Corruption Report ....by Ahmed Korra

‫تقرير الفساد الصادر عن مركز‬ ‫ بتاريخ‬-‫المصداقية للشفافية السياسية‬ 2008 ‫دسمبر عام‬15

‫ احمد قرة‬: ‫اعداد‬

‫افغانستان‬ Corruption holds back Afghan army expansion KABUL (Reuters) - Endemic corruption is one of the main obstacles to the Afghan army and police being able to take over their country's security duties, the U.S. general in charge of their training said Thursday. The United States is considering sending an extra 20,000 troops to Afghanistan in the next two years to try to beat back a Taliban insurgency that is growing in strength and scope. But commanders recognize that any "surge" in foreign troops can ultimately only buy time to expand for the Afghan army and police to learn to stand on their own feet. "The final point is corruption, corruption, corruption; it is endemic," U.S. General Robert Cone, commander of the force that trains the Afghan army and police, told Reuters in an interview. "It has amazed me in my time here how Afghans will hurt other Afghans -- when they have been given a great opportunity to ... run a program that is going to help so many -- ... and (instead) basically take care of themselves first." U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on a visit to Afghanistan Thursday that he wanted to speed up efforts to double the size of the 68,000-strong Afghan army. "I'm often asked 'How fast you can grow the Afghan army and

police?'," Cone said. "I will tell you that one of my hard and fast rules is that we have to do it in a responsible manner. We have to know where the weapons are ... We have to know where the equipment is. "There has to be accountability and a payroll system ... I think it holds us back from really going as fast as we would like because we have responsibilities to our taxpayers," he said at his Kabul headquarters. UNAFFORDABLE? The Afghan army is due to be expended to 134,000 troops by 2012, at a cost of $17 billion, to take over security duties from a NATO-led force spearheaded by the United States, Britain, Germany, Canada, France and Italy. The cost of sustaining the force will rise to $3 billion a year from $2.2 billion at present, Cone said, while Afghan government revenues totaled only $715 million last year. "Clearly Afghanistan cannot afford the army it has right now ... so why give them more?" Cone asked. "Well there are some pretty good arguments that having an Afghan do it is a heck of a lot cheaper than having a Westerner do it ... Can we really afford not to develop them?" Cone said the Afghan army was a "huge success," and now carrying out more than half the combat in Afghanistan

‫المانيا‬ Siemens close to SEC corruption settlement MUNICH, Germany (AP) — Industrial conglomerate Siemens AG is close to reaching a settlement with U.S. and German authorities over

its long-standing corruption scandal, daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported Thursday. Munich-based Siemens would not comment on the report. "We're hoping on an agreement with the SEC before Christmas," a Siemens supervisory board member told the newspaper, referring to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "If necessary, we'll meet December 23rd." Siemens is subject to fines in the U.S. because it's also listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Siemens, which makes everything from trains to light bulbs, was first rocked by claims of corruption in 2006. Evidence began to surface in 2007 and the company has since acknowledged dubious payments to secure business around the world of up to euro1.3 billion ($1.7 billion). In November, Siemens said it had set aside approximately euro1 billion to be booked in the last quarter of its 2008 fiscal year for any settlements related to the case. The company's fiscal year ended in September. Siemens has said including the provision last fiscal year, the total cost of the corruption scandal is about euro2.5 billion to date.

Shares of Siemens closed down less than 1 percent at euro48.81 ($65.21) in Frankfurt. ‫نيجيريا‬ World's most valuable resource, a curse for most Nigerians Trash litters its cities. Electricity is sporadic at best. There is no clean water. Medical and educational services are limited. Basic infrastructure is severely lacking These are not conditions that should plague one of the richest oil states in the world. Hundreds of billions of dollars has been made from the Niger Delta's oil reserves and many people have gotten very rich. Conversely, the average Nigerian has suffered as a result of the country's oil prosperity. The United States Agency for International Development says more than 70 percent of the country lives on less than a dollar a day -- the population is among the 20 poorest in the world.

Oil companies are only part of the equation. The other is the Nigerian government. Transparency International, a global organization intent on stamping out corruption, has consistently rated Nigeria's government one of the most corrupt in the world. federal government and oil companies split oil profits roughly 6040. The money is then supposed to make its way down to the local governments to fund various projects. Somehow, little money actually reaches its intended destination. Nigeria's own corruption agency estimates between $300 billion to $400 billion has been stolen or wasted Gov. Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state, one of the largest producers of Nigeria's 36 states, acknowledges past problems with corruption, but thinks progress is being made. "There's a lot of improvement," Amaechi said. "The work being done

by the corruption agency and the federal government has somehow been able to control the level of corruption in government." Over the last few years, a culture of militancy and violence has arisen in the absence of jobs and services. Kidnappings for ransom, robberies and even murder happen with regularity. The biggest and most powerful armed group is the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, . They say they are at war against the Nigerian military and the oil companies operating there. MEND, formed in 2005, said it has more than 30 camps throughout Nigeria. Members are armed with high-tech weaponry they said was obtained from "foreign sources." Hundreds of people have been killed on both sides and countless oil workers have been kidnapped. Over the years, MEND's attacks on oil pipelines have halted oil production

and, therefore, raised the price of oil around the world. They demand oil profits be distributed to average Nigerians of the Niger Delta and said they will not stop their attacks until their objectives have been fulfilled.

‫تايوان‬ Taiwan Indicts Ex-President and Family for Corruption Former Taiwan President Chen Shui- bian, his wife and their son were indicted for money-laundering, forgery and corruption, the island's first leader to be prosecuted after leaving office. Chen ``committed serious crimes, with the amount of illegally gotten money the highest on record,'' prosecution spokesman Chen Yun-nan said at a Taipei briefing. Officials are seeking the ``maximum punishment'' for Chen, among 14 people charged, he said. He was detained on Nov. 12 and has denied any wrongdoing, claiming his arrest was politically motivated.

The indictments, which include allegations Chen, 57, embezzled NT$104 million ($3.1 million) of government funds, undermine the opposition Democratic Progressive Party's attempts to restore public confidence after an election defeat in March. Chen led the DPP to power in 2000, ending more than 50 years of Kuomintang rule, after promising to stamp out corruption. The former president's moves toward independence during his eight years in office set him against mainland China, which has signed transport and economic accords with Taiwan since President Ma Ying-jeou took office May 20. Chen, who published a poem last month lamenting his detention, has said he would die for Taiwan's independence. Chen will surely say he's ``a political victim, but most people won't believe that anymore,'' said Liu Bih-rong, a political science professor at Soochow University in Taipei. The former president faces a maximum of 30 years if given the most severe sentence for every charge against him, Richard Lee,

Chen's former lawyer, said by telephone. Family Indicted Chen can be held for two months and prosecutors can request an extension of two months. Chen retired in May after serving two terms as president. Chen's wife, Wu Shu-chen, son Chen Chihchung and daughter in-law Huang Jui-ching were also indicted. Wu was charged in November 2006 with embezzling from a state affairs fund. She denied the charges and the trial is continuing. Prosecutors also allege Chen accepted bribes for facilitating two property deals, and then laundered the proceeds overseas. Charges against Wu today include taking bribes of $2.7 million. Chen resigned from the DPP on Aug. 15, a day after disclosing that he had failed to declare some funds contributed to his various election campaigns, and that his wife had wired $21 million abroad without his knowledge.

Prosecutors said in August their investigation showed more than $30 million was remitted to accounts in Singapore and the Cayman Islands and then moved to Swiss bank accounts. The former first family on Nov. 27 agreed to return $21 million held in three Swiss bank accounts to Taiwan to help settle the investigation. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, though the island has been administered separately since 1949, when the Kuomintang government fled the mainland to escape Mao Zedong's Communist forces.

‫الوليات المتحدة‬ contenders for Senate seat walking fine line People interested in succeeding President-elect Barack Obama in the Senate find themselves in a delicate position: How do you campaign for a seat tainted by an allegedly corrupt governor?

You could go on offense, like Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. did, choking up as he denied promising Gov. Rod Blagojevich anything in exchange for a Senate appointment — but not backing off his obvious interest in the seat. You could prepare quietly. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who had talked to Blagojevich before this week's arrest, said Thursday that she's still interested in the job and already has "called some people to see if we can have supporters in place and thinking what kind of team I would assemble." But nobody is quite sure how to promote themselves for a seat now seemingly in limbo after Blagojevich's arrest on charges that he tried to sell the seat to line his pockets. And few are stating their intentions publicly, not until they know whether Lt.

Gov. Patrick Quinn will appoint someone to the job or whether it will be filled by a special election. "We're making this up as we go along," said Chris Mooney, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield. "You have to be careful but you have to make it known you're interested."

‫نيوزلندا‬

Balkenende states debt relief terms The Netherlands will take over 1.5 billion euros of the debt of the Netherlands Antilles, but only if the islands comply

with all the requirements such as corruption control, a sound financial management and a better maintenance of law and order. Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende emphasised this on the eve of the Round Table Conference (RTC) in a deliberation with the Second Chamber. “It is

making an equal exchange,” he said. This coming Monday in Curaçao the Prime Minister will chair the RTC about the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles. He was urged not to take irreversible steps. Balkenende indicated that he could not do that without Parliament. A majority of

the Second Chamber is not convinced that St. Maarten can obtain an autonomous status, because this island still has big problems. Also Balkenende said there were “a lot of concerns” and “a whole lot of problems” in St. Maarten. “That will have to be improved,” he said. He promised that he would not raise false

expectations about St. Maarten’s status. The agenda for the Round Table Conference will be determined today, Friday. State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Ank BijleveldSchouten (CDA) will represent the Netherlands during the negotiations. Balkenende, who will lead the conference in his capacity

as Chairman of the Kingdom Council of Ministers, said he would make sure existing arrangements were complied with.