I just got back from Abuja, Nigeria where i was coordinating a training workshop on Leadership and Management for Nigeria Women NGOs. During this trip we had the West Africa Democracy Network(WADNET) Conference at the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja. The Theme for the conference was "Organising for Sustainable Democracy and Development in West Africa in the Next Millenium" and the Sub themes include: Democracy and the Rule of Law The Civil Society and Democracy Democracy and Development Democracy and Diveristy Peace Building and Conflict Management Transparency and Accountability Many issues were raised during the three days conference and I find the session on Transparency and Accountability very interesting and challenging.For that reason i decieded to get a summary of the session and i hope that we will be able to explore the issue further. The Struggle Continues!!! Ndey Jobarteh TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. PRESENTER: GENERAL ISHOLA WILLIAMS (TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL, NIGERIA) MODERATOR: MR. SADIKOU AYO ALAO, PRESIDENT (GERDDES AFRIQUE, COTONOU, BENIN) COMMENTATOR: LARRY DIAMOND, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW (HOOVER INSTITUTION, STANFORD, CALIFORNIA) RAPPORTEUR: MRS. BINTA MANSARAY ( CAMPAIGN FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE, SIERRA LEONE) The moderator introduced the subject of the panel. He set the tone for the ensuing discussion by saying that the problem of Transparency and Accountability is that of bad governance. He also mentioned that to promote Good Governance, one must fight against corruption and there should be a separation of powers as well as co-operation among the branches of government. General Williams focused his presentation on corruption . In his view the elites in society are the corrupt social class because they have the political and economic access and opportunity to be corrupt. He described four categories of elites like - 'The Mafia', 'Fragmented Patronage', 'Elite Hegemony' and 'Group Interest Bidding', all of whom use the power of their ill-gotten wealth for influence peddling, making and breaking leaders as and when it is convenient and holding the democratic system to ransom. According to the presenter, the rural people and the Grassroots who are so far removed from the elites are not corrupt because they lack the economic and political access to be so, and they don't even understand the workings of the political game. Dr. Larry Diamond supported the notion that there is a psychological, social, economic and political gap between the governed and the leaders. He however pointed out that corruption is not a monopoly of the elites, arguing also that it cuts across social classes as there is corruption at the very top and at the grassroots level. His argument was buttressed by most participants in the audience. It was also noted that as wealth corrupts the elite, so the lack of it corrupts the poor. There was a general feeling during the discussion that corruption is endemic in African societies even though it is a universal problem. THE EFFECTS OF CORRUPTION : Corruption as a pervasive evil practice has its attendant effects. During the discussion the following effects were highlighted: A. The Rich and Powerful minority deny the poor and powerless majority equal access to national wealth and the exercise of political power. B. It exacerbates poverty and inequality C. It impoverishes states - a reference was made to the keynote speaker's (Ms. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf) address in which she mentioned that the private capital of Africans abroad is worth one hundred and fifty billion US dollars which is a substantial drain on the African economy. The late President Abacha of Nigeria and President Mobutu of Zaire were mentioned as some of the most corrupt leaders who embezzled their countries resources. The audience wanted to know how the International community and the banks can help African states recover embezzled money - this question was not answered by the panellists. HOW TO CONTROL CORRUPTION: A. Decentralisation was mentioned as a means of controlling corruption. The panelists felt that if government is brought close to the people and they ultimately take control of their resources, the level of corruption will be minimized. B. Political system reform - candidates must present their plans for their communities to the electorate before elections so that they will be elected on merits. C. The presenter and the commentator disagreed sharply on where to start to control corruption. The presenter thought that corruption must be controlled from the bottom, meaning community levels to the national level, meaning top level of government. The commentator felt that one must start at the highest level of government to fight corruption and it will flow downwards. D. Asset Declaration - It was suggested that high level elected officials, civil servants and political appointees must declare their assets before and every year thereafter. High-level officials should make these declarations public, with an empowered anti-corruption commission and Judiciary to investigate and prosecute any fraudulent misrepresentation of assets. CONCLUSION: It is interesting to note that during the discussion, what came out in a compelling way was the pervasiveness of corruption, its causes, effects and ways of combating it. Except for a brief mention of asset declaration, Transparency and Accountability were not explored as the main issues of the panel. No mention was made of how Transparency and Accountability could be instruments for deterring corruption, promoting democracy and foster good governance. In other words, what was not established was the fact that Transparency and Accountability of the political, economic and administrative activities of elected officials and democratic institutions to the electorate are imperatives for ensuring Good Governance. Furthermore, Transparency and Accountability in the civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations are necessary for the moral authority to deal with the lack of it in government. For any further information regarding this conference or WADNET please contact the Centre for Democracy and Development 12 Leathermarket Weston Street London SE1 3ER UK Tel: 0171 407 0772 Fax: 0171 407 0773 Email:[log in to unmask] Website:http:/www.cdd.org.uk ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------