Meeting the German development minister - Leonor Magtolis Briones
THE BUSINESS OF GOVERNANCE | LEONOR MAGTOLIS BRIONES | 07/13/2009 2:02 AM
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Last July 2-5, I was privileged to be part of an extraordinary and inspiring journey. I travelled to Berlin to join the launch of the W8 campaign in Germany under the auspices of Oxfam International. The W8 is composed of eight women from all over the world who have dedicated their lives to campaigning for health and education, as well as other sdevelopment issues.
The W8 members are: Leonor Magtolis Briones of the Philippines, Sandhya Venkateswaran of India, Miranda Akhvlediani of Georgia, Rokeya Kabir of Bangladesh, Kadiatou Baby Maiga of Mali, Dr. Jiraporn Limpananont of Thailand, Elba Rivera-Urbina of Nicaragua and Dorothy Ngoma of Malawi. While they come from different countries, cultures, languages and levels of development, they bonded very quickly. As women, they know the pain of babies dying from preventable diseases. They also know how it is to be deprived of education.
The W8 campaign was timed to coincide with the G8 meeting n Italy. Instead of going to Italy, the team decided to proceed to Germany and engage the Development Minister, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul. The chances of obtaining a favorable response from Germany were greater. Italy has slashed its assistance to developing countries while Germany has raised its aid levels, albeit below .7% of gross national income . Finally, Germany is headed by the only woman member of the G8.
Not all ministers like civil society personalities. This was not the case with Minister Wieczorek-Zeul. The W8 was warmly welcomed. I had met her last September 8, 2008 in a forum on the MDGs. I spoke about the status of MDGs in the developing countries. I was impressed with her awareness of social issues and her commitment to help developing countries.
The Minister listened to each of the women and responded to the problems presented. She also explained the constraints faced by Germany, especially since its export sector had shrunk considerably. She noted that 40% of United States assistance goes to military spending.
The W8 team was joined by Campino, head of one of the most popular rock bands in Germany. The band collected over 50,000 signatures from German citizens reminding their government to fulfill their promises of aid.
The team did not only dialogue with the development minister. It reached the German public. A big press conference was held, which was widely covered by multimedia and duly reported on TV, radio, print and interactive networks.
W8 received a lot of positive feedback. One of the most moving was those of Campino who said that he was deeply touched and moved by my statement that the impact of the crisis is more destructive and devastating in the poor countries than in the rich ones. Another response came from a television reporter who said that she wept upon hearing my stories about babies and women dying.
The journey was worth it.
The G8 Declaration and Philippine corruption
Last July 10, the G8 Summit in L’Aquila Italy ended with declarations and statements from the eight richest and most powerful countries in the world: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Japan. The main declaration reaffirmed G8’s commitment to “ensure sustainable growth and to tackle the interlinked challenges of the economic crisis, poverty and climate change.”
The 40-page declaration has already been scrutinized by the international community, particularly media and civil society. One issue which will likely resonate in the Philippines is on corruption and strengthening effective governance. The G8 countries stated that they “will promote adherence to and enforcement of the OECD convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions….We will fully enforce our laws against bribery of foreign public officials and, consistent with national legal principles, will rigorously investigate and prosecute foreign bribery offences.”
G8 reiterated earlier commitments to “deny safe havens to corrupt individuals and their illicitly acquired assets and to prevent corrupt holders of public office from gaining access to the fruits of their illicit activities in our financial system…strengthen cooperation on asset recovery, including through the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR).”
This means that the G8 governments will cooperate in tracing illicit deposits in their financial systems. Remember those reports about secret deposits in Germany and other countries? The chances of tracing these are better now. Calling our anti-corruption watchdogs!
Of presidential leaks and lumps (bukol)
Leaks and lumps in the presidential plumbing and sewerage systems are not within the purview of public interest unless they are considered as “serious illness,” according to the Constitution. What is of greater concern are the leaks in our public finance system where government revenue leaks out to private pockets. The lumps or “bukol” that the public is interested in are the “bukols” in government contracts so aptly described by Jun Lozada.
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