Managing Conflict of Interest - Organisation for Economic Co ...

Keynote Addresses xxxiiibe struck between setting up minute checks that could weed outall corruption, and more fundamental reforms. It would be difficultto tackle corruption without, for instance, addressing civil servicereform. There are no magic bullets, and strengthening governanceand combating corruption will take time, and, thus, there has tobe a long-term commitment. The key will be institutional reforms,appropriately prioritized and sequenced.Let me now briefly introduce the key pillars of such a strategyand reflect on our own experience to date in introducing transformationalchange.What are the key pillars of a strategy for achieving good governance?The first pillar is transforming institutions. This would includestrengthening political institutions with reasonable checks and balances,and this in turn will require strengthening both the legislativeand executive apparatus and finding accountability for decisionmaking and its checks and balances. In reality, my experience todate on decision making within the executive branch underlines theimportance of laying the groundwork for any policy change in orderto make informed policy decisions.This requires groundwork to get the right facts and figures,undertake the impact analysis, map out the “losers and winners”(i.e., different interest groups) from any policy change, and come upwith a “balanced” proposal. One is also understandably faced withpressures from various groups, and the challenge to navigate ornegotiate with the different competing interests. In this context, theexecutive must attempt to make balanced decisions without beinginfluenced by particular interest groups to bring the most benefitfor the people—often the silent majority.Other important institutional changes are a sustained effort tostrengthen the judiciary, to build an effective public service, andto manage decentralization. Regarding effective public service,one must undertake civil service reform and create adequate institutionalcapacity in all government ministries. This again will be along-term task. Civil service reform will include a more merit-basedsystem and an appropriate reward and punishment system, andthis can only happen in stages. Short of reforming the whole publicservice, one has to begin by promoting greater transparency andcreating islands of excellence, systems to reduce the discretionarypower of officials, and better monitoring systems. At the same timethere has to be reward for good performance. Given the length ofADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific