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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
Testimony of Mr. Adolfo A. Franco,
Assistant Administrator,
Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean
before the House International Relations Committee
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
October 10, 2002
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, I am pleased to appear before you to testify on the role of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in the fight against corruption and narcotics in the Dominican Republic and Guatemala.
As in other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, USAID supports a variety of anti-corruption regional and bilateral initiatives that strengthen government accountability and transparency in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. These initiatives help to reduce opportunities for corruption both directly and indirectly by supporting efforts to improve the rule of law and justice systems, increasing citizen participation, or strengthening public sector capacity.
In the 1990s, the first Summit of the Americas made corruption an acceptable subject for international concern. The First Global Forum on Fighting Corruption ratified this effort. USAID played an important role in translating this effort into programs on the international donor agenda. USAID initiated a program to raise financial management standards by promoting more rigorous accounting rules and greater reliance on computerized record-keeping. This integrated financial management system effort, now utilized in nearly all the countries in the region, has increased transparency in bookkeeping and reduced the chance for fraud. Today, USAID's approach, as part of the larger USG response, is framed by the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption, supported by the Summit of the Americas process and complemented by various national plans and initiatives to combat corruption and to improve public transparency and accountability. Both the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank have also begun new efforts in this area.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, USAID programs contribute significantly to broader country team efforts to fight corruption and advance the rule of law. Many USG agencies carry out anti-corruption and law enforcement activities in this hemisphere, including the Department of Justice -working through its International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) --, as well as the Departments of State and Treasury and, in other ways, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the U.S. military and Coast Guard. Each of these agencies does its part, whether it is by training police units to investigate cases more effectively, helping governments design new anti-money laundering legislation, or providing logistics support for interdiction operations and training. All USG-provided training is purposely designed to promote principles of human and civil rights, as well as to counter corruption.
USAID's most important contribution in fighting corruption is in seeking institutional reform and change. We have broad programs with the executive, legislative and judicial branches of governments in the region, as well as with universities and representatives of civil society. USAID also enjoys a reputation for being able to field high-quality and highly credible technical assistance teams on short notice. Our efforts are sensitive to local political, legal and cultural demands while responsive to overall U.S. Government objectives.
Dominican Republic
Mr. Chairman, I would now like to turn to specifics. In the Dominican Republic, years of authoritarian regimes left as a legacy a centralized government, weak institutions and a lack of transparency in all government functions. We see reforms to establish transparency and credibility of electoral results and the increasing independence of the Supreme Court of Justice and the court system as signs that things are moving in the right direction.
Transparency International was not kind to the Dominican government in its Corruption Perceptions Index in 2002, ranking the Dominican Republic 60th of 102 nations surveyed for transparency and probity. Nevertheless, the Government of President Hipolito Mejia has made progress in establishing mechanisms and creating entities to combat the misuse of public funds.
Mejia's Comptroller General has moved steadily to introduce basic control systems into public administration. The Council Against Corruption, led by the Technical Secretary of the Presidency, includes government organizations and civil society institutions, coordinates the actions of organizations that fight corruption and proposes new anti-corruption legislation. We conclude that the Dominican Government, and particularly President Mejia, have promoted reform and modernization programs to strengthen institutions. However, weaknesses still exist, including outdated legislation and procedures and the lack of trained professional public servants.
USAID has provided to senior members of the Dominican Government, to leaders from civil society, and will soon share with other donors, a report on corruption in the Dominican Republic produced under a USAID contract. We expect this report will form the basis for the Government's action plan to fight corruption and hope it will accelerate progress toward transparency, enhanced accountability and increased civic awareness.
There are four additional priorities we hope to address in order to attack corruption systemically in the Dominican Republic. First, along with the Department of State, we are looking at ways to help businessmen fight corruption through the implementation of a new Code of Ethics approved recently by the business community. Second, we seek to develop and promote municipal transparency and municipal integrity commissions. Third, we hope to work with journalists to improve media coverage of corruption, along with the public diplomacy offices of the Department of State. And fourth, we plan to promote more stringent and effective financial control systems, following on the Dominican Republic's signing of the Inter-American Conventions Against Corruption last September.
Guatemala
Mr. Chairman, I would now like to shift to Guatemala. The challenges in Guatemala are substantial. Newspaper accounts report daily on corruption scandals within the administration of President Alfonso Portillo. Much more needs to be done, and USAID has been helping certain Guatemalan sectors make institutional reforms to strengthen their ability to combat corruption over the long-term.
For example, Guatemala's Judicial Branch, working with USAID and other country team offices, developed a new Criminal Procedure Code in 1994 which now guarantees a presumption of innocence, a right to an attorney and, if needed, a translator, as well as the right for victims to attend a public, oral trial. Prior to 1997, Guatemala had no Public Defender Service. Today, an autonomous, professional service, developed with assistance from USAID, helps clients throughout the country. New USAID-assisted "Justice Centers" help local communities, churches and governments connect with police, prosecutors, judges and public defenders to fight crime and ensure respect for human rights. New community-level mediation centers, also supported by USAID, resolved 74% of the thousands of cases which came to their attention last year. Twenty-five such centers currently operate. USAID supported creation of a case intake system for the Ministerio Publico, or Public Prosecutor's Office. A year ago, it took several hours to present a criminal complaint with the public prosecutor; today, it takes on average 15 minutes. In 1998, Guatemala City criminal courts "lost" the paperwork on over 1,000 pending criminal cases because of corruption. (Some 60,000 new cases are filed each year.) In 1999, with a new USAID-assisted Court Clerk office in place, the number of "lost" cases dropped to just two. A new Judicial Career Law, developed with technical assistance from USAID, gives new independence to the judiciary.
Much remains to be done in Guatemala, particularly to increase the political will of all institutions to make meaningful and lasting reforms. USAID's programs are helping strengthen institutions that can implement such reforms.
Looking Ahead
Countries like Guatemala spent much of the last forty years investing heavily in their militaries and did not perceive the need to invest in civil institutions for enforcing the rule of law. Expanding rule of law programs is urgent. Dysfunctional, unproductive justice institutions need drastic reform. Given the chronic institutional weakness of justice institutions in Latin America and elsewhere, U.S. policy interests call for an integrated approach to the rule of law incorporating cross-border efforts as well as country-specific activities. After all, if progress is made in cleaning up money laundering in Guatemala, criminals may move their operations to Honduras. If El Salvador cleans up gang violence, the problem may migrate to Guatemala. A concerted, integrated initiative will help curb crime across frontiers.
We now have an opportunity, the first in a generation, to create real change. The cost of failure is high in terms of lost exports, investment and jobs, and waves of narcotics and illegal aliens.
Sustainable institutional development to change radically entire legal cultures will not happen overnight, or even in the course of four or five years. Instead, USAID, as part of the overall USG effort, will have to stay the course. Mr. Chairman, USAID has worked with its partners in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic in good faith and with some tangible results. We stand ready to continue our assistance for as long as it is necessary in the future.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony. I would be pleased to answer any of your or the Committee's questions. Thank you.
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Last Updated on: January 02, 2009 |
