World engineers organization to conduct infrastructure anti-corruption

By Wallace Mawire   [caption id="attachment_38903" align="alignleft" width="300"] Engineer Martin Manuhwa, WFEO Vice President[/caption] The World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) Committee on Anti-­‐Corruption (CAC) is conducting a baseline infrastructure anti-corruption survey in Zambia and Zimbabwe, according to Engineer Martin Manuhwa, WFEO Vice President and Chair of the Anti-Corruption Committee. Manuhwa is the Chairman of the Engineering Council of Zimbabwe (ECZ) the National Member of WFEO. According to Manuhwa, this is a pilot project which was awarded to WFEO by the Royal Academy of Engineering in the United Kingdom (UK). “The aim of this baseline survey is to create future periodic infrastructure anti-orruption index reports as well as give anti-­‐corruption strategies and recommendations for Governments, Corporates, Civil Society and the Federation of African Engineering Organisations (FAEO), and their regional Professional Engineering Institutions (PEIs),” Manuhwa said. The WFEO committee on Anti-­‐corruption which is hosted by Zimbabwe under the auspices of the Engineering Council of Zimbabwe (ECZ)) has been commissioned to undertake the baseline Infrastructure Anticorruption Survey in two Sub-­Saharan African Countries and prepare a preliminary/scoping study to establish an anticorruption index in the sector. According to ECZ, the construction sector plays a vital role in supporting social and economic development, yet it is consistently ranked - in both the developed and developing world as one of the most corrupt areas of economic activity. It is reported that the costs of corruption in the public sector construction projects extend far beyond increased contract prices. It is added that corruption can hinder a nation's social and economic development at grass-­roots level by undermining the rule of law and hindering the growth of strong and accountable institutions on which sustained economic growth depends. Corruption can also result in unnecessary, unsuitable, defective or dangerous projects and projects which are often subject to severe delays. Manuhwa said that WFEO and FAEO through the project can greatly increase the ability of stakeholders to reduce corruption by exposing corrupt practices and offering information on how to reduce corruption. The organisations report that the compelling need for the project in Sub Saharan Africa is to equip stakeholders in infrastructure development through WFEO with the tools to detect, deter, and develop anti-corruption tools to reduce corruption so as to channel development funds and aid into its rightful use. The aim of the Project is to advance knowledge on how corruption can be curbed in Sub Saharan Africa and elsewhere through achieving zero tolerance to corruption, hence increasing the rate of development for the region. The objectives of the project are to conduct an extensive survey on monitoring corruption and quality of governance that documents the diversity of contemporary governance landscapes, regulatory frames and anti-corruption strategies in the Sub Saharan African countries selected in this case Zambia and Zimbabwe, document the findings especially the impact and cost of corruption through a variety of case studies across the selected countries and to establish the feasibility of a preliminary/prototype panel data-set of indicators (Infrastructure Anti-corruption Index) allowing the tracing of corruption levels over time by country and region through identifying new indicators documented in the project with established, perception-based ones. The results will be delivered in workshops, publications and conferences organised by FAEO. Manuhwa said that the project will be very relevant to the Africa catalyst project since it will make WFEO and FAEO more visible and acceptable in the eyes of Governments, International Development Agencies and donors. He said the stakeholders will benefit from the developed tools which will greatly enhance the efficient and effective application of their funds through reduced corruption. “More funds will be appropriately applied to the projects hence reducing poverty and increasing development. The Monitoring and evaluation of the project will be through third part assessments,” he said.