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Wanted: An Independent Anti-Corruption Agency, Not a Reform Commission (Part 1) By John S. Morlu II 27 April 0 In my last commentary published on this page, “The Nation’s War Against Corruption,” I argued that one way to resolve the endemic problem of corruption facing our country is to form an anti-corruption agency. I have received several emails on this concept and I feel obliged to further expand on it. As I commented previously, while I agree that the idea of forming a Governance Reform Commission (GRC) is a worthy undertaking, I unequivocally believe it is a misdirection of limited financial and human capital resources at this time. We could get a bigger bang for the buck by investing in an independent anti-corruption agency to bring corruption under strict control. We need action and not a booklet, which is what we will get with the GRC. In making the case for an anti-corruption agency in Liberia, in this commentary I will lay out my case for why I think a good governance commission is not what we need in Liberia right now. First and foremost, we already know the outcome of the good governance commission report—we know what they going to tell us before they tell us. For example, the average person knows that a successful good governance initiative must be based on several key fundamental principles, including but not limited to the following:
Second, I don’t know of any Liberian that will unabashedly look me in the eye and disagree with this statement: Liberian politicians both in the government and legislature just want to line their pockets and lack the political will to implement any significant changes that would affect their ability to take some good money-the U.S. dollar. As a Certified Internal Auditor, my profession teaches me that the first area of control to look at when assessing potential risks of integrity violations (corruption, fraud, theft, waste, mismanagement) of any institution is the control environment. The control environment is basically management’s attitude regarding integrity violations, and its willingness and commitment to implement robust internal control procedures that would prevent integrity violations. As we know too well, those in management are paid the big bucks not because they are the smartest, but because they are capable of taking a panoramic view of the organization and set the tone for everyone to follow. Not in Liberia—at least not at this moment. If management shows a nonchalant attitude toward, say corruption, then everyone below them will do likewise. As the saying goes, the fish rots from the head. This is clearly the state of affairs in Liberia, as we know it. It is a sad commentary, but that is the reality we have found ourselves with in each succeeding government from J.J. Roberts to Charles Bryant. (The only exception, if I may add, was E.J. Royce, who really tried to pave a way for a better condition by investing in public works projects.) In any case, how we achieve good governance is a matter of policy makers making a serious commitment to ensure that operational plans are developed to fully and completely carry out and achieved any good governance initiative. Does anyone really believe that today’s politicians are going to do that—that would mean political suicide and total financial collapse for them? How would they eat or send their children, wives and multiple girlfriends to America and Europe to shop and stay at expensive hotels. It would take the almighty hand of God for them to do that. It’s not in their nature or bones to make any changes that will better the whole population. Hence we need a different model that would totally remove the choice to implement or not to implement good governance from the hands of politicians and into the hands of technocrats, with minimal political prejudice. Third, it is my understanding we already have laws and regulations on the books in Liberia, and if they were implemented properly, they would help the government achieve each of these basic good governance principles. For example, we know that it is an irrefutable fact that there is regulation mandating competitive bidding on government contracts, but many times, it has been circumvented to the benefit of a person like George Haddad or a business that is well connected. Government officials also have access to publications on good governance and capacity building from reputable institutions like the World Bank, IMF, European, and the African Development Bank. In fact, just recently the IMF made some suggestions on how Charles Bryant’s Interim Administration could do things differently to improve good governance. We also know that there is a law requiring separation of duties amongst Finance, General Services Administration (GSA) and the National Bank of Liberia. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for revenue collection and the disbursement of funds that are authorized, approved and appropriated by the Joint Congress of the House and Senate. The General Services Administration is responsible for procurement of authorized and approved purchases, while the National Bank is responsible for clearing vendors’ checks and providing oversight of the entire banking system. We also know that there is a requirement that the government submits a budget to Congress for approval, and at the end of the year, each ministry and agency is required to undergo an annual audit. The Auditor General is responsible for making sure that agencies are not only audited annually, but that periodic audits are conducted as called on by the Congress and/or government. It is also self evident that Liberia currently has a balance of power system, in which the Congress appropriates funds, the government spends the funds and the judicial system punishes those who violate the public trust by stealing money. So, I just can’t fathom the added value of another report from GRC, which at the very best would be full of academic exercise of things we already know, and benchmarking of best practices that no one will read much less implement. As a holder of a masters in business administration, I fervently believe in benchmarking best practices, but only to the extent that it would be actually utilized. In light of the current situation, I would bet anyone a billion bucks, that it is not going to happen in Liberia. So, I just don’t see how producing another report on good governance will do the job. Why can’t Ms. Sirleaf and the members of Good Reform Commission use the models produced by the IMF, World Bank and any other reputable institution and save us the headache, and money? That would be the beginning of a new day, and a good start toward sound fiscal management. Fourth, there are things that are prima facia evidence, at least in the eyes of the common person, when it comes to good governance—the common man or woman knows that:
Again, as you can see, we, the common folks, already know what to do to improve how to govern correctly. How much a GRC will tell us that we already don’t know? We don’t need a 100-page booklet. We need common sense, pure and simple common sense. But more importantly, we need some action. We want to see people being dragged to prison, with their ill-gotten gains and properties confiscated—a government reform report will not cut it. Fifth, another significant shortcoming with the GRC initiative at this time is that it does not boost public confidence in government’s ability and willingness to be a good steward of the people’s money. It is no doubt that if one were to take a poll in Liberia, an overwhelming majority will agree that what we need right now in Liberia is a renewal of the public confidence and trust in the leadership of the country to do the right; something that benefits us all and not just a select few. Each succeeding administration has been characterized with rampant corruption and blatant mismanagement of the people’s money. It would take a divine intervention to erase from the public consciousness the harsh reality of corruption that has bankrupted their country and left them with nothing but an empty bag. A report full of best practices of good governance will not do it for many Liberians. The skepticism and pessimism among Liberians that the business as usual mentality will never change runs very high. Finally, the people who are going to deliver the report on governance are not trusted by the people, which will make their report an even harder sell. The people investigating and making recommendations on an issue matters a great deal. A great majority of us living abroad, especially in Western Europe and the United States have witnessed that first hand. For example, let’s look at the composition of the people investigating the intelligence failures leading to massive murder of Americans on 9/11. Each member of the committee, including such as persons as former New Jersey Republican Governor Frank Kean and Former Democratic Congressman Lee Hamilton, has not only expertise in the area but possesses great degree of credibility with the American people. These men and women are serious minded people, unbiased and have no shred of negligent corruption nor have they engaged in clandestine activities that an average person would deem unbecoming. Who can say that with a straight face about the leadership of the GRC, or several of its members? We have also witnessed how the Bush White House has tried to viciously undermine the credibility of Richard Clarke, and bring into question his assertions about the way in which the Bush Administration downplayed the threat of terrorism while using the invasion of Iraq to undermine the war on terrorism. These are quite serious charges and the White House is doing everything it can to diminish the damage by calling into question Clarke’s credibility by using against him earlier statements that Bush was doing a lot to fight terrorism. Now Clarke says that his earlier comments reflected his desire to keep in line White House propaganda. I guess the American public will decide on November whether Candi Rice, National Security Advisor is more credibility than Clarke. The jury is still out on this one. But with the member of the GRC we know them well and we can only hope. Liberians are forgiving people and they have consistently believed that a person can change over time. But in several instances the notion the people can change has cost them dearly. They believed in Amos Sawyer, who is now a member of GRC, and he led them down when he became Interim President. They believed in Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Chairwoman of GRC, and she sold them to Taylor. They believed that Charles Taylor would turn over a new leaf and make a difference in their lives, and instead he tortured, humiliated, and starved Liberians while bankrupting their country. They believed in Charles Gyude Bryant and he is turning out to be yet another disappointment. I hate to prejudge the sincerity of people. It is quite probable that the veteran politicians on the GRC have experienced a seismic shift in their lives and have become different. However, do we really want to waste limited resources on guessing whether someone has or has not changed, and on potential information that we already know? I don’t think so. We can easily find an alternative best use of these funds. Based on
information that I have obtained, the government is willing to spend
millions of dollars in Fiscal Year 2004 and 2005 on good governance
initiatives, albeit a significant portion is going to preparing
government institutions for the 2005 election. Some of the best uses of
that money or some portion of it include re-opening of the University of
Liberia and JFK Hospital? I don’t think that would happen in the current
political climate. Some people running for election and working for
people running for the presidency want to get paid a government salary
while they get ready for the election. Why can’t Ellen Sirleaf and
members of the GRC do it for free, and for the love of the country if
they really want to see change? But that’s a topic for another day.
In any case, we know that our politicians lacked the political “will” to bring about massive changes in the way they conduct the affairs of the country. We know that a report full of best practices, while good on the surface only has teeth if fully implemented. We know that Liberian politicians will, at the very best, skim through the report. We need a “Third Way”—An Independent Anti-Corruption Agency. By going this third route, it will force the government to show some action. Only action-oriented initiatives will, in my humble judgment, begin to renew the people’s faith in their government, and build support for any initiatives to improve the way we do things. We already know what is wrong with the government and the problems we face in the country. We just need to stop spending money on conspicuous consumptions, investigate and punish the kleptomaniacs, be transparent in the conduct of our affairs and hold people responsible for their actions. More importantly, we need to conduct a massive re-education of our people on the adverse effects of corruption and misuse of public resources, and build their trust in government for the first time. An anti-corruption agency will do all of that, because it is an action-oriented initiative, not a book writing exercise. In the next commentary, I will present the merits of the anti-corruption agency, its structure and implementation. Keep looking out! --> |
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