Πατήματα διαφθοράς

Του Αντώνη-Μάριου Παπαγιώτη

Διαβάζω στο MOSAIKO.GR ένα άρθρο με τίτλο: "Η πολιτική μεθόδευση και οι αδιαφορία του κόσμου μπορεί να εκθέσει σε κίνδυνο τις προσπάθειες"

Με ερεθίζει η πρώτη πρόταση "Νέο εκλεγέντες αρχηγοί κρατών που ήδη κουβαλούν φήμες περί διαφθοράς, συνήθως είναι αυτοί που δυνατά κηρύσσουν πόλεμο κατά της διαφθοράς και ιδρύουν υπηρεσίες για να εφαρμόσουν τις μεταρρυθμίσεις. Ωστόσο πολλές από αυτές τις προσπάθειες αποτυγχάνουν διότι υστερούν σε πολιτικά και θεσμικά στοιχεία, και οι αξιωματούχοι συνήθως καταφεύγουν στα επτά θανάσιμα αμαρτήματα της δωροδοκίας, του εκβιασμού, νεποτισμού, συγκατάβασης, δωροληψίας και υπεξαίρεσης.". Αναρωτιέμαι αν έχουν τα ball (το γράφω στη γλώσσα που μιλούν καλύτερα, "όρχεις" σημαίνει για όσους επιμένουν ελληνικά) ο κ. Παπανδρέου, ο φερόμενος υπουργός Οικονομίας, κ. Παπακωνσταντίνου (με φιλελεύθερες καταβολές, βλ.π. LSE και συγγένεια με το συμπαθή Μιχάλη Παπακωνσταντίνου) και ο νέος και ωραίος φέρελπις, μελλοντικός -αν βγει- υπουργός Περιβάλλοντος, κ. Κουβέλης, να τα βάλουν με "Άντρες" που ταυτόχρονα δηλώνουν Εκδότες-Μεγαλοεργολάβοι-Εισηγητές και καθοριστές Πολιτισμού (Τύπος, τηλεοπτικό κανάλι, Μέγαρο Μουσικής). Πράγματι, ανυπομονώ να δω φοβισμένους, πρωτοπερπατημένους και αδύναμους (λόγω εκλογικού αποτελέσματος) υπουργούς να τα βάζουν με χρόνιους Νταβάδες ενός έθνους.

Μειδιάζω όταν διαβάζω πως "οι μεταρρυθμίσεις κατά της διαφθοράς έχουν ελπίδες να επιτύχουν όταν κινούνται από έναν κορυφαίο αρχηγό ο οποίος επίμονα ξεπερνά γραφειοκρατικές αντιστάσεις και ............ αδράνειες, σύμφωνα με ειδικούς. Πρέπει επίσης να συμπεριλάβουν και την κοινωνία και να είναι απαλλαγμένοι από πολιτικές μεθοδεύσεις."

Συμφωνώ στη διατύπωση: "Τα προγράμματα κατά της διαφθοράς τα οποία δεν είναι τίποτα παραπάνω από σλόγκαν ή από τα οποία λείπουν ουσιαστικά στοιχεία είναι καταδικασμένα να αποτύχουν. Ο Guido Bertucci του τμήματος Οικονομικών και Κοινωνικών Υποθέσεων του Οργανισμού Ηνωμένων Εθνών δήλωσε πως οι εκστρατείες κατά της διαφθοράς είναι καταδικασμένες σε αποτυχία όταν ξεκινάει από τις κυβερνήσεις σαν αντίδραση σε σκάνδαλα ή πιέσεις χορηγών. Δήλωσε πως πολλοί ηγέτες χρησιμοποιούν εκστρατείες κατά της διαφθοράς σαν κάλυψη για να βλάψουν τους πολιτικούς τους αντιπάλους. Ακόμα και οι κυβερνήσεις που είναι αφοσιωμένες στις μεταρρυθμίσεις παρατηρούν λιγότερη επιτυχία όταν δεν αναμιγνύουν τον ιδιωτικό τομέα και την κοινωνία των πολιτών."

Επαναφέρω στη μνήμη μου συγκρίσεις του Τράγκα με Ουζουμπούρου και Μποτσουάνα, όταν σημείωνεται ότι "Τα έθνη με τα μεγαλύτερα ποσοστά διαφθοράς είναι συνήθως πολύ φτωχά και μαστίζονται από εμφυλίους ή καταπιεστικά καθεστώτα όπως στη Σομαλία, τη Βιρμανία, το Ιράκ, την Αϊτή και το Αφγανιστάν".

Θυμάμαι το κ. Βουλγαράκη, όταν βλέπω το "Επιπρόσθετα, οι κλειστές οικονομίες - αποκομμένες από την παγκόσμια αγορά και διακίνηση προϊόντων - είναι πιθανό να έχουν υψηλότερα επίπεδα διαφθοράς από άλλες. Σε αυτές τις χώρες κυβερνητικά εισοδήματα και ξένη οικονομική ενίσχυση μπορούν εύκολα να μεταφερθούν σε offshore λογαριασμούς."

Νιώθω ενοχή στη διαπίστωση ότι "Όταν η διαφθορά γίνεται κομμάτι του πολιτισμού ή μέρος του καθημερινού αγώνα για επιβίωση οι κυβερνητικές μεταρρυθμίσεις γίνονται πολύ δύσκολες. Για παράδειγμα στις Αφρικανικές χώρες, δήλωσε ο Richard Messick της Διεθνούς Τράπεζας, οι δικαστές χαμηλής ιεραρχίας πληρώνονται τόσο λίγο που καταφεύγουν σε δωροδοκίες για να στηρίξουν τις οικογένειές τους. «Όταν οι άνθρωποι συνηθίζουν στις δωροδοκίες, όταν έχουν οικονομικές υποχρεώσεις που στηρίζονται στις δωροδοκίες δεν μπορούν εύκολα να σταματήσουν, είπε στο America.gov".

Greek Parliament started looking into DESA's project in Thessaloniki and Bertucci's role in miss-management of greek public funds

Response to the Greek Parliament from Ministry of Interiors and Public Administration on DESA's project

In response to the Question (No 1333) presented by the Member of Parliament Ms. Chryssa Arapoglou on the subject of the “Operations of the Office of the United Nations in Thessaloniki by the Honourable Representative for Thessaloniki” we report the following:

In 1999, the Greek Government signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement1 with the United Nations with a view to the establishment of the United Nations Thessaloniki Centre for Public Service Professionalism (UNTC) and the financing of a Trust Fund.
The objectives of the Centre were as follows:

• [a] to reinforce the role, performance and professionalism, ethical values and standards in the public services of the countries of Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS);
• [b] to strengthen institutional capacity for public service reform and to enhance professionalism in the countries of Eastern Europe and the CIS;
• [c] to strengthen the institutions, which contribute to good governance and to combat corruption in the countries of Eastern Europe and the CIS;
• [d] to promote cooperation for the improvement of the machinery of government, for good governance and social progress among the Member States of Eastern Europe and the CIS;
  [e] to provide a constant flow of information in support of the abovementioned objectives, activities and outcomes; and
• [f] to promote decentralisation on the basis of the principles of devolution of authority and support for non-governmental organisations which support public service reform.

The creation of the Centre signalled the passage of Greece from a recipient country to being a donor country in the framework of the United Nations Technical Cooperation Programme. It also sought to turn the city of Thessaloniki into the hub of a network for information-sharing on issues which relate to Public Service Reform and for dissemination of relevant Greek know how in the countries of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and the CIS. This goal has not been achieved and very few of the objectives of the Centre have been fulfilled because the Centre and the Trust Fund became victims of serious mismanagement on the part of DPADM/DESA2.

This mis¬management of monies of the Trust Fund was not detected immediately, on account of obstruction from the responsible Division (DPADM/DESA) which consistently refused to comply with provisions in the Trust Fund Agreement requiring it to account on economic matters. An intervention was needed, from Mr. Christopher B. Burnham, to set in motion the process of an internal audit and to secure replies, albeit with great delay, to some questions which the responsible Minister of IPAD had asked as early as June 2004, by letter to Mr. Ocampo and Mr. Bertucci, senior officials in charge of the management of the UNTC and the Trust Fund. We are talking, in effect, of a process which was first initiated in 2004 and 2005, but has yet to be completed.

Analytically, we report the following:

The Greek Government, by letter of the Minister of IPAD3, Professor P. Pavlopoulos, requested the conduct of an external audit of the Programme and the Fund. This, the Minister put forward to Mr. Guido Bertucci, Director of DPADM/UNDESA. He repeated the request to Mrs. Inga-Britt Ahlenius, Under-Secretary-General for the OIOS4.

After the passage of several months, an answer was received from the Under¬Secretary-General of the Department of Management Mr. Christopher B. Burnham5. Mr. Burnham expressed regret for this delayed response to the Minister’s request. He added that, after consultations with Mrs. Ahlenius, an internal audit had been launched, which was expected to reach its conclusion towards the end of July.

In the framework of this audit, two Auditors visited Greece during the third week of July. They met with the former professional staff of the UNTC, Dr. Panos Liverakos, Chief Technical Advisor, and Ms. Anne Caroline Tveoy, former Public Administration Officer and Officer-in-Charge. They also met with a member of the responsible Division (D1) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Alexandros Rallis, with the Minister of IPAD and the Secretary-General of the same Department of government. At the close of the working session, the Secretary-General gave the auditors a list of questions6 on which the Government wished to receive detailed replies.

This mismanagement and misuse, have been corroborated by the Under¬Secretary-General Mr. Christopher B. Burnham in a letter which he addressed to the Minister of IPAD7. In this letter, Mr. Burnham briefly referred to the progress of the audit and also thanked the Minister for his cooperation, noting that his insistence had helped to bring to light a number of deficiencies not of the UNTC – this should be stressed - but of the UNDESA Division charged with its supervision, and headquartered in New York.

The deficiencies in question, which the Hellenic Government had repeatedly underscored and brought to the attention of the United Nations, could be summed up as follows:

• [a] Non-compliance with the terms of the Trust Fund Agreement, as ratified by Parliament on 17 July 20028; specifically:
  - submission of detailed financial data on an annual basis;
  - submission of progress reports on a six-monthly basis;
  - provision of the requisite administrative and technical support (backstopping) to the Programme; and
• [b] Lack of any consistency and transparency in the actions of the Division (DPADM) tasked with the supervision and management of the Centre.
  

These rendered it impossible for Centre’s professional staff to implement its Programme and to accomplish goals to which Mr. Bertucci himself had agreed in December 2004 after his consultations with the Minister of IPAD9.

The complete lack of consistency and transparency in the actions of the Division entrusted with the management of the UNTC became abundantly clear during the final months of the Centre’s operation – or to be more precise, deficient operation. Specifically, on 5 December 2005, Mr. Guido Bertucci, Director of DPADM, sent a letter10 to the Minister of IPAD, which announced his intention to close the Centre down on 31 March 2006. This intention, Mr. Bertucci repeated in a letter11 to Ambassador F. Verros, Director of the responsible Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Indeed, in this second letter, Mr. Bertucci confirmed, not only the removal of the UNTC’s Chief Technical Advisor, which had already taken place on 31 December 2005, but also his intention to inform the landlord of the building housing the Centre that he would take all measures in order to surrender the building in due form by 31 March 2006.

However, as stipulated, in a subsequent letter12 of the Secretary-General of IPAD, the Centre did not close on 31 March as stated, but continued to be open though idle for six months, at a monthly cost of US $ 16,000 approximately. The Secretary-General demanded immediate remedial action to put an end to this situation. He added that, if the Centre remained open past 15 October 2006, the corresponding expenditures would burden DPADM exclusively. In response to this ultimatum, the Director, Mr. Bertucci instructed his subordinate to go to Athens immediately and close the Centre down on 31 October 2006.

In addition to lack of transparency, accountability, consultation and cooperation on the part of DPADM (New York), the management of the Centre consistently exemplified obstruction and lack of any continuity in the pursuit of the objectives of the Centre, as well as systematic passing the blame for failures on its successive heads (Chief Technical Advisors), i.e., Mr. Tsekos (2000-2004) and Mr. Liverakos (2004-2005). In retrospect, it is manifest that obstruction was intended to maximize the funds of the Trust Fund and Centre, which would remain available for totally extraneous purposes, which only now belatedly have surfaced: payment of numerous “consultants”, who never produced any output related to the Centre; whose employment did not have either specific goals or outcomes.

The above corroborates the view that the Trust Fund became the victim of very grave mis-management. This view was clearly expressed, at a very early stage, by the Minister of IPAD in a letter13, which requested the return and restitution not merely of the remaining balance of the Trust Fund, but also half the amount (13%), which DPADM received in return for support services. Specifically, the Minister emphasised that, in a period of three years (2 004- 2006), the Centre was operational for barely 18 months.

In conclusion, it is necessary to emphasise the following:

• [a]From the very early start and assumption of his duties in March 2004, the Minister of IPAD despatched repeated messages to the responsible agency requesting the submission of the mandated reports together with details on assets and expenditures of the Centre14;
• [b]The Director of DPADM, Mr. Bertucci consistently refused to account, as he was required under the terms of the Trust Fund Agreement. Indeed, he falsely claimed – in his letter of 5 December 2005 – that an audit could not be conducted. He further “threatened” closure of the Centre, by 31 March 2006. As stated, however, this closure did not take place in fact until six months later and only after despatch of an ultimatum by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of IPAD, Mr. Vassilios Andronopoulos;
• [c]The claim to restitution remains in force. It demonstrates the country’s firm commitment to recovering the amounts which correspond to funds that were embezzled for reasons unrelated to the Centre, or money paid in return for support services which the Centre did not receive;
• [d]Lastly, as might be expected for any further action, we shall await the outcomes of the audit, which the responsible Department of the United Nations is currently concluding.

UN "Watchdog" Caught Diverting Funds

This one gets filed under "why am I not surprised" Guido Bertucci, director of the U.N. Division for Public Administration and Development Management (the UN's Good Governance division) diverted funds donated by the Greek government to improperly pay contractors and mismanaged a $2.8 million trust fund meant to foster transparency and accountability. This is just another example of how the United Nations is Corrupt both Morally and fiscally. Ladies and gentlemen your tax dollars at work. More on the story (click here)

Report: U.N. official diverted funds

Head of "good governance" division


Betsy Pisik (Contact)
Thursday, June 12, 2008

NEW YORK An internal U.N. investigation has sharply criticized the head of the organization's "good governance" division, finding he has diverted funds donated by the Greek government to improperly pay contractors and mismanaged a $2.8 million trust fund meant to foster transparency and accountability.

The report by the Procurement Task Force of the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) suggests that Guido Bertucci, director of the U.N. Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM), personally reimburse the trust fund for misused funds and be reprimanded for favoritism and other violations in hiring consultants.

The Washington Times obtained a copy of the report, which was completed in April.

Mr. Bertucci, 60, is scheduled to retire from the United Nations in six weeks. U.N. officials familiar with the case say he is unlikely to receive any punishment stronger than a note in his personnel file.

"The Task Force recommends that appropriate disciplinary action be considered against Mr. Bertucci, [and two others] for the violations identified herein, including ... gross negligence in managing the Trust Fund Agreement, and failing to meaningfully cooperate with the investigation," said the authors of the 91-page report.

The investigation was ordered in December 2006 by then-U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in response to investigations by The Washington Times and other news outlets.

The investigation was delayed for months, the authors write, because Mr. Bertucci refused to share his personal financial information with investigators.

The resulting report was never publicly released and is still considered "strictly confidential" by the United Nations.

It was given to The Times by a person who feared the critical findings would be "buried."

Contacted by telephone over the weekend, Mr. Bertucci said, "I have been completely cleared."

"All the accusations against me are proven false."

When read some critical passages of the task force report, Mr. Bertucci replied that he could not comment.

"I have only seen preliminary versions, and that cleared me completely."

U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said the organization could not comment because the report is not yet finalized.

Technically, OIOS reports are not considered final until their recommendations are accepted or challenged by those involved.

The funds in question were donated by the Greek government to finance the Thessaloniki Centre for Public Service Professionalism. The center was set up in 1999 to guide newly independent former Soviet states in developing transparent government procedures to hold officials accountable to voters.

However, the center's mission overlapped with a similar U.N. program already operating in Naples.

Because of the competition, the Thessaloniki program never really got off the ground, according to people who worked in the office. Concerns over the fate of the program's money were raised as early as 2002, the OIOS report points out.

In 2006, the Greek government complained that Mr. Bertucci's agency failed to submit financial reports and statements of expenditures, and that most of the Thessaloniki Centre's objectives remained unfulfilled five years after its inception.


UNITED NATIONS An investigation concluded that Guido Bertucci mismanaged a $2.8 million trust fund.

The Thessaloniki center was rarely fully staffed and, according to former chief technical adviser Panayiotis Liverakos, its work was simultaneously "neglected and obstructed" by Mr. Bertucci's organization.

For example, Mr. Bertucci's organization would hire international consultants without the knowledge of program officers in Thessaloniki, Mr. Liverakos told investigators.

Ultimately, the OIOS investigators found, the Greek-funded trust fund for the Thessaloniki Centre was used to pay at least $184,000 to consultants who did little significant work or were chosen without a proper review of their credentials or qualifications.

The report says the consultants themselves are not accused of wrongdoing, but recommends that Mr. Bertucci's organization reimburse the Greek government for at least $34,000 in misspent fees.

Additionally, the 91-page report asks the U.N. Department of Management to decide "whether Mr. Bertucci should be held personally accountable and financially liable" for financial irregularities in his organization.

"Mr. Bertucci consistently failed to provide meaningful cooperation with the Task Force investigation and did not provide specific documents requested by the Task Force at various stages of the investigation," wrote the authors of the report, which noted that the burden of proof shifts to the employee once there is a likelihood of wrongdoing.

Mr. Bertucci, an Italian national who has run the U.N. Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) since 1993, has been accused by former employees of intimidation and favoritism.

The Office of Internal Oversight Services, the U.N. watchdog that compiled the latest report, has undertaken at least three inquiries of his division in the last three years.

The latest investigation finds that Mr. Bertucci and John-Mary Kauzya, chief of the public administration branch of DPADM, and program officer Jose Manuel Sucre-Ciffoni had often subverted published guidelines on the hiring of consultants with money from the Thessoloniki center's fund.