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Contributions from
the Column
Facts and trends
Wealthy countries are not fulfilling duties
Clinton versus Bush
World Bank considers ban of company
The fight against poverty: NGOs lack priorities
Sudan: conflict escalates in Darfur
Afghanistan should be self-sufficient in ten years
“Disarmament must begin within the Afghan government”
5/2004
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[ Corruption in Lesotho ]
World Bank considers ban of company
The World Bank’s sanctions committee is currently investigating whether the Canadian engineering company Acres International will be excluded from World Bank contracts in future. Acres is one of three companies so far that have been fined for corruption at the Highland Waters Project (LHWP) in Lesotho (see D+C 2003:10, p. 358) – the other two are Lahmeyer International and Spie Batagnolles. Observers said that the result of the investigation was completely open. Ryan Hoover of the International Rivers Network said the Bank was aware that banishing Acres would be momentous. After all, the elite of the dam construction industry is being sued in Lesotho: “If these companies are banned by the World Bank, that’s going to really hurt the dam industry because there simply are not many companies in a position to step in for them.” Acres would be the first large corporation from an industrial country to be excluded from World Bank contracts.
Meanwhile, the next big corruption proceedings linked to LHWP have started in Lesotho. The Italian group Impregilo is alleged to have used an intermediary to bribe the project leader with half a million US dollars. Impregilo’s management is pursuing the same defence strategy as the companies who have already been fined. They claim to have believed these were legal commission payments and to have known nothing about the wheelings and dealings of the South African intermediary, Michiel Du Plooy. Du Plooy, fearing a long prison sentence, has pleaded guilty in the meantime. He stated he was prepared to cooperate with the prosecution. According to the South African newspaper Mail & Guardian, his description of the events is quite different: He had been offered an “agency agreement” by the management should Impregilo secure contracts. It had been perfectly clear to both parties “that such an agreement would be nothing more than a disguised bribe agreement”.
While Lesotho is praised widely for its energetic action against corruption, the international donors are witholding financial support which they had already pledged to the country. According to the Lesotho attorney general, Fine Maema, the costs of the proceedings so far amount to 28 million South African rand (approx. 3.67 million euro). When the investigation began in 1999, several donors, including the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the EU, had promised aid. “Unfortunately, none of this help has been forthcoming”, said Maema at a conference in Pretoria in mid-March. In the meantime, the South African government is considering paying a share of the costs. (ell)
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