In this interview, Alfred Brownell details his extensive involvement with the reform of management of natural resources in Liberia. Specifically, Brownell elaborates on the experiences that led him to work for the creation of the Association of Environmental Lawyers of Liberia (Green Advocates), an organization that has played a pivotal role in Brownell’s campaign for improving the country’s forestry sector. Brownell describes the steps he took in obtaining much-needed cooperation from the government and private institutions to pass legislation that would safeguard the exploitation of forest cover, empower local communities living near such forests and stem resource-related human rights violations. Brownell also provides insight into the efforts that culminated in the incorporation of the Liberian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI). In explaining the successes achieved, Brownell describes how coalitions were built and campaigning was organized to receive support from both the populace and international organizations.These efforts resulted in the imposition of sanctions by the United Nations Security Council. These sanctions were a crucial leveraging tool in obtaining government cooperation. Recounting the many challenges involved in the process of obtaining successful reform, Brownell stresses the importance of oversight and institutional capacity building in ensuring the sustainability of reform.
At the time of this interview, Alfred Brownell was the president of the Association of Environmental Lawyers of Liberia (Green Advocates.) In 1997, while a law student at the University of Liberia, Brownell launched Green Advocates and put into place Liberia’s first framework environmental law. Brownell was also the lead campaigner for Liberia’s Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, successfully pressing for the passage of legislative reform in the national forestry sector. Between 2000 and 2003, Brownell’s work helped bring about the imposition of sanctions on Liberia’s timber exports, a travel ban and an asset freeze on corrupt government officials. Through the years, Brownell has devoted himself to campaigning for national policies that stem corruption and abuses related to natural resource extraction.
In this interview, Othello Weh describes the push for the reform of the Liberian Civil Service, drawing upon his experience as the deputy director general of administration. Weh elaborates on the specific reform programs that were instituted, detailing the introduction of an employee biometric record system that helped remove ghost names from the government payroll as well as describing the measures taken to remove redundancy within the government administration. Weh also delves into the challenges faced in introducing reform while dealing with capacity constraints, acknowledging the support provided by the international community in assisting to overcome skilled labor shortages. He further outlines the steps involved in launching the reforms, describing how the collaboration and coordination necessary for the successful execution of reform was created. Moreover, Weh suggests that capacity-building efforts are vital for ensuring the sustainability of reform. Reiterating the importance of collaborative work and thorough planning, Weh ultimately concludes by remarking that unique domestic conditions within different nations mean that different strategies work with varying degrees of success.
At the time of this interview, Othello Koibia Weh was the deputy director-general for the administration of the Liberian Civil Service Agency. A graduate of the William V. S. Tubman Teachers College, University of Liberia, Weh went on to acquire a master’s degree in educational administration at the university in April 2009. He served as the vice president of the Cavalry Baptist Church High School in Sinkor, Monrovia from 1984 to 1986, and was later promoted to principal in 1987. He held this position until 1997, at which point he joined the agency as the principal director of the division of selection and classification. In 2006, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf appointed Weh to serve as the deputy director general for administration of the division. Weh is also a member of the Liberia Association of Writers.
In these two interviews, Dr. Bitange Ndemo discusses his experience as the Permanent Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Information and Communication. Dr. Ndemo begins by outlining the priorities he set for his office upon appointment to his position of Permanent Secretary. In one of his primary initiatives, he overcame challenges to give Kenya access to fiber optic cables that enhanced Internet infrastructure within the country. Next, he began pushing for digitized data within the government but faced strong resistance from various ministries, Dr. Ndemo says. He explains the nature of the resistance and then his counter-methods, describing presidential support and World Bank assistance for the initiative as essential to its success. He recalls his communication with the private sector through his fireside chats. Entrepreneurs and Kenyan youth sought government data for applications and other innovation so Dr. Ndemo promised to provide access to that data within 30 days. Dr. Ndemo describes hurriedly assembling a team, pressuring ministers to open their data, securing presidential support, and successfully launching Kenya’s open data portal. He next turned focus to establishing a legal framework for open data in the government, part of Kenya’s participation with the Open Government Partnership, where he again faced and overcame ministerial resistance. Dr. Ndemo explains his vision of the many potential benefits of open government data for Kenyan economic development such as greater employment, improved market efficiency, and more. He also explains barriers to this development including ministerial resistance to open data, lack of public analysis of the data, and others. He clarifies the responsibilities of the government offices that manage the open data portal and responsibilities within the Ministry of Information and Communication, particularly his as Permanent Secretary and that of the Minister.
Bitange Ndemo is the Permanent Secretary of the Kenyan Government’s Ministry of Information and Communication. Prior to joining the civil service in 2005, Ndemo was a senior lecturer and head of research and consultancy at the University of Nairobi’s School of Business. As a scholar, he specialized in business methods and entrepreneurship. Dr. Ndemo had previously worked as a financial system analyst at Medtronic Inc., a Fortune 500 company in the US (1989-1993). He has a PhD in industrial economics from the University of Sheffield, UK, and management and finance degrees from the University of Minnesota, US.
Aldo Civico comments on his relationship with Mayor Leoluca Orlando of Palermo and Mayor Orlando’s political leadership. He came from Northern Italy at a young age to become a senior adviser for Mayor Orlando and a press officer for the Municipality of Palermo. Civico worked often with German-language media, amongst whom Mayor Orlando was particularly well liked. He recalls Mayor Orlando’s outspoken anti-Mafia stance as surprising and unusual for a Palermitan politician of the 1980s. Civico also explains the nature of Mayor Orlando’s exit from the Christian Democratic Party and leadership of La Rete. He recounts the legacy of Mafia power and anti-Mafia governance that preceded Mayor Orlando’s 1993-2000 term. He describes Mayor Orlando’s diverse political and international network through which Mayor Orlando drew and offered support for his and others’ reforms. Mayor Orlando had a particularly close relationship with the governmental leaderships of Bogotá and Medellín, Colombia. Civico discusses Mayor Orlando’s anti-mafia efforts and the challenges they faced. He concludes by describing Mayor Orlando’s allegiance to his political principles rather than to a party, lobby, or other interest as his defining and most effective trait as a leader.
Aldo Civico served as press officer of the Municipality of Palermo and senior adviser to Mayor Leoluca Orlando from September 1991 to September 1995. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor in the department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Rutgers-Newark and the co-founder and director of the International Institute for Peace. Previously, Civico worked as a free-lance journalist, reporting on social issues related to organized crime in southern Italy, and then as Director of the Center for International Conflict Resolution at Columbia University. For the last ten years, his work has focused on conflict resolution, particularly in Colombia, through ethnographic research and facilitating peace processes. Civico holds a doctorate in Anthropology from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Bologna, Italy.
In this interview, Bertrand de Speville, as former head of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong, and author of Overcoming Corruption: The Essentials, details the measures that should be taken by successful anti-corruption agencies. He explains how the three-pronged strategy of the ICAC is very effective. The three departments of the ICAC—investigation, prevention, and education--- investigate allegations of corruption, attempt to prevent corruption from occurring in private and public sectors, and try to educate the general public about how to eliminate corruption, respectively. De Speville stresses how important it is for these departments to be closely coordinated. Also, he states how he was able to deduce the common mistakes that countries make in regard to their attempt to fight corruption. One of these common pitfalls is a flawed investigating policy, where countries just go for the “big fish.” Thus, the public may believe that the anti-corruption agency is not impartial, but has a political ulterior motive. Therefore, de Speville explains how resources must be allocated in a way that mostly every allegation of corruption should be investigated. This relates to de Speville’s stressing the importance of public trust, in which he elaborates how measures such as the Citizen Oversight Committee within each department and the institution of public relations, are taken. He states that the real measure of success of an anti-corruption agency is whether it can bring about a change of heart and mind in every member of a community, and draws upon the examples of Hong Kong, Singapore, Latvia, and Lithuania to show that this success is possible.
Born in Southern Rhodesia and educated in England, Betrand de Speville served as Solicitor General of Hong Kong before beginning his career in anti-corruption. In 1992, upon becoming the Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong, de Speville commenced his concentration in fighting corruption. Through this position, in which he served from 1992-1996, de Speville witnessed the aspects of anti-corruption agencies that were effective, along with practices that were common mistakes. While leading ICAC, he states that he has few regrets, and that in order for corruption to be fought effectively in the future, although agencies should be tailored to their surroundings, they should have a three-pronged strategy of attack, and warrant public support, while staying away from the common mistakes made while fighting corruption, such as selective investigation. Since then, he has worked with dozens of countries and international organizations on setting up specialized anti-corruption agencies and other aspects of anti-corruption policy. From 1997-2003, he was the advisor to the Council of Europe’s Multidisciplinary Group on Corruption. He detailed the necessities of a successful agency and the pitfalls faced within his book, Overcoming Corruption: The Essentials, which was published in 2010. De Speville is currently the principal of de Speville and Associates, an international anti-corruption consultancy based in England.
