaucracy. The recent case centering on Law and Human Rights Deputy Minister Denny Indrayana, who is accused of slapping a prison guard in Pekanbaru, illustrates this. The accusation has invoked l’esprit de corps of the guards and led to overblown media coverage and public commentary revolving around the slapping incident rather than the goal of creating a clean and drug free environment in our prisons. This is an example of the hardest challenge in creating a clean and efficient bureaucracy; the systematic criminality involving certain elements within the bureaucracy, politicians, law enforcers and businessmen with vested economic and political interests. The drugs business, much of which is controlled from inside prisons, is quite simply not the behavior of a few individuals, but rather a systemic crime within the bureaucracy. All these problems are systemic by nature, and therefore must be addressed through system improvement. Thus, a serious and strong commitment is a prerequisite to building a clean and efficient government. The easiest way to do so is to get to the root of the problems. Political corruption will take a long time to eradicate, as it can be only be solved through simplifying political parties and establishing meritocracy in politics. It requires the revision of various political laws, including the political party and election laws. The most feasible changes the President can initiate are in the judicial system and in the bureaucracy. Improvements in law enforcement are more practical as that falls under the President’s auspices, at least when it is related to investigation and prosecution. Reforms can be realized through the professional and independent recruitment of prosecutors and police, objective and accurate performance appraisal, proper and sufficient remuneration, strict sanctions against offenders and a performance-based career system. As for judges, the authority to change the system rests with the Supreme Court and Judicial Commission. Corruption in the bureaucracy can be overcome only through the strong commitment of Cabinet ministers and regional heads to reform. As bureaucratic reform has become a national priority in the current administration, and a number of reform agendas have been drafted by the ministry of state apparatus empowerment and bureaucratic reform, then political support and the commitment of ministers and regional heads are vital to accelerate successful bureaucratic reform. Only through political, judicial and bureaucratic reform can a clean and efficient government emerge, albeit gradually. The writer is deputy minister of administrative reform.
DateYear: 2012
Language: English
Geographical Scope: National
Status: Approved
ContributerUserName: jiangeles
ContributerEmail: joseibarraa.angeles@undpaffiliates.org
]]> System Account Wed, 09 May 2012 09:48:21 GMT http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1522 Environmental activist Chut Wutty shot dead in Cambodia http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1521 Date: 30/04/2012
External Link: http://www.redd-monitor.org/2012/04/27/environmental-activist-chut-wutty-shot-dead-in-cambodia/
Region: Asia and the Pacific
Sub-Region: Southeast Asia
Country: Cambodia
Themes: Non-Renewable Natural Resources
Body:
Environmental activist Chut Wutty shot dead in Cambodia By Chris Lang, 27th April 2012 Chut Wutty was the director of the Natural Resource Protection Group and one of Cambodia’s leading campaigners against illegal logging and land grabs. He was shot dead by military police on Wednesday. He was guiding two journalists from the Cambodia Daily to investigate illegal logging in the Cardamom Mountains in Koh Kong province. In Kong Chet, who works with Licadho, a Cambodian human rights organisation, told the Phnom Penh Post that the military police ordered Chut Wutty to hand over the memory card from his camera. Wutty declined. A military policeman opened fire with an AK-47 when Wutty tried to drive away. The policeman was also killed when a bullet ricocheted off the car. (The Washington Post reports military police spokesperson Kheng Tito as saying that the military policeman killed himself.) Chut Wutty had taken the journalists to look at the Stung Atay dam in Pursat province. The dam is being built by China National Heavy Machinery in an area that was until recently dense forest. The company that has the contract to clear the reservoir area, MDS Import Export, has, according to Chut Wutty, been illegally logging outside the reservoir area and inside the Central Cardamom Protected Forest. The Phnom Penh Post reported military police spokesperson, Kheng Tito, as saying that, Chut Wutty … was killed after military police apprehended him at Veal Bei in Mondul Seima district on behalf of a company that asked them to stop him from shooting photos of their development…. “And the company asked the military police in that area to come to intervene, and later on, the shooting happened,” [Kheng Tito] said. This wasn’t the first time that Chut Wutty had been stopped by military police while taking journalists to investigate illegal logging. Here’s how Post journalists reported what happened when they visited the area in December 2011: At 11.25pm on Sunday, five military personnel, two carrying assault rifles, stepped out of a Toyota Camry with no licence plates and surrounded two Post journalists who had just photographed a pick-up truck inside the CCPF [Central Cardamom Protected Forest] that was packed with young rosewood. They claimed it was illegal to take shots of the vehicles because they belonged to a private company. After demanding the photographer clear one of his memory cards, the men returned and passed a mobile phone to Chut Wutty, who entered into a protracted and heated conservation with a man he says identified himself as the security chief of the company Timber Green. When a Post reporter called the man’s phone and asked if he was the security chief of Timber Green, the man asked “what’s wrong?” and hung up when questioned further. The Cambodian Center for Human Rights says that Wutty was also threatened over a decade ago, when he was part of a Conservation International team that was patrolling for illegal logging in the Cardamom Mountains: “In 2001 as part of a small Conservation International team sent to patrol for illegal logging in the Cardamom mountains, he was threatened by a military commander who said he would kill him over his investigations into illegal logging. He had to flee his hotel and rent a boat in the middle of the night that took him to safety.” An investigation into the role of the military police is urgent, since they appear to have been acting on behalf of a company accused of involvement in illegal logging rather than investigating the claims of widespread illegal logging. But an investigation is also needed into the role of Conservation International in the Cardamom Mountains. The illegal logging that Chut Wutty was investigating this week was taking place in an area where Conservation International is paying government forestry officials. Investigative journalists from the Phnom Penh Post have revealed that some of these officials are taking bribes to ignore illegal logging of rosewood from the forest. If it is true that Chut Wutty was threatened back in 2001, then CI could (and should) have taken action to deal with illegal logging. Instead, CI’s attitude appears to be summed up by CI staff who told villagers living in the Cardamom Mountains that “we don’t care about who is cutting the forest, we just want to know how much was cut”. Global Witness was kicked out of Cambodia after writing a series of reports exposing the level of corruption in the Cambodian government. Yesterday Global Witness put out a statement about Chut Wutty’s killing: Statement in response to killing of prominent Cambodian forest campaigner Chut Wutty Global Witness 26th April 2012 We are shocked and devastated to learn of the killing of Chut Wutty, Director of environmental watchdog Natural Resource Protection Group (NPRG), in Cambodia today. Wutty was reportedly shot by members of the Military Police while engaged in field research into illegal logging and land seizures. “Chut Wutty was one of the few remaining Cambodian activists willing to speak out against the rapid escalation of illegal logging and land grabbing which is impoverishing ordinary Cambodians and destroying the country’s rich natural heritage. The extent of the risks he and other activists face has been laid bare in the most shocking and tragic manner. He will be very sorely missed,” said Global Witness Director Patrick Alley. “The national government and international donor countries must publicly condemn his murder and take swift action to bring the perpetrators to justice.” Corruption and violence in Cambodia’s forest sector has been well documented over many years. The Cambodian government and international donors have collectively failed to tackle this problem, leaving activists from forest-dependent communities and local civil society groups like Wutty standing up for basic human rights, the environment, and the rule of law on their own. The work of activists such as Chut Wutty should be publicly celebrated as heroic. Yet the reality in Cambodia is that members of the military, business and political elite, who prey on the country’s natural resource wealth for personal profit, view them as a direct threat. As this terrible incident shows, those who take on these vested interests face intimidation and even death. The dangers faced by individual activists working on land and forest protection have always been severe; Wutty is not the first to be killed, and sadly, may not be the last. But the stakes for Cambodia’s people and its environment are now just as high, as forest and land clearance proceeds at a devastating pace. The world must not stand by and simply watch. Cambodia’s international donor partners must prevail upon the government, as a matter of urgency, to open up its notoriously murky natural resource sector and hold the most powerful and violent illegal loggers and land grabbers to account.
DateYear: 2012
Language: English
Geographical Scope: National
Status: Approved
ContributerUserName: jiangeles
ContributerEmail: joseibarraa.angeles@undpaffiliates.org
]]> System Account Wed, 09 May 2012 09:47:41 GMT http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1521 Aquino tells ADB: Corruption over http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1520 Date: 05/05/2012
External Link: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/187763/aquino-tells-adb-corruption-over
Region: Asia and the Pacific
Sub-Region: Southeast Asia
Country: Philippines
Themes: Development Aid
Body:
Aquino tells ADB: Corruption over By Norman Bordadora Philippine Daily Inquirer 1:15 am | Saturday, May 5th, 2012 share521 477 Saying the days of corruption that flourished under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were over, President Aquino on Friday gave his word to international lenders that he would put to good use the money they would lend to the Philippines—and they could check this out later. “You will continue to see results. You will continue to see a Philippines that is finally living up to its potential,” Mr. Aquino said in his speech that capped the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) board of governors. “We are prepared to follow through on our commitments, and you are by all means welcome to see if we’re living up to our word,” he declared. “Investors and Filipinos alike see what is happening: Here is a country determined to turn the corner by instituting genuine, wide-ranging, meaningful reform, and acting on its belief that good governance is the bedrock of equitable progress,” the President said. “We have had six positive ratings actions since we took over government a little less than two years ago—a stark contrast to the single upgrade and six downgrades in the nine years of the previous administration,” he added. He said the country’s stock market also experienced 27 all-time highs in his 22 months in office. The President noted that the ADB’s official development assistance (ODA) to the Philippines amounts to $761.97 million. This includes $643.85 million for projects concerning social protection and support, agrarian reform, rural infrastructure, better health care and irrigation in the southern Philippines. “You have helped out in our public-private partnership program, in our efforts to reform the justice system, and our energy-efficient electric tricycle project. We are getting to where we want to be faster because of your assistance,” Mr. Aquino said. He said the ADB meeting in Manila “reaffirms the newfound confidence the international community has exhibited towards my nation.” Borrowed money misused “For this, you have the gratitude of our people, and a commitment from my administration. Gone are the days when the funds you funnel to our country will end up like water leaking through a broken pail,” the President said. Secretary Ricky Carandang, head of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, said the $761.97 million ODA had been programmed for projects from 2011 to 2016. “The President was referring in general to how borrowed money was misused in the past and not specifically to any loan program,” Carandang said. Mr. Aquino spoke of how his administration, through good governance, had improved the government’s financial health and generated confidence from investors. As in some of his previous speeches, he cited the difficulties his administration faced after the alleged excesses of the past Arroyo administration. “(None) of us could have imagined how deeply eroded the foundations of government had become in the nine and a half years of my predecessor,” Mr. Aquino said. “Rice, imported at inflated cost by the government, was rotting away in rented warehouses. Stewards of GOCCs (government-owned and -controlled corporations) advanced their interest at the expense of the people. Bidding for public works had been orchestrated to favor individuals, again, at the expense of the people,” he said. Mr. Aquino said corruption “sapped the system of its vitality; public funds ceased to be used for the public good and found in private hands, whom we are now holding accountable.” Mindless spending He added: “One of our first moves was to institutionalize a zero-based budget approach, where expenditures are rationalized and are not mindlessly carried over to the next year, regardless of whether they worked or not. “We went after tax evaders aggressively … We passed a law that put standards of governance in place so that (GOCCs) became more efficient and rational.” Mr. Aquino said the government also showed the resolve that no public official, “regardless of his or her position, will be beyond the reach of justice and accountability.” Tackling graft The President said tackling the problem of graft had led to a more responsive government. “As can be seen from our experience, weeding out corruption allows for a more fertile economic landscape: One that not only brings investors in, but also allows the real work of governance to impact the greater number of our people,” he said. “Enforcing strict adherence to public bidding rules has allowed our Department of Public Works and Highways to save P6.14 billion from our 2011 budget. Now that the leaks have been plugged, we can go about our business knowing that our taxpayers’ hard-earned money indeed goes to projects that will benefit them,” he said. He said the DPWH’s 403 projects had been completed, with the rest either ongoing or about to begin construction. The same is true for the country’s cash dole program and health insurance for the poorest of the poor families, he said. “Now we are confident that the more than three million households in our conditional cash transfer program are actually the neediest families, and not merely the best-connected,” he added. “Now we know that we are actually sponsoring the 5.2 million poorest families through our PhilHealth program.” The President said the country’s greatest resource had always been the people. “It is with this principle in mind that we have allocated unprecedented sums to alleviate extreme poverty and are concentrating on providing more opportunities for employment,” he said.
DateYear: 2012
Language: English
Geographical Scope: National
Status: Approved
ContributerUserName: jiangeles
ContributerEmail: joseibarraa.angeles@undpaffiliates.org
]]> System Account Wed, 09 May 2012 09:45:12 GMT http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1520 Anti-corruption website launched in Vietnam http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1519 Date: 08/05/2012
External Link: http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20120507-344292.html
Region: Asia and the Pacific
Sub-Region: Southeast Asia
Country: Vietnam
Themes: Campaigning/Advocacy
Body:
Anti-corruption website launched in Vietnam HA NOI - The Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption yesterday launched websites to better provide people with information about the field in Viet Nam. Poliburo member, Deputy Prime Minister and Vice Chairman of the committee Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended the launch ceremony in the capital, activating the www.phongchongthamnhung.vn, www.oscac.gov.vn and www.oscac.vn portals. Emphasising the important role of communication in the fight against corruption, Phuc urged the portal administrators to deliver timely information on good anti-corruption procedures, protection for corruption fighters and exposure of violations. Phuc asked ministries, sectors and agencies at central and local levels to actively contribute to the portals. The portals, as official voices of the committee, would publish laws and policies of the Party and State. It is expected to be a bridge between the Party, State and people in making concrete efforts in fighting corruption. According to a newly released report on governance and public administration, a proportion of Vietnamese still think that bribery is necessary to access better public services including healthcare, education, employment and land use. Petty corruption is still an everyday problem in Viet Nam. Meanwhile, at a national meeting last March, Phuc reported that nearly 3,000 Party members had been punished for corruption during the past five years.
DateYear: 2012
Language: English
Geographical Scope: National
Status: Approved
ContributerUserName: jiangeles
ContributerEmail: joseibarraa.angeles@undpaffiliates.org
]]> System Account Wed, 09 May 2012 09:42:47 GMT http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1519 Film collection “Us Against Corruption” gives hope to combating everyday corruption http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1518 Date: 08/05/2012
External Link: http://blog.transparency.org/2012/05/07/indonesian-film-collection-us-against-corruption-gives-hope-to-combating-everyday-corruption/
Region: Asia and the Pacific
Sub-Region: Southeast Asia
Country: Indonesia
Themes: Campaigning/Advocacy
Body:
Indonesian film collection “Us Against Corruption” gives hope to combating everyday corruption By Ben Elers on 7 May 2012 in Asia Pacific, Education, People power, Technology Popcorn. Cola. Love. Betrayal. Tears. Laughter. A collective gasp from the audience as a local heartthrob appears on screen. A unified “uh-oh” as one of the characters is about to discover her husband’s love affair. Tears as some parents have to make agonising choices about their children. The stars of the film waiting outside to sign autographs and talk. A typical evening at the movies as part of Jakarta’s vibrant nightlife? Not a bit of it. The audience packed into the Epicentrum XXI cinema in Jakarta last Tuesday evening were there to watch four short films about the pernicious and devastating impact of corruption on people’s lives. The films, which are proving something of a hit and are being shown to groups all over Jakarta, have been made by young Indonesian directors and star some of the country’s most famous actors, such as Nicholas Saputra and Revalina S. Temat. But it is not only the stars which are the attraction; the theme resonates with the audience in a country with the fourth largest population in the world and a corruption problem almost to match (Indonesia ranked 100th on Transparency International’s 2011 Corruption Perception Index). The first of the four films is a story of a local official in cahoots with a construction company and betrays his loved ones and community in pursuit of his own personal gain. The second focuses on corruption within the education system and the resulting destruction of a family. The third one is a moving story of how a parent refuses to accept bribes even when the health of his child is threatened. The last one is a funny, quirky – and somewhat brutal – portrayal of the effects of a ‘get-rich-quick’ mentality on a group of school girls and their families and how this fuels corruption. While all of the films are deeply challenging to the audiences, they also have a central and uplifting message of hope. They demonstrate that individuals, communities and groups can successfully take action against corruption; that corruption is not inevitable. The films cry out for us to view those who resist corruption – even if on a small scale in our everyday lives – as the real heroes. They explore how participating in corruption is, in most cases, a choice. While exercising this choice in an ethical way is not always easy, doing so creates a society more prone to integrity, honesty and justice, as well as leaving intact the dignity of those who do so. Not only that, but for the audience on this particular night (the staff of one of the world’s leading oil services companies), the message from their management was also clear – it makes good business sense. To organise a showing for your group or company or to make a donation to the work of TI Indonesia, please contact Mr. Teten Masduki, Executive Director of Transparency International Indonesia.
DateYear: 2012
Language: English
Geographical Scope: National
Status: Approved
ContributerUserName: jiangeles
ContributerEmail: joseibarraa.angeles@undpaffiliates.org
]]> System Account Wed, 09 May 2012 09:41:19 GMT http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1518 Tackling Corruption from the Root http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1517 Date: 07/05/2012
External Link: http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/tackling-corruption-from-the-root/115008/
Region: Africa
Sub-Region: Western Africa
Country: Nigeria
Body:
Tackling Corruption from the Root 03 May 2012 Font Size: a / A 1503N.Ibrahim-Lamorde.jpg - 1503N.Ibrahim-Lamorde.jpg EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde Analysts have identified corruption as the greatest impediment to Nigeria’s economic growth and development process. The call for proactive and preventive measures against the scourge topped the issues discussed at an experts’ roundtable organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently in Abuja. Abimbola Akosilecaptures the views and vital process “Can you tell me the reason why I should not enjoy the national cake also if opportuned, when others are busy ‘eating’ at the top and getting away with it? an angrily cynical citizen recently asked this reporter. To him, a job-seeker in Lagos, if only he could lay his frustrated hands on a slice of the national cake in any form, he would not hesitate to feather his own nest; “after all, the Subsidy Probe has revealed how many undeserving people have been feeding fat for so long on the nation’s collective wealth!” This angry citizen is not alone in this line of thinking; millions of ‘less fortunate’ Nigerians are aghast at the huge sums allegedly being siphoned by a few privileged officials at the expense of the majority of the country’s 150 million citizens. Proactive Roundtable The Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-corruption Reforms (TUGAR) located within the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Secretariat recently organised an experts’ roundtable in Abuja, backed by the United Nations (UN) in Nigeria. Among those at the event were top members of the academia, officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), Ministries, Departments and Agencies, the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the Organised Private Sector (OPS) and the media, among others. Although various issues were exhaustively thrashed out, the focal issue was on corruption risk assessment in the country and the need to nip the process in the bud before the actual occurrence. The issue of training corruption risk assessors also took central stage, with informed discussions over the criteria for selection of risk assessors. Setting the Tone In a welcome address by the Head of TUGAR, Ms. Lillian Ekeanyanwu, she urged the experts to diagnose the cause of corruption in Nigeria and focus on corruption needs assessment. She also spoke about the need to identify the vulnerabilities within the system which expose public officials to corrupt acts, and called on the participants to find ways to address those vulnerabilities. She also highlighted the need to train Corruption Risk Assessors (CRAs), which formed part of the process undertaken by TUGAR and selected anti-corruption agencies. According to her, “TUGAR and selected Anti Corruption Agencies (ACAs) are conducting Corruption Risk Assessments (CRAs) across some Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and some states of the federation with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). “At the moment the ACAs are prioritising the MDAs who have interface with the MDGs (Health, Education, and Water Resources). “The main objectives of the Corruption Risk Assessments are to identify vulnerable areas that are prone to corruption, proffer recommendations, and jointly with the MDAs develop action plans that would strengthen accountability and transparency towards enhanced service delivery. UNDP Goodwill In a goodwill message from the UNDP Country Director, Ade Mamonyane Lekoetje, and read by Dr. Sam Egwu, the anti-corruption agencies were commended for the work done so far in the conduct of corruption risk assessments in Nigeria. According to him, “There are significant benefits to be derived from the corruption risk assessment process which involves working with MDAs to identify and proffer recommendations to address vulnerable areas that are prone to corruption, wastages and the misappropriation of funds dedicated for the provision of basic services such as water, healthcare and education, which are crucial for poverty reduction and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). “Despite being one of the most resource-rich countries in the world, Nigeria continues to grapple with the challenge of relatively low economic growth and development. While several factors contribute to this situation, corruption, wastages and misappropriation of resources continue to play a significant role in undermining the country’s development objectives including efforts to achieve the MDGs by 2015. “In addition to the threat that the lack of transparency and accountability poses to development, democracy and political stability in the country, it has particular negative effects o the poor and most vulnerable and contributes significantly to Nigeria’s continued low ranking on UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) which currently rates Nigeria in the low human development category and positions the country as 156TH out of 187 countries and territories covered by the Index. “As the public institutions through which government implements its policies and programmes, MDAs play a crucial role in poverty reduction, realisation of the MDGs and achieving sustainable development. Hence, promoting and ensuring public accountability within MDAs is central to promoting development and efficient service delivery. It also addresses a major source of leakage of resources that could have otherwise been used to enhance the socio-economic livelihoods of the poor and most vulnerable. “The support of UNDP for this exercise derives from our commitment to respond to the priorities set by the Nigerian Government, which include fighting the malaise of corruption and freeing resources to meet the welfare needs and the broader development goals of Nigeria including the attainment of the MDGs. “In line with public accountability sub-component of UNDP’s current Country Programme Action Plan, UNDP remains committed to working with national partners in mainstreaming anti-corruption measures into public sector management as indicated by our ongoing support to the corruption risk assessment process”, the message read. According to the UN agency, “the efforts like these and others to promote transparency and public accountability in the country call for concerted collaboration and coordination among all the relevant national agencies and institutions towards ensuring that better results are achieved on the reduction of poverty and ensuring that the funds and budgets devoted towards national development are dedicated for this purpose and reach the intended beneficiaries.” ICPC Intervention Speaking in a keynote address, Chairman of the occasion and Chairman of the ICPC (Ag.), Mr. Ekpo Nta, said, “ICPC is set up to fight and reduce corruption to its barest minimum in Nigeria. Corruption needs no introduction in Nigeria today. We are daily besieged by news of diversion of funds, embezzlement in billions of naira and developmental challenges in socio-economic infrastructure. “In all sectors of the economy – power, pension, oil and gas, the Police e.t.c. – corruption is being exposed in high and low places. The magnitude is staggering and the question at the back of our minds is, “what can be done to stop the tide and put a check to future occurrences? How can the problem of corruption be solved? “ICPC has a three-pronged approach to tackling the problem of corruption. The first is the enforcement approach, which involves receiving reports of corrupt acts from the public, investigating such reports and where a prima facie can be established, prosecuting offenders. The Commission has received and investigated thousands of petitions. As at today, there are 278 cases in court involving 524 persons. “The second approach is public education and mobilisation of the populace to join the fight against corruption at various levels. The Commission has several interventions that serve as platforms for educating and re-orienting the mindset of Nigerians. “The third approach is prevention. To achieve this, ICPC has established Anti-corruption and Transparency Monitoring Units (ACTUs) in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) nationwide. It also conducts a study of systems and procedures in these organisations to strengthen their capacity to prevent corrupt practices. The systems study and review approach is what is also known as Corruption Risk Assessment (CRA). “CRA has been ongoing since the inception of the Commission in 2002 and several sectors of government have been studied based on perceived prevalence of corruption red flags in such agencies. One of such studies in 2010, also sponsored by UNDP, was on the Federal Capital Territory Lands Administration. “In 2011, with funding from UNDP, a harmonised approach for the conduct of Corruption Risk Assessment was sought and with the help of local and international consultants and in partnership with TUGAR, the BPP and the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) a generic tool for conducting CRA was developed. “The idea behind this is to make the tool applicable to all agencies and usable by all key staff of the agencies that have been trained in its administration. This way, members of the ACTUs would have an opportunity to be trained in the administration of the tools and apply it to their organisations. The personnel so trained would be Corruption Risk Assessors”, Nta said. Assessor Criteria Deliberations at the roundtable also focused on the type of assessor that can carry out the CRAs in the government organs. Yardsticks were identified and qualifications were suggested, but the bottom line was that the potential assessor must be a person of integrity who will not easily be tempted and eventually tainted by corrupt acts from the organisations to be assessed. It was also suggested that the potential assessor should be familiar with the laws, codes and ethics guiding corruption in Nigeria and be educationally sound enough to understand the basic issues around corruption and the attached vulnerabilities. Points to Ponder Although the procedure looks simply challenging, the key word is integrity, which, nay believe is fast becoming eroded by the harsh realities of the country’s economy. Organisations and individuals who venture into this line of assessment would do well to remember that they would also be assessed. That is a sobering thought for a national call to duty, but it is a task that must be done. Nigeriacannot afford to be drowned in the cesspool of corruption, with all her attendant relative issues of insecurity, poverty, selfish leadership and official mismanagement. The earlier the assessors train and being their tasks, the greater the chance of reducing the risks associated with corruption. That is the root of the problem. Tags: Business, Nigeria, Featured, Corruption
DateYear: 2012
Language: English
Geographical Scope: National
Status: Approved
ContributerUserName: youlouka
ContributerEmail: luc.damiba@undp.org
]]> System Account Mon, 07 May 2012 18:02:41 GMT http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1517 President sacks ministers amid corruption scandal http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1516 Date: 06/05/2012
External Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17957767
Region: Africa
Sub-Region: Eastern Africa
Country: United Republic of Tanzania
Themes: Auditing
Body:
Tanzania leader sacks ministers amid corruption scandal Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete has sacked six ministers amid allegations of government corruption. He has been under pressure to deal with the scandal following a report by a body overseeing public finances. The inspector of the government's accounts noted the rampant misuse of funds in at least seven ministries. The ministers who have been dropped from cabinet all hold high-profile portfolios: Finance, energy, tourism, trade, transport and health. 'Taken to task' In November, the ruling CCM party promised to implement anti-corruption measures, but there have been heated calls from the opposition for heads to roll. Announcing the cabinet reshuffle, President Kikwete said that accountability would be taken seriously and ministers' subordinates and even executives working for state-owned companies would also be held responsible over any embezzlement. "It is not enough for a minister to take responsibility alone but the new approach is that even those who caused the mishap will be taken to task as well," Mr Kikwete told journalists at State House in Dar es Salaam. The BBC's Hassan Mhelela in Dar es Salaam says the ministry of energy, which oversees the lucrative mining sector, and ministry of tourism - two of the major revenue generators for the government, were criticised most in the Controller and Auditor General's annual report. There have been mixed reactions to the sackings, our reporter says. Many are pleased that the government has acted at last but some feel there should be prosecutions too, he says. Mr Kikwete was re-elected in 2010 for a final five-year term. His government has struggled to tackle corruption which has adversely hampered economic growth in Tanzania where the rate of inflation rate stands at 19%. Last year, donor countries cut funding pledges to Tanzania after expressing concern about corruption and the slow pace of reforms.
DateYear: 2012
Language: English
Geographical Scope: National
Status: Approved
ContributerUserName: jiangeles
ContributerEmail: joseibarraa.angeles@undpaffiliates.org
]]> System Account Mon, 07 May 2012 11:01:56 GMT http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1516 Waca Waca - West And Central Africa Weekly Anti-Corruption Announcements http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1515 Date: 27/04/2012
External Link: http://undp.unteamworks.org/fr/node/223393
Region: Africa
Themes: Anti-Corruption Strategies
Body:
WACA WACA West And Central Africa Weekly Anti-Corruption Announcements April.27.12 [Français & English] [Francais] *Sur le terrain de la lutte contre la corruption Afrique. Le Programme ON-REDD et le Programme du PNUD sur la lutte contre la corruption pour l'efficacité du développement (PACDE), en collaboration avec le bureau de la Zambie PNUD, ont organisé 24 au 26 Avril 2012 à Lusaka, en Zambie, un atelier régional sur "renforcement de la transparence et la responsabilisation pour la REDD + en Afrique ". L'objectif principal de l'atelier était de sensibiliser les participants sur pourquoi et comment faire face aux risques de corruption dans la REDD +. Plus de soixante participants ont assisté à cet atelier et proviennent de sept pays partenaires de l'ONU-REDD (République démocratique du Congo, Ethiopie, Kenya, République du Congo, la Tanzanie et la Zambie). Ils représentaient des agences anti-corruption (15), la société civile et les peuples autochtones (13), les points focaux nationaux REDD + (5) et le personnel des Nations Unies de la nationale (10), régional (3) et mondiaux (4) niveaux, ainsi que experts internationaux, des partenaires et des bailleurs de fonds. Les femmes représentaient 37% des participants. Grâce à une combinaison de présentations, de discussions plénières et groupes de travail sur deux jours et demi, les participants ont : 1. discuté des fondements pour faire face aux risques de corruption dans la REDD + 2. identifiés les dispositions anti-corruption et des outils de mesures existant prévenir les pratiques de corruption dans les différentes phases de la REDD +, à travers une réflexion sur l’application des lois anti-corruption dans le secteur forestier et les finances publiques. 3. Partagées des idées sur le dégré d’engagement des intervenants et des activités existantes de gouvernance soutenus par le PNUD et l'ONU-REDD et ses pays partenaires africains et s’assurer qu’elles sont pertinentes et utiles pour améliorer la transparence et la reddition de comptes 4. présentés les outils et les conseils du PNUD et ses partenaires internationaux en matière de la lutte contre corruption de mesure et / ou l'efficacité des mesures anti-corruption 5. élaborés des plans d’actions pour la collaboration au niveau national et ont réfléchi les besoins en termes de renforcement de capacités des acteurs du REED+. Voir Niger. La déclaration de biens du président est en ligne sur internet. Conformément aux dispositions de la constitution, à son article 78 les les membres du gouvernement du Niger doivent faire leur déclaration à la cours des compte , alors que le président la république doit adresser la sienne à la cours constitutionnelle. Le président ISSOUFOU MAHAMADOU vient d’accomplir le sien en remettant pour la deuxième année de son mandat sa déclaration de patrimoines que vous pourrez trouvez intégralement ici. Dans le principe de la loi sur les déclarations et de la constitution nigérienne, chaque membre du gouvernement doit déposer annuellement copie de sa déclaration de bien. Les deux institutions dont la cours des comptes et la cours constitutionnelles sont chargées de compiler et d’opérer quelques vérifications sur chaque bien et surtout d’établir les écarts d’une année à une autre. C’est une mesure de transparence car au Niger, cette pratique est maintenant bien rodée depuis des années au point que la cours constitutionnelle a mis en ligne toutes les déclarations des gouvernements antérieurs. Voir Niger. Bureau Informations-Réclamations, lutte contre la Corruption et le Trafic d’Influence. Le gouvernement Nigérien a mis en place un Bureau Informations réclamations, lutte contre la corruption et le trafic d’influence lequel a pour missions de : porter les informations nécessaires permettant aux justiciables de comprendre le système judiciaire, de sensibiliser les citoyens sur les coûts et délais des prestations des services, les délais et formes des voix de recours...etc. ; collecter les éléments permettant d’apprécier l’intégrité du système judiciaire. Outre les plaintes et dénonciations, les citoyens utilisent souvent la ligne verte pour exprimer des préoccupations de toute sorte se rapportant au fonctionnement des services publics, les concours, les recrutements directs des agents, les orientations politiques, la bonne gouvernance. A l’issue de l’examen des appels, autres que les plaintes et dénonciations, il ressort les préoccupations multiples ayant trait aux mauvaises pratiques administratives et politiques en cours au niveau de certains départements ministériels. Voir Afrique. Tiri et l'Indice Ibrahim. Au cours des six derniers mois, TIRI a travaillé pour recruter une équipe de chercheurs africains dans tous les pays sur le continent pour travailler sur le projet Indicateurs d'intégrité en Afrique, en partenariat avec la Fondation Mo Ibrahim. En plus de peaufiner une nouvelle série d'indicateurs de gouvernance spécifiques à l'Afrique, TIRI prépare à lancer sur le terrain dans près de 50 pays dans le courant de la première semaine du mois de mai. Cette recherche utilise Indaba pour recueillir et stocker nos données; ce projet est le premier à être exécuté en Indaba dans une langue non-anglaise (la version française est maintenant disponible sur Indaba pour tous les utilisateurs). voir Etudes et Publications récentes Norad ( 2012). Hunting for Per Diem: Evaluation report by CMI on the uses & abuses of 'allowances' in relation to workshops Actualités africaines sur l'anti-corruption Global: FIFA publishes anti-corruption code of conduct Associated Press Global: UN seeks corporate aid to fight $2.1 trillion world crime market Bloomberg Businessweek Nigeria: Massive corruption, long suspected, exposed in Nigeria lawmakers’ report on subsidized fuel Associated Press Nigeria: Nigeria parliament urges fuel subsidy graft arrests Reuters Global: International stolen asset recovery as a development issue. A World Bank president's legacy?
Huffington Post Burkina Faso : CORRUPTION EN AFRIQUE : Et la responsabilité du chef de l'Etat ? Le fasonet Cameroun : Cameroun: lutte contre la corruption ou purge politique? Appels sur l’actualité. Emission radio. RFI Opportunités de formations et d’emplois Studies and publications Norad ( 2012). Hunting for Per Diem: Evaluation report by CMI on the uses & abuses of 'allowances' in relation to workshops Divers · Vos contributions à WACA WACA vivement attendus. Vous êtes encouragés à envoyer des informations sur vos activités et programmes anti-corruption pour 2012. · Ressources électroniques. Portail anti-corruption http://www.anti-corruption.org Espace de travail et de partage https://undp.unteamworks.org portail de la WB sur les agences anti-corruption www.acauthorities.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [English] Dear Anti-Corruption practitioners, Sincerely Dakar Luc The Fight Against Corruption in the Field Africa. The UN-REDD Programme and UNDP’s Programme on Anti Corruption for Development Effectiveness (PACDE), together with the Zambia UNDP office, organized on 24 – 26 April 2012 in Lusaka, Zambia a regional workshop to build awareness and capacities for “Strengthening Transparency and Accountability for REDD+ in Africa”. The main goal of the workshop was to sensitize participants on why and how to address corruption risks in REDD+. Over sixty participants attended from seven UN-REDD partner countries (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zambia). They represented anti-corruption agencies (15), civil society and indigenous peoples (13), national REDD+ teams (5) and UN staff from the national (10), regional (3) and global (4) levels, as well as international experts, partners and donors. Women represented 37 % of participants. The Zambian delegation was the largest, with over 30 representatives from the Ministry of Lands, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs, the Minsitry of Mines, Energy and Water Development, the Zambia Environmental Management Authority, the Anti-Corruption Commission of Zambia, the Human Rights Commission, civil society networks, the private sector, UNDP and FAO. Through a combination of presentations, plenary discussions and working groups over two days and a half, participants: 1. discussed the foundation for addressing corruption risks in REDD+ 2. identified anti-corruption provisions and measures tools exist to do so in the different phases of REDD+, through a reflection on existing anti-corruption measures in the forestry sector and public finance 3. shared insights on how on existing stakeholder engagement and governance activities supported by UNDP and UN-REDD programme in UN-REDD African partner countries are relevant and useful to enhance transparency and accountability, and can be built upon 4. were presented with tools and guidance by UNDP and international partners useful for measuring corruption and/or the effectiveness of anti corruption measures 5. drafted actions and plans for collaboration at the national level and reflected on capacity gaps and needs to realize them. More… Niger. The President's declaration of goods is available on the internet. Accordance with the constitution, in Article 78 the members of the government of Niger should report to during the day, while the president the republic has to send his to the Constitutional Courts. President Issouffou just achieved his own by giving the second year in office his statement of assets that you can find in full here. In the principle of law on the declaration and the Nigerian constitution, each member government shall file annually a copy of his statement well. The two institutions whose current accounts and the constitutional courts are responsible to compile and make some checks on each well and especially to establish the differences from one year to another. This is a measure of transparency as in Niger, this practice is now well established for many years to the point that the current Constitution has posted all the statements of previous governments. More Niger. Office Information-Claims, fight against corruption and influence peddling. The Nigerian government has set up an Information Bureau claims, fight against corruption and influence peddling that has the following tasks: bring the necessary information allowing individuals to understand the judicial system, to raise awareness about the costs and delays of service delivery, timing and forms of voice use ... etc.. ; Collect the information needed to assess the integrity of the judicial system. In addition to the complaints and denunciations, citizens often use the green line to express concerns of any kind relating to the operation of public services, contests, direct recruitment agents, political orientations, governance. After considering appeals, other than complaints and denunciations, it appears many concerns relating to poor administrative practices and policies underway at some departments. More Africa. TIRI And Ibrahim index. Africa Integrity Indicators Update: Over the past six months we have worked hard to recruit a team of African researchers in every country on the continent to work on the Africa Integrity Indicators project, a collaborative effort with the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. In addition to fine-tuning a new set of Africa-specific governance indicators, we are gearing up to launch fieldwork in nearly 50 countries the first week of May. We will of course be using Indaba to collect and store our data; this project is the first to be running in Indaba in a non-English language (French is now available on Indaba to all users) More. African News on Anti-Corruption
 Global: FIFA publishes anti-corruption code of conduct Associated Press Global: UN seeks corporate aid to fight $2.1 trillion world crime market Bloomberg Businessweek Nigeria: Massive corruption, long suspected, exposed in Nigeria lawmakers’ report on subsidized fuel Associated Press Nigeria: Nigeria parliament urges fuel subsidy graft arrests Reuters Global: International stolen asset recovery as a development issue. A World Bank president's legacy?
Huffington Post Burkina Faso : CORRUPTION EN AFRIQUE : Et la responsabilité du chef de l'Etat ? Le fasonet Cameroun : Cameroun: lutte contre la corruption ou purge politique? Appels sur l’actualité. Emission radio. RFI Other · Your contributions to WACA WACA are strongly encouraged. Please send us information about your activities and anti-corruption programs for 2012.  Electronic Resources. Anti-corruption portal http://www.anti-corruption.org , workspace https://undp.unteamworks.org and sharing portal on the WB anti-corruption agencies www.acauthorities.org .
DateYear: 2012
Language: fr
Geographical Scope: Regional
Status: Approved
ContributerUserName: youlouka
ContributerEmail: luc.damiba@undp.org
]]> System Account Sat, 05 May 2012 08:49:58 GMT http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1515 N1 trillion oil subsidy fraud & duplicity : How govt almost swindled Nigerians http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1514 Date: 05/05/2012
External Link: http://sweetcrudereports.com/2012/04/22/n1-trillion-oil-subsidy-fraud-duplicity-how-fg-almost-swindled-nigerians/
Region: Africa
Sub-Region: Western Africa
Country: Nigeria
Themes: Auditing
Body:
N1 trillion oil subsidy fraud & duplicity : How govt almost swindled Nigerians Sunday, April 22nd, 2012 Jide Ajani & Ben Agande DON’T PLACE TOO MUCH CONFIDENCE IN THE (PRESIDENT) WHO BOASTS OF BEING AS HONEST AS THE DAY IS LONG. WAIT UNTIL YOU MEET HIM AT NIGHT– Robert C. Edwards 22 April 2012, Sweetcrude, LAGOS - But we do not need to wait until we meet at night to ask a very nagging question: What was President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan thinking of when he removed subsidy? What was Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala thinking of? What was Madam Diezani Allison-Madueke thinking of? What was Labaran Maku thinking of? Two men, two women! A President, a finance minister, the petroleum resources minister and the information minister in that order. Still bewildered, the question must be asked: What were they thinking of? Had there been no street protests and total paralysis of the Nigerian state in the wake of the January 1, 2012 removal of subsidy on petrol by Nigerians, President Jonathan and his economic advisers would have stuck to their policy of subsidy removal. Indeed, as Nigerians would have been paying for petrol at the intended price of N141 per litre, so would the federal government of Nigeria have been awash with petro naira to play with in the name of delivering on the SURE promises – mind you, SURE is the acronym for Subsidy Reinvestment And Empowerment Programme. Because there is a world of difference between the desire to accomplish and the capacity to deliver, some economists had seen through the SURE programme tones of both intended and unintended consequences. But that was merely on the surface. Today, with the public hearing put together by the House of Representatives’ committee which looked into the management of fuel subsidy and the startling revelations it has come out with, it now appears that President Jonathan and his economic management team were merely out to swindle Nigerians. The committee is demanding that a total of N1,067,040,456,171.31 be refunded to the coffers of the federal government. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, which had become a government unto itself, is asked to refund “N310,414,963,613.00 for subsidy it collected on Kerosene after the subsidy on the product had been outlawed in the country; another N285,098,000,000 for subsidy it collected above the PPPRA recommended amount and N108, 648,000,000 for self discount it granted itself”. Now, had all these shady dealings not been exposed via the instrumentality of the probe, Nigerians would still have had to pay the difference in subsidy from where government had hoped to rake in over a trillion to fund its SURE programme. Therefore, if this quantum of graft had already been committed by institutions of government, what guarantees were there that the SURE funds would have been judiciously expended after Nigerians would have been squeezed to pay with their sweat. Many had objected to and suspected that the removal of subsidy on the one hand, and the funds to be realized would not be judiciously spent. But why did the Jonathan administration attempt to enthrone a magnifying spectre of double jeopardy on Nigerians: Tax payers money mis-managed through a dubious management of subsidy funds; and causing Nigerians to pay the differential in the subsidy at the same time. In conclusion, the question still begs for an answer: What were President Jonathan and his advisers thinking of? The Subsidy probe report Three months after it began the public hearing on the utilization of the Subsidy regime on petroleum products, the Ad Hoc committee of the House of Representatives headed by Hon. Faruk Lawan last Wednesday submitted its report to the House for consideration and adoption. The submission of the report was the culmination of several months’ investigations to unravel the mystery surrounding the continued bludgeoning of the money spent by the Federal Government in subsidizing the price of Fuel in order to make it affordable to the generality of the people, who believe that the cheap price of fuel was the only benefit accruable to them in a country that is stupendously rich in resources but where mismanagement has kept the people down and poor. It would be recalled that following the rather abrupt removal of subsidy on petroleum products at the beginning of the year and the threat by organized labour to shut down the country to protest the unpopular decision of government, the House of Representatives in an usual resolution reconvened from its Christmas and new year recess to address the then impending disaster with a view to possibly averting the strike by persuading the executive arm of government to rescind its decision while it put in place necessary measures to cushion the possible effects of the subsidy removal. As a fall out of that session, the House empanelled the Hon. Faruk Lawan led committee to verify and determine the actual subsidy requirements and monitor the implementation of the subsidy regime in the country. Expectedly, the committee came under intense pressure from both those who had benefitted unduly from the regime and their friends in government who facilitated such benefits to tone down the rhetoric that had characterized the modus operandi of the probe. But for the chairman of the Committee, Hon. Faruk Lawan, the issue of sacrificing his hard earned reputation as a meticulous legislator who has strived to remain above board in a national assembly where scandals have continued to dog its every step as a second skin for cheap popularity among a few Nigerian was not an option. Therefore, when the hearing commenced, it was not only done within the comfort zone of the National assembly. the proceedings were beamed live on national television to millions of Nigerians who were awe struck by the magnitude of brazen thievery that had characterised the oil sector in the name of subsidy. So when the Committee submitted its report on Wednesday and reported that the sum of N1,067,040,456,171.31 be refunded to the federation account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Marketers, companies that refused to appear before the committee as well as the Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency, not many Nigerians were surprised by its recommendations but many were flustered by the quantum of money involved in the fuel subsidy charade. Giving a break down of the money to be refunded by the various agencies, the committee noted that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation which had over the years gained notoriety for its penchant for graft and opaque dealings should refund a N310,414,963,613.00 for subsidy it collected on Kerosene after the subsidy on the product had been outlawed in the country; another N285,098,000,000 for subsidy it collected above the PPPRA recommended amount and N108, 648,000,000 for self discount it granted itself while marketing companies are to refund a N8,664,352,554.00. Companies that failed to appear before the committee are to refund the sum of N41,936,140,005 while the PPPRA is to refund the sum of N312,279,000,000 being excess payment it made to itself. The refunds are to be made within three months. Chairman of the Ad-Hoc Committee, Hon. Faruk Lawan who laid the report on Wednesday also recommended that relevant anti corruption agencies should investigate/prosecute all persons and companies that have been found to have committed any crime while those companies that obtained FOREX but failed to import Petroleum products should also be referred to the Anti Corruption agencies with a view to verifying what they used the forex for. For a country that is struggling to fund its capital projects since the return to democratic rule in 1999, the realization that contrary to the official figure of subsidy payment of N1.3Trillion being bandied for the 2011 fiscal year, the discovery that what was paid out from the nation’s treasury as subsidy for the year under review was actually N2,587.087 trillion was simply benumbing. This is more so when it is realized that the figure represents more than900% over the appropriated sum of N245Billion for the fiscal year. Expectedly, the committee came hard on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation for its penchant for sleaze and minced no words in describing it as being a lord onto itself as it has demonstrated that it is not ‘ accountable to any body or authority’. As a way out of this seeming impudence, the committee recommended the unbundling of the corporation to make its operations more efficient and transparent adding that ‘the Management and Board of the NNPC should be completely overhauled and all those involved in the following should be further investigated and prosecuted by the relevant anti corruption agencies’. The infractions for which the committee recommended further investigation/prosecution are: payment of N285.098Billion in excess of the PPPRA recommended figure for 2011; subsidy deductions of N310,414,963,613 for kerosene against a president federation account in contravention of section 162 of the Nigerian constitution and the Illegal granting of price differential (discounts) of crude oil price per barrel to the NNPC to the tune of N108.648Billion from 2009-2011. It further recommended that ‘the House do direct for the auditing of the NNPC to determine its solvency. This is as a result of plethora of claims of indebtedness and demands for payments by NNPC’s debtors which, if not well handled, will not only affect the entire economy of Nigeria but also the supply and distribution of petroleum products The NNPC was not the only government agency that was found to be on the debit side of the law in its transaction. According to the report, the Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, which is supposed to ensure that the subsidy is diligently implemented to ensure that the intended beneficiaries of the regime are not short changed, was found to be deeply mired in activities to undermine the very essence it was set up for. According to the committee’s findings, the PPPRA paid N258billion to itself in 2009 and N157Billion in 2010 and even the office of the Accountant general of the Federation, OAGF, was unable to submit details of the bulk payments arrogated to PPPR A and the account from which the bulk sums were disbursed, to the supposed beneficiaries. In order to ensure that those who abused their offices were not left to act with impunity, the committee recommended that ‘the Executive Secretaries of the PPPRA who were the Accounting Officers, and under whose watch abuses were perpetrated that led to the government losing billions of Naira should be held liable. We strongly recommend that those who served as Executive Secretaries of PPPRA from January 2009 to October 2010 should be further investigated/prosecuted by relevant Anti-corruption agencies. This should also include the GM Field Services, ACDO/Supervisor Ullage Team 1 and ACDO/Supervisor Ullage Team 2 within the same period for their roles in the management of the ullaging under the subsidy scheme. The organized pilferring of the nation according to the committee’s findings was rather ubiquitous. According to the report, it was discovered that an ” Accountant General that served during the period 2009 was found to have made a payment of equal installments of N999 Million for a record 128 times within 24 hours on the 12th and 13th of January 2009, totaling N127.872Billion. The confirmed payments from the CBN records were made to beneficiaries yet to be disclosed by the OAGF or identified by the committee. We however discovered that only 36 marketers were participants under the PSF scheme during this period. Even if there were 128 marketers, it was inconceivable that all would have imported the same quantity of products to warrant equal payment” the report noted. If the officials of government who were supposed to safeguard the nation’s treasury acted in the most brazen manner to deplete it, the marketers who were beneficiaries of the subsidy regime simply went for the kill. The committee in its report noted that it found out that “certain marketers collected subsidy of over N230.184 Billion on PMS volume of N3,262,960,225 litres that from the records made available to us were not supplied. OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE COMMITTEE *Mr. president should reorganize the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to make it more effective in carrying out the much needed reforms in the oil and gas sector. *Given the large and complex nature of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the committee recommends that two ministers should be appointed to take charge of the Upstream and Downstream. *The PPPRA should provide the Nigerian Navy and NIMASA advance copies of allocation and vessel arrival notification documents to enable the navy monitor, track and interdict vessels seeking to avoid Naval certification. *The committee recommends that the regulatory capacity of PPPRA be strengthened and the National Assembly should commence the process of amending the Act to make the Agency autonomous *The committee recommends that FIRS should follow up on the companies listed earlier to pay their taxes with due penalties in line with the provisions of the Companies Income Tax Act. *The PSF guidleines should be revised to make Tax compliance a mandatory pre-qualification requirement for all participants under the scheme. *The CBN and the Federal Ministry of Finance should critically examine and review policy guiding payment for importation of petroleum products to avoid the current fraudulent system that allows importers to bring in products from off-shore ‘lome’ or cotonou to qualify for forex payments *The committee recommends that the PPMC management be overhauled
DateYear: 2012
Language: English
Geographical Scope: National
Status: Approved
ContributerUserName: youlouka
ContributerEmail: luc.damiba@undp.org
]]> System Account Sat, 05 May 2012 08:47:34 GMT http://www.anti-corruption.org/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1514