petty corruption

Calling Citizens, Improving the State: Pakistan’s Citizen Feedback Monitoring Program, 2008 – 2014

Author
Mohammad Omar Masud
Core Challenge
Country of Reform
Abstract

In early 2008, Zubair Bhatti, administrative head of the Jhang district in Pakistan’s Punjab province, recognized the need to reduce petty corruption in the local civil service—a problem that plagued not only Punjab but also all of Pakistan. He began to contact citizens on their cell phones to learn about the quality of the service they had received. Those spot checks became the basis for a social audit system that spanned all 36 districts in Punjab by 2014. The provincial government outsourced much of the work to a call center, which surveyed citizens about their experiences with 16 different public services. The data from that call center helped district coordination officers identify poorly performing employees and branches, thereby enhancing the capability of the government to improve service delivery. By early 2014, the province was sending about 12,000 text messages daily to check on service quality. More than 400,000 citizens provided information between the beginning of the initiative and 2014. Known as the Citizen Feedback Monitoring Program, the Punjab’s social audit system became the template for similar innovations in other provinces and federal agencies in Pakistan.

Mohammad Omar Masud drafted this case based on interviews conducted in Punjab, Pakistan, in January and March 2014. Case published February 2015.

Note: This case study was previously titled "Calling the Public to Empower the State: Pakistan's Citizen Feedback Monitoring Program, 2008-2014."

Astor Escalante Saravia

Ref Batch
M
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
1
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Flor Hunt
Name
Astor Escalante Saravia
Interviewee's Position
Vice Minister of Public Security and Justice
Interviewee's Organization
El Salvador
Language
Spanish
Nationality of Interviewee
El Salvadoran
Place (Building/Street)
Ministry of Public Security
Town/City
San Salvador
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

Astor Escalante Saravia explains the internal development of the Ministry of Public Security in El Salvador, which oversees all pertinent branches, including the National Civil Police and the National Academy for Public Security.  He describes a multi-player approach to institutional reform that involves the National Council on Security and Peace, UNDP, and a number of NGOs that specialize in crime prevention and rehabilitation for former gang members.  While recent reforms have been successful, he says, lack of resources remains a challenge. Concerning the National Civil Police, Saravia identifies three areas for improvement. The first has to do with the failure of the current model to insulate police officers who work within their own communities from risks and ties to the criminals that operate in the same turf. The second critical issue involves corruption.  He emphasizes the role of perception, and highlights the large impact of small measures like changing the uniforms of the Transit Police to increase accountability.  The third issue concerns proper police conduct and the problem of police brutality, which he says is being addressed nationwide by virtual training based on case studies.

Profile

At the time of this interview, Astor Escalante Saravia was El Salvador's vice minister of public security and justice, a post he held since 2006.  He was the director of the penitentiary system in 2005, after working for eight years in the National Public Prosecutor’s office as a prosecutor and chief prosecutor.  Previously he served as an adviser to the Ministry of Government, which oversaw the security sector until the Ministry of Public Security was created with a mandate to govern the police and associated agencies.

Full Audio File Size
72MB
Full Audio Title
Astor Escalante Saravia Interview

Samuel Harbor

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I
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
7
Critical Tasks
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Arthur Boutellis
Name
Samuel Harbor
Interviewee's Position
Deputy Resident Representative
Interviewee's Organization
United Nations Development Programme, Sierra Leone
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Nigerian
Town/City
Freetown
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

Samuel Harbor discusses his role as the deputy resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Sierra Leone.  He was particularly involved with efforts to reform the Sierra Leone National Police through increased training, capacity building and coordinating the provision of essential equipment.  Harbor identifies the major challenges that these reform efforts faced, including limited funding, high rates of poverty and low rates of pay for officers, donors acting in a leading rather than a supportive role, and reconciling disparate or rival groups within the police force.  He maintains that each change in policy must be sustainable beyond donor involvement and must be nationally owned and led, and he stresses the importance of reformers clearly delineating their goals.  He expresses optimism about the potential for reform, emphasizing that Sierra Leone had the unique opportunity to essentially start from scratch following the lengthy civil war, and that the country had substantial amounts of untapped valuable natural resources.  He also commends the success that the police force had achieved in community policing and in increasing the proportion of women in the service.     

Profile

At the time of this interview, Samuel Harbor was the deputy resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Freetown, Sierra Leone.  He earned his master’s degree in business administration in the United States, then returned to his native Nigeria to work in banking, the stock exchange and as a consultant for Ernst & Young.  In 1986, he joined the U.N. in Nigeria and later worked with the organization in a number of countries, including Gambia, East Timor and Ethiopia, before Sierra Leone. 

Full Audio File Size
43 MB
Full Audio Title
Samuel Harbor Interview