UNDP MOVE ON SHAME LIST LAUDABLE!

August 31, 2006 on 7:12 pm | In General |

(Original posted on 29 August 2006  8:17pm)

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) administration has stated that it had been issuing annual “mail of shame” lists of its staff who had been dismissed for non-compliance with the ethical and professional standards.

Its Regional Centre for Asia and Pacific adviser, Patrick Keuleers has stated that the move which had been made against UNDP staff regardless of their position within the organisation, as well as compulsory declaration of assets and liabilities, were one of the deterring measures in preventing mismanagement and corruption from taking roots.

He stated - QUOTE:

“Accountability, transparency and integrity in our own projects and programmes is the best manifestation of credibility in engaging national partners in fighting corruption,” he said in his paper on “Ensuring Transparency in Managing International Aid” at the 1st Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) Anti-Corruption and Enhancing Integrity Forum 2006 here today.

He added that UNDP would continue to enhance its internal control mechanism to strengthen accountability and aid efficiency, fostering a culture of integrity that aimed to prevent, detect and rapidly investigate allegations of fraud and corruption involving their staff, consultants and other parties having business relationship with them.

He said a hotline with toll-free numbers had also been established to facilitate whistle-blowers to channel any information to them.

He added:

“Recent developments such as the UN Oil for Food scandal, the corruption levels in the post-conflict reconstruction projects in Iraq and Afghanistan and other revelations of misuse of aid funds have again emphasised the need for more vigilance and increased transparency and accountability in aid management,”

In monitoring aids that had been channelled to nations in need, he cited that an Aid Watch initiative was launched in Sri Lanka and was linked to media networks and Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission, while an E-Aceh web-based aid information management systems was put in place in Indonesia.

“Development assistance databases have also been developed for the governments of India, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand,” he added.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency adviser Dr Kevin Evans has stated that the basic strategy towards eradicating corruption was through an integrated effort of prevention, education and enforcement.

He said the prevention effort would have to take into account the systems and procedures that guided government activities and their engagement internally and externally.

Dr Evans said educating people about corruption represented a critical factor in the success of any anti-corruption programme that a society wished to conduct and should begin at the earliest possible age.

He said the nature of punishment should be one of the issues that needed to be considered in order to establish an effective anti-corruption enforcement regime.

“In applying the three components (prevention, education and enforcement), it is well to note that each are equally important. Like a three-legged chair, it will not be balanced when one leg is either longer or shorter than the others. It will also not work unless the three legs are connected,” he added.

Will we follow this paradigm shift - Nay!