2005-01-11

Adventures in reconstruction and redevelopment

According to a report by Andrew Bounds in the Financial Times, the European Agency for Reconstruction is subject to an investigation for mismanaging its programs for reconstruction in the Balkans. It seems that “a fifth of the contracts signed by the European Agency for Reconstruction in 2003 have ‘anomalies’.”

Among the principal “anomalies” are charges of bribery of an EAR employee by Siemens and Lurgi Lentjes in order to win a €49.8m contract to renew a power station in Belgrade in 2002. The article reports that “the employee, who allegedly received money and a luxury car, was suspended and then resigned. His exact whereabouts are now unknown and European parliamentarians believe he has moved to Africa.”

These sorts of stories do quite a lot to help those political forces which oppose greater cooperation with Europe, and to discourage people who want to accomplish worthwhile things in a legitimate and honest way.

2 comments:

T K Vogel said...

No, corruption at the EAR? Quick, I must tell my friends -- they're not going to believe me! The EAR??!

Eric Gordy said...

And the nose and the throat as well!