Corruption In Iraq & World

End of the Line - This is my last Corruption in Iraq Posting

Tavares, FL - July 17, 2011 -  I give up.   I have been writing this blog on corruption in Iraq and the World, including Afghanistan, since mid-2006.

The news on corruption keeps repeating itself and the US State Dept and USAID don't improve, and neither does the corruption climate in Iraq or Afghanistan.  Congress keeps having hearings, and issuing reports, but they don't fire anyone and establish known methods to reduce corruption in foreign aid and reconstruction programs in "conflict" countries.

Besides, the Wall St. Journal now has a "Corruption Currents" blog with daily postings and two guys who are PAID to do it, so why compete?   However, they have no clue how to FIX corruption, just report it.

Here is the link to one of their recent postings on their online blog:

http://blogs.wsj.com/corruption-currents/2011/07/15/high-tide-from-metros-sagging-shares-to-ancient-egyptian-artifacts/?mod=WSJBlog  

If you want to see my lists of actions to take to reduce corruption in foreign countries, look in the PAGES section in the right column for my article on Vance Jochim's 28+ Ways to Reduce Corruption.

If you are on a US Congressional Committee investigating Corruption, and want to learn how to actually fix it and not just listen to people talking about it and issuing reports, contact me.

And, if you are a country leader and want to actually fix corruption, and not just talk about it, send me an email to FiscalRangers AT Comcast DOT net.

Vance Jochim  -  July 17, 2011

US Anti-Corruption adviser to the Iraqi anti-corruption agency, Commission on Integrity, 2004-2006.

 

 

Foreign Policy Magazine Cites most obnoxious Corruption Cases in Wikileaks Postings

We really haven't mentioned the continuous postings by Wikileaks from the leaked US State Dept. diplomatic emails, but Foreign Policy magazine "slogged" through them to report the most obnoxious leaked examples of corruption in foreign countries.

Examples are included from Nigeria, Afghanistan, Russia, Azerbaijan and Tunisia.

Favorite quote:

"It's a dirty world. From the diamond mines of Zimbabwe to the government coffers of Pakistan, U.S. diplomats run into corruption everywhere they go."

vj

From Foreign Policy magazine HERE  - dated Dec. 17, 2010

 

Nigeria Corruption Results in Poor Medical Facilities There

This is an interesting side-result of having corrupt officials.  Apparently in Nigeria, the government officials commonly take government paid trips to other countries for "medical tourism" trips for medical services.  The problem was brought to the forefront when a recently deceased government leader was going to Saudi Arabia for medical care and many officials won't use local hospitals.

Critics claim that government is so corrupt that hospitals are poor quality, AND the medical trips serve as a reason to leave the country and smuggle corruption cash out of the country.

So, if you have a corrupt country, not even the local corrupt officials will used the resulting health providers.

vj

Source:  The Nation Online - from Nigeria

Curbing medical tourism

Wale Ejibunu 02/07/2010 00:00:00

Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, in a characteristically outspoken declaration, recently condemned the widespread practice of public office-holders who go abroad to seek treatment. Speaking at the opening of the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Hospital in Sabon Wase, Niger State, he called it a "national disgrace," and asked the Federal Government to end the practice.

Aliyu has re-focused national attention on what has become a vexed issue. Ironically, late President Yar’Adua, for whom the hospital is named, was the person whose medical travails brought the issue of overseas treatment to the fore of national discourse.

Hitherto, the practice was only seen in terms of its cost to the national treasury and the embarrassing state of medical facilities in the country. Yar’Adua’s medical trips, particularly the one he undertook to Saudi Arabia before his death, served to underline the grave security and constitutional implications that arose from Nigeria’s inability to offer reliable and effective medical services to the bulk of its citizens.

It is important, however, to move beyond merely lamenting the medical preferences of the nation’s so-called public servants. While it is true that some medical cases are taken abroad because the facilities for handling them do not exist within the country, it is obvious that many of such trips are actually unnecessary. Some are simply medical check-ups which can be carried out in Nigeria; others are ailments for which there is effective treatment in private hospitals, if not in their public counterparts. Indeed, it is often wondered whether the fondness for seeking medical treatment abroad has less to do with medicine and everything to do with the laundering of corruptly-acquired public funds.

A two-pronged approach is the best way of reducing needless medical tourism. This would involve making it harder for public office-holders and senior civil servants to embark on frivolous medical trips overseas, and increasing the capacity of local medical services to offer viable alternatives to going abroad.

The first part of the strategy will require commitment on the part of federal, state and local governments, since it is a policy which apparently does not favour them. A careful survey must be undertaken to ascertain the medical institutions capable of providing high-quality tertiary care so that all cases can be directed to them, instead of being taken abroad. The outspoken Aliyu should, in fact, be in the forefront in this regard: it is not enough to condemn medical tourism without concretely demonstrating the steps he is taking to reduce it to the barest minimum within his own state.

Increasing the effectiveness of medical services within Nigeria is a long-term project, and will require the involvement of all stakeholders in the sector – government, health workers and the public. Experience has shown that efforts to improve the efficiency of the health sector have been hampered by sharp practices in health-sector related contracts, government’s refusal to negotiate honestly with health workers, and below-par performances of doctors and other medical staff, especially those working in public health facilities.

The country’s contract-tendering and procurement system will have to be improved to ensure that only qualified contractors are permitted to bid for hospital-related contracts. Construction work should be effectively monitored to ensure that projects are completed to specification and on schedule. Government should treat medical workers with greater respect, given the sensitive nature of their duties, and stop the habit of refusing to negotiate with them until they go on strike. Health-sector workers themselves should not forget the essential humanity of their work, and refrain from embarking on arbitrary strikes.

If the challenges facing Nigeria’s health care system are addressed with honesty and commitment, the country might actually become the destination of medical tourists rather than a source of medical tourism.

Anti-Corruption Play in Syria Sells out for Four months

Who would have thought you could produce a play about corruption in your country, and sell out all the seats for four months?

Well, a playwright did so in Damascus, Syria, poking fun at Syrian corruption and...

UK's BAE Pays $400-million find for paying Bribes to get contracts

Here is another example of big time corruption and bribery investigated by the UK's Guardian newspaper and the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO).   A UK arms and security firm, BAE (http://www.baesystems.com/ )  was hit with $400-million in big fines after being caught paying bribes on several contacts in the US and UK over the past years.   The UK newspaper, the Guardian, has been printing exposes for SIX years which forced the issue, and apparently former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair intervened to restrict investigations in the past.

This seems to be an anti-corruption victory for both the Guardian and the SFO.  The UK has been notorious for having lax anti-corruption standards, and was quite late in signing the UN Convention on Corruption.  However, the UK seems to be ramping up anti-corruption and anti-bribery investigations, which is ABOUT time.   The UK is one of the havens used by corruption Iraq and Afghan officials to transfer funds to, and maybe this case indicates maybe more cases against them will be initiated.

Finally, it seems that BAE has seen the light and

US State Dept. chopped funds to Yemen in 2003 due to Corruption

Yemen is in the news since the recent terrorist almost blew up the US airliner about to land in Detroit.

This article below analyzes the terrorist threat from Yemen, but buried in it is a discussion how the US State Dept. actually cut $20-million in "democracy building" funding to Yemen in 2003 due to corruption, followed by a cut by the World Bank of about

Hillary Clinton Urges Phillipino Youths to Report Corruption Using Twitter

Hillary visited the Phillipines for two days, and during a speech, urged the kids to report corruption using social media, similar to what was done in Iran about other issues...

from this source

Clinton urges youth to fight corruption through social media

MARK D. MERUEÑAS, GMANews.TV

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton encouraged Filipinos, particularly the youth, "to report corruption" through social networking at a town hall meeting in a Manila university on Friday before she ended her two-day visit to the Philippines.

She said technological advancements like social networking can be used to exact accountability from leaders, citing as examples the recent Twitter-triggered demonstrations in Iraq and Colombia.

"We want to see governments held more accountable to their own people. There should be more transparency, more accountability... And I think the new technology provides for that," she stressed during a forum at the University of Santo Tomas.

Clinton added: "We're trying to take the tools of the 20th century and apply them in 21st century diplomacy."

She praised the Philippine government for working towards the full automation of the 2010 national elections, saying it was a "positive step for democracy."

The Philippines will be the first country in Asia to shift from manual elections to automated polling, with the country's poll body expected to utilize some 80,000 vote canvassing machines.

Newt Gingrich on Corruption in US "Big Government" Agencies

Here is his December article which stands by itself.
vj
Big Government Breeds Big Corruption

by Newt Gingrich (more by this author)

Posted 12/16/2008 ET
Updated 12/16/2008 ET

Question: What do Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D), convicted Senator Ted Stevens (R), failing public school administrators, and the 80 percent of retiring California Highway Patrol chiefs who apply for disability have in common?

Answer: None of them is honest, and all of them are part of America’s already vast and rapidly expanding government.

First, a Last Chance to Order Before Christmas

But before tackling this and adding some thoughts on the RNC’s new web ad, I want to mention that the Newt.org Online Store makes an excellent place to get memorable Christmas gifts for conservatives on your shopping list.

We are offering autographed books that can be personalized with a short message as well as discounts on audio books and DVDs such as Rediscovering God in America and We Have the Power.

Visit shop.newt.org and be sure to order by December 18 to receive your order before Christmas.

“When Buying and Selling are Controlled by Legislation, the First Things to be Bought and Sold are Legislators.”

The idea that big government is inherently corrupting is as old as America itself. It was part of the Founders’ case for casting off the chains of the British monarchy.

More recently, the principle that big government breeds big corruption was perhaps expressed best by humorist P.J. O’Rourke, who said:

“When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.”

Blago is Just the Most Obvious Example

The shocking case of corruption in the office of the governor of Illinois by Rod Blagojevich is just the most obvious manifestation of this tendency for dishonesty to grow as government grows.

When the Detroit public school system continues to take money for the 76 percent of students that it fails to graduate on time or at all, its administrators aren’t being honest.

When 80 percent -- 80 percent! -- of California Highway Patrol assistant and deputy chiefs claim a disability at retirement to inflate their pensions, they are not being honest. (Also see this shocking story from yesterday’s New York Times).

When at least 25 percent of the $50 billion of the taxpayers’ money spent each year on Medicaid in New York is likely due to fraud, waste and misuse, it’s not only the individuals defrauding the system that are being dishonest, but the government officials allowing this travesty to continue are dishonest as well.

The list could go on and on.

Corruption Will Only Grow as Government Expands into Our Economy

It’s examples like these that have caused Americans to lose faith and trust in their government. It was Republicans who paid the price for this in November, but in reality, all of us are paying.

And we’ll only pay more as the federal government moves further and further into part-ownership of America’s insurance companies, banks, financial institutions and, most likely, Detroit’s auto industry.

That’s why I believe that the most important words in rethinking government in the next decade won’t be vague promises like “change” or massive government attempts at make-work “stimulus.”

Honesty. Effectiveness. Productivity. Creativity.

The four most important words in rethinking government in the years to come will be these:

Honesty

Effectiveness

Productivity

Creativity

There are sub-words that could be added. For instance, the natural counterpart to honesty in government is “accountability.” Honesty in government also breeds “integrity” in government.

But note one thing: Each of these words emphatically do not describe hulking behemoths like bureaucracies, bloated labor unions, or massive corporations.

Honesty, effectiveness, productivity and creativity don’t describe Washington. They describe places like Silicon Valley. They describe the lean, agile and innovative companies and institutions that are making American better every day.

The Watchwords of the World That Works

Honesty, effectiveness, productivity and creativity describe the world that works rather than the world that fails.

Our goal in the coming months and years must be to move our government from the world of dishonesty, failure, inefficiency and stagnation -- the world that fails -- to the world of honesty, effectiveness, productivity and creativity -- the world that works.

Think this sounds like cock-eyed optimism? If so, I’m in good company.

Ronald Reagan once said there are no easy solutions, just simple ones. Nothing could be simpler than the four watchwords for transforming government I’ve laid out -- and nothing will be more difficult than changing our government institutions to meet them.

Governor Blagojevich is long past due for a wake-up call. It’s time to get to work.

RNC Gets It All Wrong

With these four watchwords in mind, I was saddened to see the Republican National Committee’s recent web video trying desperately to draw a link between President-elect Obama and disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

This is exactly the type of mindless, character-assassination, attack politics that the voters rejected in 2006 and 2008.

Everything about this ad is wrong -- from its sheer desperation, to its tone, to what it says about the agenda of the Republican Party.

Clearly, we should insist that all of the taped communications about the Senate seat be made public. But that should be a matter of public policy, not of political attack.

If the Republican Party ever wants to return to the majority, it must spend the next two years being the “better solutions party,” not just an opposition party.

This means Republicans should be willing to work with President-elect Obama when he is right. And when he is wrong, Republicans must make it a point not just to oppose him, but to offer a better solution.

It also means that from now until the inaugural, Republicans should be willing to work with President-elect Obama as he prepares to take office, not engage in the same trivial, negative politics that failed in the past two election cycles.

In a time when America is facing real challenges, we should be rooting for an incoming President to succeed in meeting them. This ad is a terrible signal to be sending about both the goals of the Republican Party in the midst of the nation’s troubled economic times and about whether it has learned anything from the defeats of 2006 and 2008.

The RNC should pull the ad down immediately.

Important News Break Regarding Arrest of more Illinois Officials for Corruption

According to today's Mallard Fillmore cartoon in the Orlando Sentinel:

"This Just In... NO Illinois public officials have been ARRESTED for ANYTHING yet today..."

So, maybe Illinois and US residents have reason to celebrate New Years early!

Cheers,
VJ

East Indian Book Describes Role of Big Indian Business in Corruption

It seems the country of India has a muckraker like Sarah Palin who has uncovered several big corruption cases in India.  He has now written a book, and it is reviewed in the article at the link below.  Many books have been written about corrupt political officials, but this one focuses on the role of the businesses in corruption scandals.

One major business is the Reliance Group, which is a big company in India, like GE in the US.  The author coveres a number of scandals related to Reliance, going back to Saddam's Oil for Food bribery practices.  In another case, Reliance pushed through a sweetheart contract for oil field access that the book says cost the government of India about $30-billion in lost oil sharing revenues.

Read the article to get a flavor of corruption practices in India.  Should we call that Tandoori Corruption?
vj