Construction

Transparency and accountability have never been a prominent feature of Anguilla’s Ministry of Infrastructure.  If we have managed up to now to avoid wholesale corruption in the public service construction sector, this has been a result of the personal ethics of individual managers.  It is not a built-in characteristic of the service, buttressed by procedures that guarantee transparency and accountability.  On the contrary, public procurement of goods and services goes on in secret.  Major contracts are awarded on what basis nobody knows.  Outcomes of the implementation of public works, whether of success or failure, are studiously concealed.  Everyone in Anguilla takes this state of affairs for granted.  It has been the norm for decades.  In this environment suspicion and rumour abound.

So, I was interested recently to read a speech given by Chairman of the Trinidad and Tobago Transparency Institute, architect Victor Hart, to the Association of Commonwealth Societies of Architects in the Caribbean.  They were meeting in Trinidad to consider the problem of transparency and accountability in construction procurement.  Mr Hart dealt at length with the problem, mainly from an architect’s point of view.  Of particular relevance to us was his description of some of the transparency tools that have been developed for this area.  This is part of what he said:

The introduction of greater transparency in the construction sector requires the use of tested and proven tools and strategies by trained persons. Over the years, TI and others, such as the Global Infrastructure Anti-Corruption Centre, have researched the problem and developed tools and strategies that can be applied locally. TTTI recommended the adoption of three such tools/strategies to the Commission of Enquiry, which hopefully will be included among the Commission’s recommendations in its report to government:

a)         TI’s Integrity Pact the details of which are on website: www.transparency.org/tools/contracting.

b)         The Global Infrastructure Anti-Corruption Centre’s Project Anti- Corruption System (PACS) the details of which are on website www.giaccentre.org.

c)         The UK Anti-Corruption Forum (ACF) model the details of which are on website: www.anticorruptionforum.org/acf/news/publications/. Of particular interest on that website is the paper recommending greater transparency on construction projects ‘Transparency in Public Sector Construction Projects’. Also of interest is the paper entitled ‘Preventing Corruption – Guidance for Professional Bodies’.

The links are fascinating.  They would be of advantage to Anguilla's managers if only they could be persuaded to read them and to take up some of the suggestions.  

Anguilla’s public works are frozen at present.  This is a temporary reprieve from the usual full-steam-ahead system.  The financial crisis that we have partly caused by giving away to foreign developers all of our tax revenue for the next twenty-five years means that we no longer have the credit surpluses to spend on necessary construction.  Borrowing is being proposed as a solution to the problem of lack of income.  The British have said they will permit us to borrow more money if we can demonstrate how we will down-size the public service and increase our taxes starting next year.  Our government and their financial advisers are working on complying.  We can expect that they will come up with a way to ensure that the cash will begin to flow well before the next general elections which are due in five months time.

When that happens, it is highly unlikely that we will be in any better position than we are now.  Government still refuses to reveal the details of expenditure on the last airport expansion project of 2004, despite promises from the Minister of Finance in the House of Assembly.   

There are no plans to improve accountability and transparency.  No one in Anguilla is even looking at any of the three tools described on the websites above.  No one either knows or cares about the problem.  Instead, everyone is jockeying for position.

The Anguilla public sector construction arena will continue to be one in which there is no level playing field, with contracts being routinely awarded to party favourites.  Contractors will be forced to spend time and energy on worrying about bias and nepotism instead of concentrating on delivering projects on time and within budget.  We will continue to wonder what deals are being struck behind closed doors.  While some contractors will struggle to collect payment for services rendered, others will appear to be receiving favoured treatment.  Foreign consultants and contractors bearing generous gifts will mysteriously be preferred above local equally qualified ones. 

Fair play, transparency, and accountability will continue to be unknown in the Anguillian public sector construction sector. 

That is my gloomy prophesy for when the new airport expansion, the new government headquarters, and The Valley road repair contracts are awarded.

Bribery Index

International Anti-Corruption Day, 2008. Today, 9^th December, is International Anti-Corruption Day. Transparency International has released the 2008 Bribe Payers Index. This survey reveals that companies based in China, India, Russia and Italy are more likely to engage in bribery when doing business abroad than are companies from other leading exporting nations. Companies based in such countries are routinely engaged in bribery when doing business abroad.

The survey also reveals that public works and construction companies may be the most corruption-prone when dealing with the public sector. They are the most likely to exert undue influence on the policies, decisions and practices of governments.

Public officials and managers of State-owned enterprises must be particularly careful in avoiding corrupt transactions when dealing with companies from those countries.

Perhaps the clearest thinking and writing on the subject has come from Transparency International of Trinidad and Tobago. Their website reminds us that political corruption affects us all. Citizens of three out of four countries polled by Transparency International and Gallup International in 2003 and 2004 singled out political parties as the institution they perceived as most corrupt.

Government must put in place the system of checks and balances that the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago promised when he laid in Parliament the White Paper on the Reform of the Public Sector Procurement Regime.

Public and private sector executives must make corruption prevention as much a priority in their organizations as health and safety.

See previous posts on the need to enhance procurement integrity in Anguilla.

Integrity Pacts

Anti-Corruption Tools. In looking at the question of preventing future corruption in public contracting, we in Anguilla would do well to look at the Integrity Pact. This is a tool that has been developed by Transparency International. More can be learned about it on the TI website.

The IP consists of a process that includes an agreement (entered into before bids are invited) between a government agency and all pre-qualified bidders for a public contract. It contains rights and obligations to the effect that neither will pay, offer, demand or accept bribes, collude with competitors to obtain the contract, or engage in such abuses while carrying out the contract. The IP also introduces a monitoring system that provides for independent oversight and accountability.

Bidders should disclose all commissions and similar expenses paid by them to anybody in connection with the contract. Sanctions apply in case of violation. These sanctions range from loss of contract, forfeiture of the bid or performance bond and liability for damages, to debarment of bidders from future contracts. Criminal or disciplinary action against employees of government are assured. IPs encourage companies to refrain from bribing by providing assurance that their competitors will also do so. Governments and government officials also have the assurance of a clear framework that protects them from dubious offers.

Governments are able to reduce the high cost of corruption in procurement. Successful implementation on a major project can go a long way to restoring public confidence in a country’s procurement process.

The Integrity Pact has shown itself adaptable to many legal settings. It is flexible in its application. No new legislation is required for its introduction. So far, the IP process has been successfully implemented in about 20 countries around the world. Victor Hart reports in his speech of 15 February 2008 to the Institute of Structural Engineers that regrettably, despite lobbying by T&T’s Transparency Institute, the government of Trinidad & Tobago is yet to use the IP on any of its projects.

In Anguilla, no contractor or engineer has yet begun to lobby for Integrity Pacts. No one is even thinking about the issue. We would not be surprised to learn that the government of Anguilla is not contemplating using the Integrity Pact on any of its major, upcoming projects.

Procurement

Master Plan for New Government of Anguilla Building. Like most of us in Anguilla I read with interest in this week’s Anguillian Newspaper of the consultative meeting that was held on 19 February. It discussed the planned new state-of-the-art government building. The meeting was led by architect Mark Raymond of Trinidad. The report is that the meeting involved six consultants and many heads of department and other senior public servants. Mr Raymond advised that there are four planned stages. The first is the consultation, which was the meeting in question. The second was an appraisal of the project and collection of information. The third will be a schematic presentation of options. The fourth will be the actual design work. You will notice that there was no mention of procurement of goods and services or of the construction itself. Yet, that is where most of our concerns lie. We are going to be spending a lot of money in the coming years on infrastructure development. This new building is not the biggest of government’s planned projects. The others include the new terminal and multi-purpose building at Blowing Point Harbour, the new road for the Valley, and the deep water harbour at Corito.

I was reading a speech of 15 February given by another Trinidadian. He is Victor Hart. Mr Hart is the Chairman of T&T’s Transparency International. His speech was to the Institute of Structural Engineers.

Mr Hart reminded the assembled engineers that procurement means the acquisition of goods and services. On construction projects it covers the entire process from needs assessment through the project preparation, design, budgeting, tender invitation, award of contracts, and execution of the contracts. We live in a time when coping with corruption is high on the agenda of all countries. It is therefore important that we take the opportunity to discuss transparency and accountability in procurement.

Much of Anguilla’s annual budget is spent through the construction industry. Our money goes on developing infrastructure, repairs and maintenance, in schools and hospitals, clinics and offices. Procurement offers the most attractive opportunities to those who wish to corrupt the process and illegally enrich themselves.

He reminded us that corruption damages our country by causing the undertaking of projects which are unnecessary, unreliable, dangerous and over-priced. This can lead to loss of life, misuse of funds, and resultant poverty, economic damage, and underdevelopment.

Corruption damages companies. It results in uncertainty and wasted tendering expenses. It increases project costs. It reduces project opportunities. It causes extortion and blackmail. It contributes to money laundering. It can result in criminal prosecutions, fines, blacklisting, reputation risk, and resultant job losses.

It damages individuals. It causes reduced morale, induces a sense of hopelessness in industry professionals. These face criminal prosecution, fines and imprisonment.

Transparency and accountability are the main antidotes for corruption. It takes our architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, building, plumbing and electrical contractors, and related professionals becoming conscious of the problem. We need them to come together to join the fight against corruption. As Mr Hart points out, the advantage for them is that they will not spend time dealing with the consequences of a playing field that is not level because of corruption in the procurement process. The result will be increased peace of mind, job satisfaction, and levels of productivity and profitability.

The building sector in Anguilla is essentially lawless and unregulated. The Building Code is a long-standing joke. It exists only in the minds of shameless members of the Building Board. There are no published standards or regulations. As with Barbados, the Code is applied depending on the whim of whichever functionary you are dealing with. My fear is that it might come to be so, also, with public procurement.

I trust that we are going to hear next of steps being taken to ensure that the procurement process for the new government building will be more transparent than it was in the airport extension project two years ago. From all reports, there are still unanswered questions connected with that project.

Transparency Int

Transparency International. A reader sent me this article from the Guardian Newspaper. It gives us an insight into the sort of good work that Transparency International is doing all around the world:

Anti-corruption survey lists lawyers for first time
Lawyers have a new reputation in Kenya - as solicitors of bribes. The professionals have been listed for the first time ever in the annual Kenya Bribery Index, prepared by the local chapter of the Berlin-based Transparency International. Lawyers were ranked the ninth most corrupt group in Kenya in the report, which was published yesterday. The police remained the most corrupt institution in the country for the sixth year running, according to the survey which involved asking 2,400 respondents what institutions they had interacted with and for details of bribes paid.
Associated Press in Nairobi

The article inspired me to do a Google search for the Kenya Bribery Index. I recommend that you have a look at it. It gives an idea how long the Kenya Branch of Transparency International has been working to encourage their fellow citizens to clean up their act. Perhaps, some enterprising young persons could consider setting up a branch in Anguilla.

I was sorry to see how poorly the judiciary and police of Kenya do in the rankings for 2007. The police in Kenya have traditionally been the worst offenders when it comes to bribes. Lawyers enter the list for the first time. You can download the 2007 report here.

Now, I am well aware that thre is no evidence that we have corrupt police or lawyers in Anguilla. But, it would help to keep us on the straight and narrow if we did have a branch of TI here, wouldn’t it?

Corruption

“Corruption”.
Transparency International has argued for years that acts of corruption involve a giver (the supply side) and a taker (the demand side). TI advocates strong measures to curb bribery’s supply side, including the criminalisation of overseas bribery under the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. Steps to curb the demand side include disclosure of assets for public officials and adoption of codes of conduct. It is up to foreign legislatures to criminialise overseas bribery. Only we here in Anguilla can insist that our public officials disclose their assets and adopt codes of conduct. What are we doing about it? By comparison with our lackadaisical approach, the new administration in Nevis shows us how it can be done here.

As a minimum we in Anguilla also need an Integrity Act to govern the conduct of Ministers and senior public servants. The present system where the Anguilla Public Service Integrity Board must wait until the governor decides to pass a matter to the Board for advice is not satisfactory. We need a permanent Commission to hear complaints from the public. It must have the power to investigate ministers and public servants. It should have the power to summon witnesses and to prosecute those who obstruct its activities. We need better Finance Regulations to clearly outline the procedures for the management and accounting of government finances. We need a Procurement Act to establish a central Tenders Board to award all public contracts and to lay out the procedures for competitive bidding. We need an Ombudsman to assist ordinary members of the public who are oppressed by administrative inaction and unfairness.

Recent Issues

Recent Interesting Issues on Which Correspondence Has Been Received:

(a) “Cocaine Distribution”. Correspondents are invited to send photos of the crack houses operating in each village. Photographs of the dealers outside our night spots equally welcome. Subject to confirmation, I shall consider posting them here. I have no obligation to inform the police. They already know who and where they are. They simply do nothing about them. Only the small boys are picked up.

(b) “Ministerial Conflicts of Interest”. One correspondent writes: “My first issue would be conflicts of interest. Step number 1 in this connection, in my view, would be to get recognition from Government that the appearance of corruption cannot begin to be eradicated so long as government ministers and officials hold controlling positions in the banks and utilities. How to deal with that problem - e.g. whether the British system of blind trusts provides anything approaching a satisfactory solution - would be the next and very difficult step. But it seems to me that some recognition that the apparent absence of any concern whatever over conflicts of interest should at least be reflected upon would be a move in the right direction.”

(c) “Corruption”. Transparency International is an organization devoted to promoting good governance world wide. Their website is a mine of useful information. Their Americas page indicates that, as regards the Commonwealth Caribbean Countries, they deal only with the independent ones. The only CCC with a national chapter of TI is Trinidad and Tobago. I subscribe to their newsletter, and am often amazed at the ground covered by their intrepid secretary, Boyd Reid. They don’t appear to have a website. Several other Caribbean States were analysed in the latest Global Corruption Report for the year 2006. You can download it here. One correspondent [see the comment at article No 1] asked where we would rank Anguilla in terms of the Transparency International standard. I am not sure of the answer. We British Overseas Territories deserve to be studied as well as the independent ones. Perhaps you would like to respond to the question anyway.

(d) “Public Involvement”. One correspondent quite correctly writes, “Did you ever consider the thought: "Maybe I REALLY don't want to know"????” Another good friend writes thoughtfully but accurately, “It has become painfully obvious that your Garden is not providing enough stimulation; may I suggest sport drinking. Any continuation of this project will certainly guarantee that you never be elected for public office.”

(e) “Security Issues”. My security guru instructs me to remind you: “When you post documents that you are leaking, do not use your work computer. Delete the email, and empty your delete box.” Exercise all caution. Do not get caught.

Int. Anti-Corruption Day 2006

Welcome to this site. It is dedicated to a discussion on corruption-related issues as they apply to the tiny Caribbean British Overseas Territory of Anguilla.

The need for such a site is based on the perception that there is much discussion in hushed tones about corruption. No one discusses the matter publicly. The press is silent. The radio is muffled. Public discourse is discouraged. Let there be a free discussion here. All contributions are welcome. Needless to say, the editor of this site reserves the right to delete or edit any comment that appears to be unfair.

The following article, taken from Caribbean Net News on 10 December 2006, is as good a start as any for this site. It provides a setting for the discussion to begin. The article was written by Indra Jeet Mistry.

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International Anti-corruption Day - Time for Caribbean governments to seize the initiative

Saturday, December 9, 2006

by Indra Jeet Mistry, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative

Last year, the United Nations Convention against Corruption became the first legally binding, global anti-corruption agreement, marking an historic milestone in the fight against corruption. One year on, with 9 December being celebrated as International Anti-corruption day, in the Caribbean, only Trinidad and Tobago and Antigua and Barbuda can count themselves as signatories to the Convention.

This is despite the fact that corruption remains rife across the region and has had the debilitating effect of eating into the economic prosperity, democratic development and civil society’s trust in government. Endemic corruption in the Caribbean was recently reflected in Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index. Of the Caribbean countries surveyed, Jamaica was viewed as the least corrupt but was placed at only 66, while Guyana’s performance was especially poor, coming in at 121 out of a potential 163.

The Convention for the first time provides a single, overarching means for all countries in the region to fight and remove the scourge of corruption that has for long hampered their development. More specifically, chapter two of the Convention provides different measures that a country should implement to help stop the rot of corruption and remove the fog of secrecy that often clouds government operations and decision-making processes.

One means by which Caribbean countries can go a long way to battling corruption is by adopting and implementing an effective right to information law, which would also underpin many of the other measures set out in the Convention. Indeed, there have been some positive signs that Caribbean countries are beginning to understand the benefits of adopting an RTI law with Jamaica recently celebrated two years of implementing its Access to Information Act, while Antigua and Barbuda and Trinidad and Tobago also operate their own laws. Freedom of information (FOI) Bills are in the process of being drafted in Guyana and the Cayman Islands, while Bermuda has also announced its willingness to implement a law.

The right to information, or freedom of information as it is more commonly known, has long been recognised as a foundational human right, ever since the UN General Assembly declared in 1946 that “freedom of information is a fundamental human right and a touchstone of all freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated.” Since then, the Organisation of American States and the Commonwealth - of which many Caribbean states are members - have also endorsed minimum standards on the right to information. More countries in the region now need to recognise this fundamental right and also realise the benefits that implementing such a law can bring, particularly in regard to cracking down on corruption.

An effective right to information law puts an obligation on the government to regularly disclose as much information as possible about its policies and decisions to the public, and provide information to individuals on request. Disclosing information should be subject to an overriding principle that all information should be disclosed, unless the harm caused by disclosure is greater than the public interest in accessing the information. The information should be accessible in a user-friendly, cheap, quick and simple way and the government should be required to conduct ongoing training for government officials and educate the public on the right to information.

The right to information acts as an important tool in fighting corruption because it can effectively transform the strong and traditional culture of secrecy within government into one of transparency and openness. In the Caribbean, politicians and government officials have for too long taken advantage of this culture of secrecy, where the local media often reports on the numerous ways in which officials have lined their own pockets with public funds. The adoption of a right to information law can shed light on the behaviour of government officials by empowering citizens with a tool to help scrutinise and monitor government decision-making and bring public officials and politicians to account.

Empowering citizens in this manner can also help strengthen democracy by making government directly accountable to its citizens on a day-to-day basis rather than just at election time. Even at election time, a right to information law ensures that voters have better access to information concerning the government’s record in office, allowing them to make a more informed decision at the ballot box, instead of relying on often dubious political propaganda.

An effective right to information law also helps to ensure that governments formulate and implement development projects in a responsible, transparent and participatory manner. Development projects often significantly suffer as a result of funds being siphoned off, resulting in severe delay, and sometimes even a failure to complete projects. With a right to information law in place, governments would be obliged to share information on such projects with the public who can then monitor their development. In fact, the right to information would give the public a voice in determining what local projects should take place in the first place and how these can be designed to more effectively improve their lives.

In sum, if governments in the Caribbean are serious about cracking down on corruption and securing the long term democratic development and economic prosperity for their citizens, now is the time for them to seize the initiative and sign up to the Convention and prioritise the drawing up and implementation of an effective right to information law.