Freetown — As integrity builders, the fourth estate is seen as being the pacesetters in the solemn effort of correcting certain societal anomalies by way of analyzing, reporting and alarming its tendency by constructive engaging similar instances. And of these, corruption has proven to be the most worrisome. It is against this backdrop that we've come to realize the need not to limit the fight against corruption and corruption related issues to activities taking place within Sierra Leone but traversing the world.

It is promised that this column would sneak into corruption cases and files across the world so that we get an insight into what obtain in other countries. This is so because we consider it obligatory and binding on us to make sure we get the central integrity agency, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the government and the public in particular acquainted with some of the remedies and methods used to tackling such a cancer in other parts of the world.

Compass sacks UK boss in corruption probe According to the The Times November 03 edition Compass Group, the world's biggest caterer, has fired three senior executives, including Peter Harris, the head of its UK division, after an internal investigation into alleged corruption involving United Nations contracts "raised serious concerns".

Andrew Seiwert, a senior executive with Eurest Support Services (ESS), a Compass subsidiary that is also at the centre of a UN investigation, had also been "dismissed", the company said.

In a statement to the stockmarket, Compass said a further unnamed "mid-ranking executive who was associated with UN contracting" had also been dismissed.

Late last month, the UN said it had suspended Compass as a registered vendor pending an investigation into alleged contract bidding irregularities.

A spokesman for the UN said it was investigating allegations that ESS had improperly obtained information on a three-year $62 million contract to supply food and water to UN peacekeepers in Liberia.

Compass disclosed last month that it had instructed Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, the law firm, to conduct a probe into the relationships between ESS, the United Nations and IHC, a former contractor and vendor to the UN procurement department.

Today the group said it had called in Ernst & Young, the accountants, to assist Freshfields in the probe, which is being overseen by Steve Lucas, the chairman of Compass's audit committee.

It is understood the UN is invistigating whether ESS received confidential documents via e-mail from IHC.

Compass said its internal investigation "has raised serious concerns as to whether, within ESS, there has been, in connection with IHC and the UN, improper conduct and a failure to comply with the company's statement of business principles.

"As a result, Peter Harris, whose suspension was announced on 21 October, is being dismissed, together with Andrew Seiwert and a further mid-ranking executive who was associated with UN contracting.

"Compass will be continuing to co-operate voluntarily and fully as appropriate with the UN and US authorities, including the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York," it added.

Mr Harris was the chief executive for the UK, Ireland, the Middle East and Africa.

When it first revealed the investigation, Compass stressed that it was a signatory to the UN Global Compact and that its business practices were governed by a "strict, zero tolerance based code of ethics that applies to all employees without exception".

The group added that last year, revenues from UN contracts were less than 0.5 per cent of overall revenues.

However, Compass's decision to make public its internal investigation was also thought to have been prompted by an in-depth report from Fox News, which claimed that the owners of IHC decided to "get rid of the company" a month before questions emerged about its role in procurement deals.

Fox News, citing heavily edited documents in its possession, linked Mr Harris and Mr Siewert with the new corporate owner of IHC, Strategic International Alliance Limited.

Mr Harris told the broadcaster at the time that he had "never heard of" Strategic International Alliance Limited and denied all knowledge of the new owners of IHC.

Corruption: Ebonyi to hold government officials responsible Nigeria's The Tide online November 03 Desirous to enforce seriousness and accountability in the conduct of government's business by top government functionaries, the Ebonyi State government says it will henceforth hold commissioners and other heads of government parastatals responsible for any act of corruption committed in their establishments.

Governor Sam Egwu of Ebonyi State said this when he flagged off a 3-day workshop organised for the newly appointed commissioners and special advisers as well as permanent secretaries, chairmen, members of board and general managers at the Bishop Thomas Megattrik's Pastoral Centre, Abakaliki on Tuesday.

Egwu explained that the workshop was necessary because of the level of decay in the civil service, arguing that people no longer carry out their duties without financial inducement.

The governor reminded them that the state was anchored on God, therefore anybody who is not excellent in character will not be accommodated.

He also stressed that the purpose of the workshop, among others, was to highlight and strengthen the ethical framework of public governance, and urged the participants to see the workshop as a catalyst for high performance.

The governor said that the retreat had been designed to take care of all the issues expected to confront them in the discharge of their duties, and called on them to develop new ideas to enhance development in the state.

The governor charged them to be creative and goals-driven for government programmes to succeed, saying that those charged with responsibilities must be excellent in character with a positive orientation for them to succeed.

Earlier, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof Ozo Nweke Ozo, whose office packaged the retreat, said it was organised for top government functionaries to appreciate their responsibilities.

Prof. Ozo said that the resource persons were chosen from men of God, experienced civil servants and experts from different fields, and asked them to avail themselves of the benefits of the workshop.

Bribe-givers in China to be blacklisted Asia Pulse of November 2005 Bribe-givers in China will be named in a public blacklist from next year, a move experts say will strengthen the fight against corruption.

Provincial-level procuratorates will make bribery files available for public access by the end of the year and the system will be linked nationwide at the beginning of next year, the Procuratorial Daily reported yesterday.

On the blacklist will be individuals and units who have offered bribes from 1997 in such sectors as construction, finance, education, medical and government procurement.

Wang Zhenchuan, vice-procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, said that the measure is important for "bringing all social forces into full play" to prevent corruption.

It will also have a positive impact on healthy economic and social development, and strengthen legal supervision, according to Wang.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate, in collaboration with some government departments, introduced a pilot project in some provinces last year and the results are encouraging. For example, in Sichuan, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, construction contractors who were put on the blacklist were barred from bidding for new projects.

According to the Criminal Law, those offering or accepting bribes are subject to punishment: the maximum penalty for a bribe-taker is the death sentence, and a life term for people offering bribes.

But in reality, punishment for bribe-takers is usually much lighter, according to Chen Xingliang, a law professor at Peking University, because prosecutors depend on co-operation from bribe-givers in investigations.

He added that the new move can only play a supplementary role because eradication of corruption depends on management reform in many sectors, such as increasing openness and transparency of economic activities.

In 2000, procuratorate bodies charged 1,298 people with offering bribes while the number last year was 1,952.

Last week, the National People's Congress ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which deems offering bribes or "undue advantages" to public officials as "criminal offences."