OECD Anti-corruption & Integrity Forum / Philippines anti-corruption taskforce / Malaysia civil service salary review

2021 OECD Global Anti-Corruption & Integrity Forum - Leading through the Crisis: Integrity and Anti-Corruption for a Resilient Recovery (Registration link). “The Forum [to be held virtually 23-25 March 2021] will explore the new integrity risks, challenges and opportunities that have arisen in the COVID-19 context, as well as identify innovative solutions required to govern and conduct business with integrity, including with respect to responsible business conduct (RBC) standards, and tackle corruption in times of crisis.”

OECD: https://oecd-events.org/gacif2021  

 

Task Force vs Corruption receives over 200 reports, prepares raps for filing before Ombudsman.  “The Department of Justice-led Task Force against Corruption has received over 200 complaints and has acted on 40 reports since it started its work last year… The DOJ chief said the reports alleged violations of the Anti-Graft law, procurement law, Commission on Audit rules and social amelioration program.”

Philippine Star: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/02/16/2078149/task-force-vs-corruption-receives-over-200-reports-prepares-raps-filing-ombudsman  

 

To fight graft, review salaries every 5 years, govt told.  “[Malaysia’s] civil service salary scheme and allowances should be reviewed every five years to help in the fight against corruption among civil servants, said a former Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) president.”

Free Malaysia Today: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/02/13/fight-graft-raise-civil-service-salaries-every-5-years-says-ex-cuepacs-chief/

Indonesia local government / Singapore private sector bribery / India Arbitration bill

A crisis of corruption: Integrity in Indonesian local government.  “Indonesia fails to enforce a separation of the bureaucratic and political realms. Three specific laws put in place by politicians – Law 8/1974, Law 43/1999, and Law 5/2014 – have made public servants vulnerable to political intervention, as they assign heads of local government the authority to manage the bureaucracy directly, whether it be their career development, promotions, or appointments.”

Adfin Rochmad Baidhowah/Policy Forum: https://www.policyforum.net/a-crisis-of-corruption/      

 

16 months' jail for businesswoman in $500k bribery case.  “Malaysian Chuah Hooi Fong, 59, had earlier pleaded guilty to four counts of giving bribes to Leong Chee Shian, 50, a former IT director of logistics company Schenker (Asia Pacific)… Chuah's lawyer, Mr Edmond Pereira, said in mitigation that his client had initially rejected Leong's request for bribes, but later relented when she needed Leong's help to complete the projects in time.”

Dominic Low/The Straits Times: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/16-months-jail-for-businesswoman-in-500k-bribery-case

 

Governance should be left to elected members accountable to legislature: Law min.  “The [Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2021] seeks to ensure that all stakeholder parties get an opportunity to seek an unconditional stay of enforcement of arbitral awards where the underlying arbitration agreement or contract or making of the arbitral award are induced by fraud or corruption…Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government wants to make India a big hub for domestic and international arbitration.”

Livemint: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/governance-should-be-left-to-elected-members-accountable-to-legislature-law-min-11613176565348.html   

Pacific Anti-Corruption Updates (13 February 2021): Fiji, PNG

FIJI

FICAC hits out at society.  The Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption has hit out at the Fiji Law Society’s comments that “corruption is not so complex – or so widespread”…FICAC said the statement was misconceived and delusional.

https://www.fijitimes.com/ficac-hits-out-at-society/

Fijian Parliament: Anti-Corruption Division Bill enacted.  The Anti-Corruption Division Bill was enacted by Parliament…[allowing] the establishment of a specialized division within the Fijian judicial system to solely deal with anti-corruption.

https://www.fijitimes.com/fijian-parliament-anti-corruption-division-bill-enacted/

Fiji does not make the rules for USP Council to operate, maintains it wants good governance.  Fijian Minister for Education, Rosy Akbar has stressed that good governance must be at the core of running the University of the South Pacific. https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/fiji-does-not-make-the-rules-for-the-usp-council-to-operate-akbar/

Fiji Opposition MP Nawaikula hints at military intervention against FijiFirst government. While debating on the Anti-Corruption Division Bill, Nawaikula, had this to say…In response, Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, said it is unfortunate that despite the call of a supposed coup, no member of Opposition took offence with the comment.

https://www.pina.com.fj/?p=pacnews&m=read&o=3636082306024c4d6d89a85b3ed8ec

'Integrity comes from the top down': whistleblower vice-chancellor vows to fight on despite exile.  The corruption-busting university vice-chancellor Pal Ahluwalia, deported from Fiji over his efforts to expose financial mismanagement at the University of the South Pacific, has said he is determined to continue in his efforts to reform the university.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/08/integrity-comes-from-the-top-down-whistleblower-vice-chancellor-vows-to-fight-on-despite-exile

 

PNG

Fisheries plant on Australia's border could be used as cover for drugs, weapons and people smuggling, experts say.  “The Torres Strait has been a drug trafficking route for decades…and always with devastating consequences for local communities, where we’ve seen how the overflow of drugs can lead to corruption in local government and the erosion of traditional power structures,” an expert said.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/11/fisheries-plant-on-australias-border-could-cover-drugs-weapons-and-people-smuggling-experts-say

 

To know more about the UN Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption Project please contact:

Annika Wythes, Regional Anti-Corruption Adviser, UNODC, annika.wythes@un.org

Anti-corruption windows of opportunity / Global PEP database / Thailand government transparency recommendations

Seizing a window of opportunity: lessons from research on anti-corruption reform (Blog).  “In recent research, we framed these changes in context as “windows of opportunity” (readers of this blog may also know them as “critical junctures”). In particular, we looked at anticorruption windows created by national scandals and/or incoming presidential administrations committed to reform.”

Florencia Guerzovvich, Soledad Gattoni and Dave Algoso/Oxfam: https://oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/seizing-a-window-of-opportunity-lessons-from-research-on-anticorruption-reform/  

 

New Paper: “A Proposal for a Global Database of Politically Exposed Persons” (Blog).  “As part of the global effort to combat public corruption, anti-money laundering laws require financial institutions and other entities to conduct enhanced scrutiny on so-called “politically exposed persons” (PEPs)…Unfortunately, the current system for identifying PEPs…is both inefficient and in some cases inaccurate. We therefore propose the creation of a global PEP database, organized and overseen by an inter-governmental body.”

Matthew Stephenson/The Global Anticorruption Blog: https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2021/02/09/new-paper-a-proposal-for-a-global-database-of-politically-exposed-persons/  

 

Recommendations for [Thai] State Agencies to Upgrade ITA to Curb Corruption.  “[Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission] decided to submit to the Cabinet its report on results of the [Integrity and Transparency Assessment] in the operations of state agencies for the 2020 fiscal year. The report also contains a set of recommendations to the Cabinet, requesting that it give support to state agencies in order to improve the ITA program.”

The Government Public Relations Department: https://thailand.prd.go.th/ewt_news.php?nid=10771&filename=index#.YCCi9IPeaEM.twitter  

India Right to Information law / Nepal anti-corruption body / Bangladesh investigative feature

Fighting corruption in Kashmir becomes tougher as territory loses its Right to Information law.  “In August 2019, when the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act was passed in Indian Parliament, it effectively ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir…Activists and lawyers say the central [RTI] law is less progressive than the state law.”

Safwat Zargar/Scroll.in: https://scroll.in/article/985344/fighting-corruption-in-kashmir-becomes-tougher-as-territory-loses-its-right-to-information-law  

 

What ails the CIAA? (Op-ed).  “But the problem with the agency is that it is dominated by lawyers and police people who are interested in fighting rather than investigating corruption. If it is the purpose of the agency is to fight and control corruption better rename the agency as Corruption Controlling Agency rather than “Commission for Investigating the Abuse of Authority”.    ”

Narayan Manandhar/Lokantar: https://english.lokaantar.com/news/detail/21056/  

 

Gang close to Bangladesh PM extracts bribes for state contracts. “A criminal gang is colluding with Bangladesh’s security forces to extract bribes for state contracts and job positions, all the while maintaining powerful links with the country’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, an Al Jazeera investigation has found.”

Al Jazeera Investigative Unit: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/1/gang-close-to-bangladesh-pm-extracts-bribes-for-state-contracts

Infrastructure transparency guidance note / E-procurement and COVID recovery / Tools for reducing corruption

Improving infrastructure transparency, participation and accountability during a crisis (Guidance Note). “This Guidance Note outlines how to prioritise and fast-track the implementation of one or more of the four core features of the CoST approach, without necessarily becoming part of a recognised CoST programme. Such an approach will not only help reduce risks associated with the procurement of public infrastructure during a crisis and its aftermath, but also lay the foundations for more lasting reforms.”

CoST – the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative: https://infrastructuretransparency.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Crisis-Guidance-Final.pdf  

 

Solutions in Not So Short Supply: E-Procurement and COVID-19 Recovery (Blog).  “Digitally automating key steps in the procurement process can make public transactions more ‘auditable’ and reduce the discretionary power of bureaucrats and public officials, which otherwise might breed petty corruption and kickbacks.”

Elise Blackburn/Transparency and Accountability Initiative: https://www.transparency-initiative.org/blog/7405/e-procurement-and-covid-19-recovery/        

 

Five tools for reducing corruption during COVID-19 (Blog).  “there are evidence-based tools…to help governments increase trust, strengthen their management of public funds and with that, improve their response to the current crisis…1. Improve Transparency…2. Accountability Through Civil Society…3. Harness Technology…4. Engage the Right Levers in Government…5. International Institutions can help.”

Warren Krafchik and Leslie Lang Tsai/World Bank: https://blogs.worldbank.org/governance/five-tools-reducing-corruption-during-covid-19  

Bangladesh climate project anti-corruption recommendation / Anti-corruption for COVID / Cambodia corruption complaints

Win-win: Designing climate change projects for effective anti-corruption in Bangladesh (Blog).  “Conventional anti-corruption approaches that focus on formal mechanisms of transparency and accountability have had limited effects in Bangladesh. Our research suggests [improving] anti-corruption by designing climate change projects to maximise dual-use benefits for local communities. This triggers self-interested monitoring, particularly by influential individuals, and results in effective anti-corruption in these adverse contexts.”

Mushtaq Khan and Mitchell Watkins/Oxfam: https://oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/win-win-designing-climate-change-projects-for-effective-anti-corruption-in-bangladesh/  

 

Why fighting corruption matters in times of COVID-19.  “Our findings suggest that in an increasingly uncertain world, where emergencies abound, fighting corruption is key to ensuring better preparedness for crises responses.”

Jon Vrushi and Roberto Martínez B. Kukutschka/Transparency International: https://www.transparency.org/en/news/cpi-2020-research-analysis-why-fighting-corruption-matters-in-times-of-covid-19  

 

660 complaints on corruption filed last year.  “[Cambodia’s National Council Against Corruption] said that out of the 660 complaints filed, 350 cases were investigated and findings revealed that there was no clear evidence of corrupt deeds in almost all cases.”

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea/Khmer Times: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50809477/660-complaints-on-corruption-filed-last-year/