On December 9th I attended the Anti-Corruption Day conference sponsored by the UN0DC, the UN office of Drugs and Crime and India Vigilance Commission Conference. I rangled an invitation after visiting and talking with the Director of Transparency International here in India. The office is off a busy street in warren of little buildings with trees surrounding it. Transparency International lobbies for changes to reduce corruption, primarily by indirectly seeking to influence through its corruption rating index and by lobbying super NGOs such as the world bank (Nongovernmental agencies or nonprofits) to keep a tighter rein on how their money is used by reporting requirements and denying funding in the future.
Now back to the Central Vigilance Commission. What a name! Can you imagine having a state agency called the Central Vigilance Commission. It is a body that is to refer complaints to government agencies to investigate, somewhat like asking the fox not to eat the chickens when you put him the coop. It doesn’t have any real investigative powers or an ability to prosecute either informally through some sort of mediation or by putting forward a complaint to public prosecutors. What it was showing off at this conference is a start of some sort. It was showing a website where you could now lodge a complaint and follow it, the process through the system. It’s called Vig Eye on the web.
This was quite a coup to attend this. Guards there to check you and a UN sponsored event! You had to have a formal invitation which I did via email. There were flowers everywhere and in front of the speakers. The day began with lighting a flame by the first speakers to symbolize unity in fighting corruption. After each speaker had his/her turn, he/she was given a bouquet. What was interesting was that the former commissioner of the Central Vigilance Commission, Shri (Mr.) N. Vittal, gave a strong opening speech that this would be nothing but a paper tiger. He advocated a different approach, a punitive approach doesn’t work since corruption is so rampant. A participative approach, one of collective action was necessary to stop corruption, such as the UN Global Compact, Peer Review to identify groups who abided by laws against giving bribes, strengthening transparency, that is accountability of government, ethics education for citizens and officials. It subverted the rule of law. He and others used words from economics, asking for a bribe is the demand side, giving a bribe is the supply side. As he stated, collusive corruption is voluntary; bribes are demanded.
Speakers were very positive about e-governance reducing corruption. Getting permits and licenses and other government documents would gradually go on-line. Then there would be no one to bribe because it would decrease human interaction. Oddly, as US state governments began to embrace customer service, the interaction is now gone because of e-government.
What was left unsaid was that the poor who are indisputably more affected by corruption will not have access to E-governance unless there is a comparable plan to put computers in public spaces just as in the US we have made a concerted effort to have computers in libraries
No comments:
Post a Comment