African graft fight blocked by continent's Capones

From PAUL OATES

What lessons can the people of Papua New Guinea learn from this article I wonder? Does anything in this article sound terribly familiar? What can stop this happening?

Mr Ribadu's quoted comments should be read by all as a classic example of why, without transparency and accountability, corruption spreads like the disease it is.

In the next PNG general elections, what chance is there for any change to occur? People should be asking now for potential politicians to start declaring what their code of ethics are and what they will do to stamp out corruption, if elected.

African graft fight blocked by continent's Capones

George Fominyen
Reuters
Friday, February 5, 2010

DAKAR (Reuters) - Africa's fight against corruption is being blocked by gangsters at every level of administrations and the campaign is doomed to fail unless presidents themselves spearhead the battle, a top campaigner said.

Nuhu Ribadu, who convicted over 300 corrupt officials and recovered over $5 billion while leading Nigeria's anti-graft drive until falling out with the current administration, said the continent's leadership was hypocritical in its approach.

"If you have an Al Capone as Head of State, an Al Capone as governor of the central bank and Al Capones in every other institution, how can one succeed?" Ribadu said, referring to the American gangster who ran crime syndicates for several decades.

"Unfortunately that is the situation in most African countries today," Ribadu said in a telephone interview from Washington, where he is living in exile and working as a fellow at the Center for Global Development think-tank.

African nations -- from Mauritania in the west, Cameroon in the centre and Kenya to the east -- have launched anti-corruption campaigns, often under pressure from donors who blame underdevelopment on rampant mismanagement.

But Ribadu said such campaigns were riddled with hypocrisy and, citing numerous reports of corruption in police forces and the judiciary, he said it was impossible to "fight corruption with corruption".

"I have arrested an Inspector General of Police, prosecuted him, convicted him and recovered $150 million from him," said Ribadu, who was widely praised while he led Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from 2003 to 2007.

"A leader of the Nigerian police force, a policeman with $150 million. For God's sake how can such a police ever deliver?" he added.

Global anti-corruption group Transparency International says the combination of abundant natural resources, a history of conflict and unaccountable governments mean corruption remains one of the biggest challenges on the world's poorest continent.

The responsibility, Ribadu said, lies at the very top.

"Unless you have a president who understands the need to clean up, stop this wastage and do it honestly and courageously nothing else would work," he said.

"Fighting corruption is an extremely dangerous task. As long as that political backing and that political support is not there, those who are going to do it on the ground are exposed to all sorts of danger; and they are not going to survive it."

Ribadu, 49, said top officials often tried to bribe him but he succeeded in his work because he had the direct backing of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

After surviving several assassination attempts Ribadu said he fled Nigeria to live "a horrible life in exile".

He fell out of favour following the highly contested elections which ushered in a new administration headed by current President Umaru Yar'Adua.

The best thing the international community can do, Ribadu said, was to support the continent's young democracies.

"My hope and prayer is that we would end up with a political leadership that will enable us (Africans) achieve results."

Remain vigilant: Yakasa

THE public has been reminded to remain vigilant while in their homes and in their movement around the city while police are carry out operations to recapture seven of the remaining most wanted criminal still on the run and the more than 40 escapees who broke for freedom during separate jail breaks from Bomana last year, The National reports.

National Capital District metropolitan commander Chief Supt Fred Yakasa yesterday issued the warning while commending the public for their assistance in the recapture of the five dangerous fugitives, including most wanted bank robber William Nanua Kapris. So far out of the 12 that escaped last month, four of whom were caught in the vicinity of the city in the past week since.

Oliver Ben was the first of the escapees to be caught. He was found in the hills near Sogeri on Jan 22.

When asked if police had any new and reliable leads to the whereabouts of suspects still on the run, Mr Yakasa said he could not comment more on the ongoing NCD police operations to hunt down remaining escapees.

Mr Yakasa referred The National to seek comments and the latest brief from NCD and Central province police commander chief Supt Awan Sete and NCD Police Operations commander Raphael Huafolo.

Attempts to get comments from both Mr Sete and Mr Huafolo were unsuccessful.

 

Australia approves 650 fruit pickers from Papua New Guinea

PNG among 2,500 Pacific Islanders to work on Aussie farms

 

THE Australian government has approved 650 fruit pickers from Papua New Guinea to work in farms in Australia this year, The National reports.

Australia foreign affairs minister Steven Smith, in his letter sent to his PNG couterpart Sam Abal last month, said the Papua New Guineans would be among the 2,500 Pacific Islanders allowed to work in farms in Australia.

Mr Abal told The National yesterday from Hoskins airport, East New Britain province, that a task force had been set up within his ministry to establish provincial coordinators who will work closely with the churches, police and community leaders to identify good, young energetic men and women to work in Australia.

“The recruitment will be conducted in all the 22 provinces in the country, including the new Jiwaka and Hela provinces.

“The provincial coordinators to be set up this year will be working closely with churches, police and community leaders to identify Grade 10 and 12 school leavers with good character and record, no criminal record, disciplined, law abiding and hard working citizens to go and work in Australia,” he said.

Mr Abal said: “We want good people to work and establish a good reputation to convince the Australians to recruit more Papua New Guineans.

“We cannot blindly send all the 650 workforce down because this is the number of people allowed by the Australian government but what is the demand of the farmers.

“This we have to find out first before the fruit pickers are sent to Australia.

“Those selected will go through some form of training before they are sent off to Australia.”

He said his department was responsible for the recruitment and that no else or agents were appointed to carry out the recruitment.

“When demand for fruit pickers is high, we will engage a private company to take charge of the whole operation after two years,” he said.

Mr Abal advised the people not to listen to private consultants, companies or individuals claiming to represent his office and collecting fees and promising them jobs in Australia.

 

Sex ring busted

Wewak police catch 20 women in the act

 

POLICE have busted a syndicate supplying young local and foreign women for prostitution near the Kaup Logging Company site in Angoram, East Sepik province.

A Wewak police team led by Provincial Police Commander Insp Charles Parinjo uncovered the syndicate in a raid on a house at the logging site over the weekend.

Police arrested nine women, all aged below 20, in compromising positions with the logging company workers.

The house is believed to have been used as a vice den.

Among the women held were two senior high school students in the province and a government officer from Port Moresby who was attached with the company to do clearance for logs.

Insp Parinjo said the women admitted during interrogation that they provided sexual favours to the foreigners and were paid between K200 and K800 per month.

The women were escorted to Wewak by police station on Monday where they are being investigated by police detectives.

Insp Parinjo said the female government officer was “deported” from Wewak the next day after her office in Port Moresby was notified of the offence she committed while staying at the site on official duty.

Insp Parinjo had also informed the relevant government agencies of the offence committed by the foreigners at the logging site and “we are pressuring them to deal with them diplomatically”.

Insp Parinjo said the successful raid confirmed suspicions by the public that locals and foreigners were providing sexual favors to foreigners for money.

“If this activity can happen in Kaup, it can also happen in other logging sites in East Sepik and nationwide,” he added.

 

Remain vigilant: Yakasa

THE public has been reminded to remain vigilant while in their homes and in their movement around the city while police are carry out operations to recapture seven of the remaining most wanted criminal still on the run and the more than 40 escapees who broke for freedom during separate jail breaks from Bomana last year, The National reports.

National Capital District metropolitan commander Chief Supt Fred Yakasa yesterday issued the warning while commending the public for their assistance in the recapture of the five dangerous fugitives, including most wanted bank robber William Nanua Kapris. So far out of the 12 that escaped last month, four of whom were caught in the vicinity of the city in the past week since.

Oliver Ben was the first of the escapees to be caught. He was found in the hills near Sogeri on Jan 22.

When asked if police had any new and reliable leads to the whereabouts of suspects still on the run, Mr Yakasa said he could not comment more on the ongoing NCD police operations to hunt down remaining escapees.

Mr Yakasa referred The National to seek comments and the latest brief from NCD and Central province police commander chief Supt Awan Sete and NCD Police Operations commander Raphael Huafolo.

Attempts to get comments from both Mr Sete and Mr Huafolo were unsuccessful.

 

Australia approves 650 fruit pickers from Papua New Guinea

PNG among 2,500 Pacific Islanders to work on Aussie farms

 

THE Australian government has approved 650 fruit pickers from Papua New Guinea to work in farms in Australia this year, The National reports.

Australia foreign affairs minister Steven Smith, in his letter sent to his PNG couterpart Sam Abal last month, said the Papua New Guineans would be among the 2,500 Pacific Islanders allowed to work in farms in Australia.

Mr Abal told The National yesterday from Hoskins airport, East New Britain province, that a task force had been set up within his ministry to establish provincial coordinators who will work closely with the churches, police and community leaders to identify good, young energetic men and women to work in Australia.

“The recruitment will be conducted in all the 22 provinces in the country, including the new Jiwaka and Hela provinces.

“The provincial coordinators to be set up this year will be working closely with churches, police and community leaders to identify Grade 10 and 12 school leavers with good character and record, no criminal record, disciplined, law abiding and hard working citizens to go and work in Australia,” he said.

Mr Abal said: “We want good people to work and establish a good reputation to convince the Australians to recruit more Papua New Guineans.

“We cannot blindly send all the 650 workforce down because this is the number of people allowed by the Australian government but what is the demand of the farmers.

“This we have to find out first before the fruit pickers are sent to Australia.

“Those selected will go through some form of training before they are sent off to Australia.”

He said his department was responsible for the recruitment and that no else or agents were appointed to carry out the recruitment.

“When demand for fruit pickers is high, we will engage a private company to take charge of the whole operation after two years,” he said.

Mr Abal advised the people not to listen to private consultants, companies or individuals claiming to represent his office and collecting fees and promising them jobs in Australia.

 

Partnership in rice extension

Caption: DAL rice extension coordinator Verave Gavali (right) and JICA’s senior advisor - rural development Akamatsu Shiro during the consultation with NARI in Lae last week.-Picture by SENIORL ANZU

 

By SENIORL ANZU of NARI

 

A smallholder rice development initiative, promoted through the “model farmer” concept by the Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL) and the Japanese International Corporation Agency (JICA) is set to kick-off in the Manus and Milne Bay provinces come 2011.

 This will be an extension of the village-based rice development programme to rice-growing provinces of PNG following its success in Madang and East Sepik provinces when it was first implemented between 2003-2008.

But this extension phase would involve greater collaborations with other technically-oriented organisations such as the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) in order to address technical problems such as pest and disease which were encountered during the initial phase.

This was revealed in Lae last Thursday when a technical team from DAL and JICA visited NARI to seek its technical input.

DAL and JICA are promoting local rice production through the model farmer concept in which skills and knowledge are transferred to farmers in a multiplier effect fashion at village level to address for food security.

The concept is pursued by a newly-established Rice Extension Unit under DAL’s Food Security Branch.

Rice extension coordinator Verave Gavali said while the programme was a success in Madang and East Sepik, there were some technically-oriented problems such as pest and disease, soil, climate and other agro-ecological issues.

Therefore, he said DAL and JICA wanted partnership with NARI and other organisations to work together in expanding the programme so that such problems were also addressed.

JICA rice research techniques instructor Tatsuo Fujita said they would also be interested in NARI for varietal selection and farming systems research.

A senior JICA volunteer, Noboru Iwano, who has been involved in rice development in PNG for the last two years, said he had observed pest and disease as a major problem and NARI’s input was needed.

Mr Iwano added that the consumption of rice was high in PNG and all stakeholders should work in collaboration now to increase production locally.

NARI acting director-general Dr Sergie Bang said the institute would work with DAL and JICA in terms of research and development of rice.

Dr Bang said NARI had a rice and grain project which could team up in the programme in the areas of pest and disease, seed varietal selection, farming systems research and other ecological issues.

Other collaborators targeted in the programme include the Lae-based ROC Taiwanese Technical Mission to PNG and Organisation for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement (OISCA), a Japanese eco-technical training centre based in Kokopo.

 Both organisations are also involved in local rice production. 

Under the programme, rice development is undertaken through model farmer approach as an extension to smallholder households.

Hundreds of farmers in Madang and East Sepik were trained as model rice farmers who in turn trained other farmers in their districts and villagers between 2003 and 2008.

These model farmers were also exposed to overseas training in various aspects of rice production.

Some of these models have also indicated to share their knowledge, skills and experiences to other rice farmers in the country.