Multinationals and Corruption (The Hague University) — ACRN

Multinationals and Corruption (The Hague University) — ACRN

Ethics and Fraud at HealthSouth: Lessons from Inside a Corporate Meltdown

Sensology by Michel Gagné - HD 720P - Music by Paul Plimley and Barry Guy

right to information

SAMPLE RTI APPLICATION TO FOLLOW UP ON AN APPLICATION OR COMPLAINT
To The Public Information Officer,
-----------
Sub: Application under Right to Information Act 2005

I had made an application/complaint for the following reason (copy of application/complaint is attached) but no action/satisfactory action has been taken on my application so far.
Please provide the following information with respect to the same:
1. Please indicate the daily progress made on my application/complaint so far. i.e. when did my application/complaint reach which officer, for how long did it stay with that officer and what action did he/she take on it during that period?
2. Please give the names and designations of the officials, if any, who delayed taking action on my application/complaint.
3. What action would be taken against these officials for delay? By when would that action be taken?
4. By when would my application/complaint be dealt with?

IF THEY REPLY SAYING THAT YOUR APPLICATION/COMPLAINT HAS NOT BEEN DELAYED AND IS BEING DEALT WITH IN THE REQUIRED MANNNER THEN YOU CAN ASK FOR TWO TYPES OF THINGS:
1. The norms, if any, prescribed for the department to deal with these types of applications/complaints.
2. List of any applications/complaints/ that were received after your application/complaint but dealt with earlier, and the reasons thereof.

IF THIS INFORMATION ESTABLISHES THAT YOUR APPLICATION/COMPLAINT HAS BEEN DELAYED BEYOND THE PRESCRIBED TIMEFRAME OR THAT OTHER APPLICATIONS/COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN DEALT WITH FASTER THAN YOURS, YOU CAN THEN FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT. IF ACTION ON THIS COMPLAINT IS ALSO DELAYED THEN FILE AN RTI AS SUGGESTED ABOVE.
I am separately depositing Rs as application fee.

Yours sincerely,

SAMPLE RTI APPLICATION TO INSPECT FILES

To The Public Information Officer,
------------------------


Sub: Application under Right to Information Act 2005

I had applied for the transfer of ownership of land, as per details given below, to my name vide my letter dated --------------- (copy enclosed).



As per section 2(j)(i) of the Right to Information Act 2005. I wish to inspect all the files related to this issue, including file notings etc. Kindly let me know at the earliest the location of the files and the date, time and venue where I can come and inspect the files.


I am depositing Rs.----- as application fee

Yours sincerely,

SAMPLE RTI APPLICATION SEEKING INFORMATION ABOUT A SPECIFIC ISSUE
To The Public Information Officer
------------------

Subject: Application under the Right to Information Act 2005

Please provide the following information:

1. Please provide a list of all the properties, which are being used for commercial purposes, in X Colony,
2. How many of these colonies are in violation of building bylaws?
3. Please intimate the nature of violation in each case.
4. When did each of this violation first come to the knowledge of Department?
5. What are the departmental guidelines under which it can initiate action against such violation? Please provide a certified copy of these guidelines.
6. Did the department initiate any inquiry or action against these violations?
7. Please indicate in detail the process followed by the MCD for taking action against such violation. If an inquiry was conducted please provide a certified copy of the inquiry report.
8. If no steps have been taken in any case, please provide reasons for inaction on behalf of the Department.
9. Please provide the names, designations and contact details of the officials who have the duty to take action against these violations.

I am depositing Rs. 10 as application fee

Yours sincerely,

SAMPLE RTI APPLICATION SEEKING LIST OF NAMES/BENEFICIARIES ETC.
To
The Public Information Officer,
--------------------


Sub: Application under Right to Information Act 2005

Please provide me the following information (for example one of the following):

1. Name and address of all those who have been allotted petrol pumps in the last five years from the discretionary quota, along with the reasons why such an allotment was made in each case.

OR

2. List of people who have been issued BPL/Antodaya cards along with the basis on which each one of them has been so selected.

OR
3. Names and addresses of those who have been given any benefits under the Indira Awas Yojana and the basis on which they have been selected.

OR

4. Names and addresses of those who have been issues job cards in my village under the NREGA.





I am depositing Rs. as application fee.


Yours sincerely,


SAMPLE RTI APPLICATION SEEKING SAMPLES OF MATERIALS

To
The Public Information Officer
-------------------------------



Subject: Application under the Right to Information Act 2005


As per section 2(j)(iii) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 would like to get a sample of (any one of the following)

1. The used to carper the road between village X and Y, block -----, tehsil ----
2. Mid day meals being served in school---, village ----.
3. Milk being distributed by Mother Dairy in booth no. ----

The sample should be collected in my presence and should be sealed and certified. Please intimate the date, time and venue where I should come to witness the collection of the samples.


I am depositing Rs. 10 as application fee.


Yours sincerely

What the bleep do we know? Down the rabbit hole. part 1

Construction Sector Need Assessment

Sector Specific Need Assessment Study

Construction Sector Submitted by Clique Training Centre 2007

Almost all the people of Maldives have been enjoying self-help and most of the times,

incremental housing and building construction until a recent past. The type of construction, level

of finishing and material used for construction has been factors enabling this mode of

construction. With the introduction of reinforced concrete in late fifties, specialisation of different trades in construction, availability of different types of building materials and the requirement for different level of finishes, construction contracting and requirement for different trade expertise has become the norm for most of construction.

Given the limitation on the data availability, anecdotal evidence shows that the construction

industry has been growing stronger every year except for few dips in early eighties and between

2002 and 2003. This growth in the industry has created a growing need for professional,

paraprofessional (or semi-professional) and non-professional human resource.

Given the limited human resources available in Maldives, the human resource gap to support

the growing industry has been filled with expatriates, mostly from South Asia region. Anecdotal

evidence also suggests other factors contributing to growing expatriate population that takes a

major share of the job market.

It is also important to note that there has been some externalities contributing to the boosting of

the construction sector during some periods. For instance, 2004 tsunami that struck the

Maldives had created a need for urgent construction of houses and other infrastructure causing

a boost in the industry, especially in the islands. Similarly, government's decision to add 35

island resorts into the tourism sector would further contribute to this type boost in the industry.

This should not be taken as normal growth of the sector, however, as opportunities to improve

the capacity of the sector for a healthy growth of the industry.

Next to tourism, construction sector has the second most number of expatriate employees. The

recent development of the industry and the urgent demand for construction has lead to an

unprecedented increase in the number of expatriate workers.

Like other sectors, construction sector has also seen several developments in the recent years.

These include;

· Compulsory registration of designers, engineers and other related professional

· Development and implementation of the first Building Code of Maldives

· Registration of contractors

· Formation of Maldives Association of Construction Industry (MACI)

· Streamlining of the building approval mechanism

· Organisation of different training programmes in different fields

Details of these developments and their impact on the industry would be highlighted in the final

report:

http://www.tvet.gov.mv/index.php?id=r#bottom

Resource Initiative for Sustainable Built Environment Maldives - Mohamed Rasheed Abdul bari's MySpace Blog |

Resource Initiative for Sustainable Built Environment Maldives - Mohamed Rasheed Abdul bari's MySpace Blog |

Building Construction, Human rights, public water supply and combating risk of corruption: Corrupt Practices during Pre-Qualification and Tendering Phase

Building Construction, Human rights, public water supply and combating risk of corruption: Corrupt Practices during Pre-Qualification and Tendering Phase

Safe Building Construction

Are high rise buildings in Male' constructed to safety standards? We realise that the designs have been subjected to much scrutiny by the government since Mr. Riffaths time at OPPD. Unfortunately we still get approved drawings which are full of contradictions! worst of all; adherance to design is left to developer who will disappear after the 10 year lease period expires!; so be careful when you by cheap steel! it may not support the weight!!!

"All reinforcing bars(concrete strengthening steel) must be purchased based on the properties of yield strength, tensile strength and elongation values. To ignore these will only be putting your construction at peril. Many civil engineers, even today, assume that ‘TMT’ bars have yield strength of 415 N/mm2 but better elongation than CTD bars. He should know that nothing in the current Indian laws ( i'm using indian steel!!) or regulations prevents the rolling mill to just sell untreated and untwisted deformed bars as TMT bars - even though the strength can be as low as only 300 N/mm2.



"Dr. C. S. Vishwanath of Bangalore and his colleagues have done pioneering work in study of the various “TMT” rebars available in the country today and have published many articles on the subject. His team has already warned the users about how many mills are flooding the market with sub-standard and defective “TMT” rebars. They have found many “TMT” bars of the main producers and secondary mills with a Yield Strength in the range of only 350-390 N/mm². This only strengthens my worry that some civil engineers today assume all rebars are of Grade Fe 415 and so avoid testing."

WORLD WATER DAY 09

WORLD WATER DAY 2009



We Water Care, a non governmental Organisation registered in Maldives (for brief on this org see comments) are holding series of meetings to assist stakeholder groups mark water day this year.

Majeediyya School Nature Club is planning to start the next Thursday, 19th March 2009 with a Talk by a student at the School Assembly on Water Themes relevant for this years World Water Day. Water Care professionals have agreed today with the nature Club to assist the students research and prepare for the days events.

We are planning other activities to mark WWD based on the extent of support available; those members who are inerested to assist please drop us a line- an idea, assist with function arrangement such as meetings, ads to spread the relevant messages of the water day theme for this year will take us a long way in this initiative.

The international observance of World Water Day is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro.

In 2009, the focus of World Water Day on March 22 will be on transboundary waters: sharing water, sharing opportunities. UNECE and UNESCO are the lead UN agencies this year.
http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/flash/video/gallery1.html
http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/campaign.html

The event is a series of meetings and discussions on face book http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=81128429256)
and this blog collecting information, ideas etc..it can lead to a ohysical even if we decide to do so...the only physical events are
1. meetings..in majeedhiyya,
2. majeediyya this thursday School Assembly where a rep from nature club will give a speech on water and
3. perhaps another in CHSC

standardisation of labour quarter hygiene

Low-skilled employees in construction sites of Male’ and several islands such as L. Gan as well as resort construction sites are commonly provided with substandard living conditions, including overcrowded apartments or lodging in unsafe and unhygienic ‘labour quarters’ often lacking adequate light, potable water, and adequate cooking and bathing facilities.

Labour quarters need to be cleaned up with the introduction of national standards, spot checks and possibly fines, and force employers into improving their labour record.

Worldwide, rats and mice spread over 35 diseases. Rodent-borne diseases are spread directly to humans through bite wounds, consuming food or water that is contaminated with rodent feces, coming in contact with surface water contaminated with rodent urine, or through breathing in germs that may be present in rodent urine or droppings that have been stirred into the air (a process known as “aerosolization”). Diseases from rodents are also spread indirectly to humans by way of ticks, mites, and fleas that transmit the infection to humans after feeding on infected rodents. In some cases, the rodents are the reservoirs (carriers) of the diseases, while in other cases the ticks, mites, or fleas act as the disease reservoirs.

Toxoplasmosis in Maldives

How do we get Toxoplasmosis?
It can cause severe illness and blindness .
The most common mode of infection is through consumption of food and drinks contaminated with the bug. In the Maldivian context, cats are probably the main animal host. Infected cats excrete Toxoplasma bug in their feces. Certain birds may also get infected and pass the bug in their fecal droppings. Common path ways of infection:
1. Rain water collected from roof tops contaminated with cat feces and bird dropping.
2. Household pets such as cats, poor personal hygiene after handling the pet and after cleaning its litter may contaminate food and ingestion of the disease causing bug.
3. Infected pregnant woman passes the infection through the placenta to the unborn child
4. Infected cats excrete Toxoplasma bug in their feces. Certain birds may also get infected and pass the bug in their fecal droppings.

Toxoplasmosis in Maldives

How do we get Toxoplasmosis?
It can cause severe illness and blindness .
The most common mode of infection is through consumption of food and drinks contaminated with the bug. In the Maldivian context, cats are probably the main animal host. Infected cats excrete Toxoplasma bug in their feces. Certain birds may also get infected and pass the bug in their fecal droppings. Common path ways of infection:
1. Rain water collected from roof tops contaminated with cat feces and bird dropping.
2. Household pets such as cats, poor personal hygiene after handling the pet and after cleaning its litter may contaminate food and ingestion of the disease causing bug.
3. Infected pregnant woman passes the infection through the placenta to the unborn child
4. Infected cats excrete Toxoplasma bug in their feces. Certain birds may also get infected and pass the bug in their fecal droppings.

POVERTY ELIVIATION

ADB has dedicated itself to a clear and single-minded vision: an Asia and Pacific region free of poverty. All of ADB’s other goals and strategic objectives should contribute to poverty reduction. The Poverty Reduction Strategy sets out the ways in which ADB proposes to pursue this vision.

* Many were bypassed by the growth and transformation that happened in many of the region’s economies
* Economic crises have pitched into poverty thousands who were previously making gains
* Nearly one in four Asians today is poor, surviving on less than $1 per day

The key elements of ADB’s Poverty Reduction Strategy:

* robust, sustained, pro-poor economic growth
* social development, including human development and improvement in the status of women
* better governance

water economics

Economics offers powerful decision and management tools that help to:

* Measure the costs and benefits from water and sanitation investments and policies;
* Assess demand for water and wastewater services and evaluate their relationship to price, income, and other variables;
* Inform decisions regarding the use and targeting of public subsidies, and how to reform tariffs and improve utility finances;
* Evaluate sanitation alternatives and their tradeoffs (choosing, for example, between on-site and off-site systems);
* Assess the costs and benefits of water demand management options, including pricing, leakage reduction, and metering;
* Evaluate the desirability and feasibility of intra- or inter-sectoral water reallocation;
* Assess the efficiency of various modes of service provision (e.g. public vs. private, centralized vs. decentralized);
* Design regulatory and legal frameworks for private sector participation; and
* Evaluate the impact of project or reform on the different actors and stakeholders and devise ways to strengthen institutional frameworks.

Municipal Sewage Regulation

The Municipal Sewage Regulation shall apply to all discharges of domestic sewage.

The Municipal Sewage Regulation may be developed by the ministry of Transportation, Environement and Water to provide clear and effective requirements for (soon to be local governments) and private utilites (soon to be) sewage dischargers in order to protect public health and the environment. Compliance with the regulation would provide authorization (with minimum standards and requirements) for the treatment, reuse and discharge of domestic sewage, wastewater or municipal liquid waste.

The Ministry of Environment may review and potentially revise the Municipal Sewage Regulation. The review process may follows a policy of "continuous improvement" and the ministry's commitment to review the regulation on a regular basis and revise its provisions as appropriate.

Corrupt Practices during Pre-Qualification and Tendering Phase

The following are some examples of the circumstances in which bribes could be paid during the prequalification and tendering phase.

a) A bidder which is properly qualified may find itself being rejected at pre-qualification stage as a result of a bribe paid to a representative of the owner or engineer by another bidder. The reasons given for rejection would be artificial. Alternatively, no reasons may be given. The rejection of several potential winners could result in the favoured bidder being given an unfair advantage at
tender stage.

b) There may be, in relation to a project at tender stage, confidential details such as the owner’s minimum and maximum acceptable prices, or tender assessment system. Possession of this information may assist a contractor in its bid. The leaking of this information by a representative of the owner or engineer to the favoured bidder in return for a bribe may therefore give it an unfair
advantage.

c) The tenders may be received by the owner and not be opened at a public opening exercise. In this case, no-one except the owner will be aware of the bidders’ prices and other critical tender components. This secrecy will enable a representative of the owner to provide confidential information to the favoured bidder in return for a bribe. This bidder can then amend its tender (for example by dropping its price) so as to secure a winning position. The tenders can then be publicised, and the favoured bidder announced as the winner, and no-one will be aware that the winning bidder was given the secret opportunity to amend its tender.

d) The tender process may be corrupted by international pressure. For example, during an allegedly competitive tender process, the government of a developed country may influence the government of a developing country to make sure that a company from the developed country is awarded a project, even if it is not the cheapest or best option. Such pressure can take many forms, including the offer of aid, arms deals or agreements to support a government’s application to join an international organisation. Great lengths are taken to conceal this pressure in some cases. In
others, it is remarkably overt.

The following are some examples of fraudulent practices during the pre-qualification and tendering phase.

a) The bidders may secretly collude with each other to share the market. This normally entails the bidders agreeing that each one of them will win a certain number of projects, or a certain amount of turnover, in a particular sector. In respect of each project, a winning bidder will be pre-selected secretly by all the bidders, and the other bidders will put in tenders at a price which is higher than that of the pre-selected bidder.

b) The bidders may agree with each other on a “losers’ fee” arrangement. This normally entails the bidders agreeing that they will bid in full competition with each other (i.e. no price fixing agreement, or pre-selection of the winner). However, they agree that they will each include in their price a fixed sum representing the estimated aggregate bid costs of all the bidders. The winner will then divide this fixed sum equally between the losers. The primary reason for this arrangement is compensation for the irrecoverable bidding costs of the losing bidders.

c) A group of suppliers of materials may collude to fix the minimum price of the materials they supply. Even when there is competitive tendering, prices will be kept higher than would be the case with genuine competition.

Steering the water sector

Implementing HR in the water sector:

UN human rights system now has a separate mechanism exclusively dedicated to issues related to the right to water and sanitation. The resolution also confirms that governments have obligations to ensure access to safe drinking water and sanitation under international human rights law.

Here in Male’ we seem to have forgotten the stenching smell of groundwater in densely packed islands after our tap started running desalinated water. We pay $$ for that convenience without realizing that foreign private companies are gearing up to control the multimillion-dollar market to “upgrade” the nation's ancient water and sanitation systems.

Think. Coastal Cartagena was the first of about 50 cities and towns to privatize its water in Colombia. The capital Bogotá bucked the privatization trend, refused World Bank money and transformed its public utility into the most successful in Colombia. Which direction shall we go? Which ever course we decide on it is vital that we realize that MONOPOLY and CORRUPTION are the two ugly faces of underdevelopment.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

WORKPLACE ACCIDENTS
We generally think of job accidents as negative aspects of production. And, of course, they are. They're certainly something you want to prevent. But if it can be said that there is such a thing as an upside to workplace accidents and near misses, it's that these incidents can show you the gaps in your safety programs, procedures, and practices. That helps you see what you need to do to correct safety problems and improve safety performance. And one of the best ways to understand accidents, correct safety problems, and prevent tomorrow's accidents is to thoroughly investigate the incidents that occur today. In a successful accident investigation, you assemble evidence, interview witnesses and those involved, and then piece all this information together to try to understand why the accident happened and what you need to do to make sure something similar doesn't happen again.

Employees play an important role in investigations. Here's what to tell your employees about how they can help in an accident investigation:
• Report all accidents and near misses right away. Even if nobody was hurt, your supervisor needs to know what happened so steps can be taken to prevent future problems.
• If you witness an accident, try to remember what happened. Write down what you saw as soon after the accident as possible-what, where, when, who, and why.
• Don't disturb the scene of the accident. You could destroy valuable evidence that could help investigators figure out exactly how the accident happened.
• Provide any information you have about an accident. Come forward right away and tell what you know. Your cooperation is essential to the success of the investigation.
• Lend your expertise to the investigation. If you have special knowledge about the equipment or procedures involved, the circumstances surrounding the accident, etc., tell what you know and offer your suggestions.
• Encourage co-workers to cooperate in accident investigations. Remind them that the purpose of an accident investigation is to prevent future accidents—accidents that could involve any one of them.
• Join with co-workers to implement any corrective measures that come out of an investigation. Be sure to follow any new safety rules that result from an accident investigation.

Accident reports also play a crucial role in preventing future incidents. Accident reports explain causes and recommend solutions. They should include at least the following information:
• Name of the employee(s) involved
• Names of any injured employees
• Date of the accident
• Time of the accident
• Location of the accident
• Names of witnesses
• Work the employees involved were engaged in at the time of the accident
• Nature and extent of any injuries
• Name and address of hospital or doctor treating victims
• Description of the incident
• Unsafe condition(s) or unsafe act(s) that caused the accident
• Actions taken to prevent similar accidents
• Recommendations for additional action
• Name of supervisor(s) or manager(s) who investigated the accident
• Name of supervisor or manager responsible for writing the report
• Date report written and submitted
The best reports are written in plain, direct language that leaves no doubt as to meaning. Descriptions or explanations are brief and to the point, but contain sufficient detail to make the necessary point clearly.

HUMAN RIGHTS, CORRUPTION IN THE WATER SECTOR

Corruption and Water
Water is a quencher of thirst, a grower of crops, a generator of power, fundamental to hygiene, and a basic natural resource vital for our daily existence. Water is necessary for human survival. Water is also a foundation for development. Without water, there can be no economic growth, no industry, no hydropower, no agriculture and no cities. Investing in water governance and infrastructure means investing in jobs, agriculture and food security, education, gender empowerment, environmental equity, as well as reducing infant mortality, improving health and a host of other factors that are commonly seen as the pre-requisites of progress.

Too often, this investment is blocked by corruption. Corruption keeps the poor in poverty and makes the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDG) impossible to achieve. To date, clean drinking water remains unobtainable for nearly 1.2 billion people around the world. This is not due to scarcity, but rather a lack of good governance. In many countries up to 50 percent or more of water goes unaccounted for due to unmonitored water leakages in pipes and canals, unauthorised connections from the rich and illegal tapping by the poor. The water crisis is a governance crisis with corruption at its core.