Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer
Robert Cerasoli, inspector general of New Orleans, backs strong enforcement of law with heavy fines. "Take it out of their pockets," he says.

Tyrone Reid, Enterprise Reporter

As the country seeks new ways to win the war against corruption, inspector general of the United States city of New Orleans, Robert Cerasoli, recommends that the offices of the contractor general and auditor general be merged.

Cerasoli believes the integration of both offices, as well as the formation of an inspector general's office in the civil service, would boost the nation's chances of eliminating corruption.

The New Orleans inspector general also believes tackling major issues such as campaign finance head on would be a step in the right direction.

"You have to know where the politicians are getting the money from. And they shouldn't be doing business with the people who are giving them money," he asserts. Campaign financing is also an unresolved issue in the US political system.

In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Gleaner, Cerasoli posits that the splintering of the functions geared towards prohibiting and unearthing corruption makes the process less efficient.

" ... It would be a coordinated approach, because in the United States, the inspector general ... has jurisdiction over contracts ... (and) also has jurisdiction over auditing," he states.

One-stop shop

Cerasoli explains that the offices of the contractor general and auditor general perform most of the core functions of the inspector general. Cerasoli also points out that his office has law-enforcement powers.

"All of those things fall into the realm of an inspector general ...

"So, the concept of the inspector general that I put forth would include all of those things; dealing with contracts, audits, inspections and criminal investigations," Cerasoli argues.

He continues: "So, an inspector general would be sort of a one-stop shop for doing the kind of work of prevention and detection of fraud, waste, of abuse and illegal acts."

Cerasoli also lauds the idea of a special prosecutor, a plank of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party's strategy to enhance public-sector transparency.

"That's fine, because you need to be able to have someone that has got the willingness to prosecute the cases that are found by the other entities," he comments.

Cerasoli was in Jamaica on a three-day visit sponsored by the US Department of State and facilitated by the US Embassy's Public Affairs Section, to discuss ethics, corruption and governance issues.

Cerasoli also gives two thumbs up to the application of punitive sanctions against persons who breach established guidelines: "You have to have enforcement with strict fines, people have to be fined; not necessarily criminal enforcement but civil enforcement - take it out of their pockets."

Conflict of interest

He strongly believes that public officials should resist doing business with the Government, suggesting that public officials "should be paid enough money that they are doing the job for the people ... they should never do business with the Government because it is a conflict of interest."

Cerasoli says there are a number of similarities between New Orleans and Jamaica. He reveals that since becoming inspector general in September 2007, he has faced stiff opposition from government functionaries who have tried to prevent his office from hitting the ground running. Similar to Jamaica, a culture of public-sector secrecy exists in New Orleans.

He also notes that members of the public who file access requests, which are equivalent to the Jamaican Access to Information paradigm, often receive no response. In New Orleans, the government has 72 hours to respond, but in Jamaica, the lawmakers, some of whom form the government, have given the State 30 days in which to respond.

Cerasoli, who holds a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University, says the eradication of public-sector corruption can be effected in the medium term.

"It will take time, but it can happen incrementally. It can happen within five to 10 years. There are people who do not want this to change because they are making a lot of money," he states.

tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com