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Strategies & Market Trends : India Coffee House -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JPR who wrote (9282)	11/2/1999 11:14:00 AM
From: JPR	Respond to of 12475

Lessons in Good Governance. dawn.com The first step towards creating an effective national integrity system is to develop a code for the people responsible for governance. The Nolan Commission of he UK has developed seven principles applying to all aspects of public life, which should be considered for immediate adoption and implementation by all holders of public office, including the Chief Executive, members of the Security Council, the cabinet, provincial governors and top civil servants. These principles are: 1. Selflessness: Holders of public office should take decisions solely in terms of public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. 2. Integrity: Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organizations that might influence them in the performance of their official duties. 3. Objectivity: In carrying out public business, including public announcements, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for reward or other benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merit. 4. Accountability: Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate. 5. Openness: Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when public interest clearly so demands. 6. Honesty: Holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest. 7. Leadership: Holders of public office should promote and support these principles by leadership and example. Other components of an effective national integrity system, as outlined by the Transparency International are summarized below: * Establishing mechanisms for accountability and transparency in the democratic process, such as the parliamentary and election processes. Needless to stress, democracy lies at the heart of any integrity system based on accountability. This means that the current disruption in the democratic system must be of a short duration as a prelude to revival of democracy. An unnecessary prolongation of this intermission would itself be a negation of good governance. * Building a creative partnership between government and civil society organizations. * Administrative reform and avoiding conflict of interest in the public service. * Administrative law, as a common element in any system of probity, and the accountability of decision-making. * Appropriate mechanisms which provide public officials with channels for reporting acts of alleged corruption and also ensure independent monitoring of procedures and systems. * Independence of the judiciary and ensuring that legal procedures and remedies provide an effective deterrent to corruption. * Establishing an effective system of audit through the Auditor-General of Pakistan and removal of public grievances through the institution of Ombudsman. * An open, genuinely competitive and transparent system of public procurement; * Private sector self-regulation and the role of legal deterrence against corrupt practices. This includes adoption of good corporate governance practices. * An alert press, free to play its role as a public watchdog and increase public awareness of rights and responsibilities: * Independent anti-corruption agencies which can establish and manage a truly transparent accountability process.