Down with bribes A RECENT survey reveals some of the difficulties small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face with government authorities when setting up and operating businesses, Niveen Wahish reports. "We are now discussing an issue that was a taboo a few years back," this is how Gamal Abdel-Gawad, director of the polling centre at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS), summed up the importance of a recent survey examining how SMEs view transactions with government administrations. A joint venture between the ACPSS and the Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), the survey is part of a CIPE programme for combating corruption and promoting transparency in SMEs. Surveying SMEs based in the Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said, Gharbiya, Daqahliya and Minya governorates showed that corruption goes both ways, and that there is a supply as well as a demand side to corruption. For example, it revealed that 7.6 per cent of the companies surveyed were ready to pay money and give out "gifts" to make sure their paperwork went smoothly, while 37 per cent were willing to adapt to whatever was needed. In the meantime, 13.5 per cent wanted to resist paying bribes and 42 per cent said the thought of paying bribes had not crossed their mind. The end result was that those willing to adapt paid the most, thus stressing that those who actually paid are the ones which had the tendency to pay in the first place. Unexpectedly, those who did not pay bribes finished their business in less time and with fewer procedures while the process took longer for those who paid bribes. This, Abdel-Gawad said, could be attributed to the fact that the latter group's papers were not complete or they were not compliant to the rules -- and that this was the reason why they needed to pay bribes to establish their business to begin with. To deal with such problems Ahmed Darwish, minister of administrative development, said that the less contact between service providers and the public, the less corruption there will be. He added that the simpler the procedure, the less authority a civil servant has. Darwish stressed that citizens must stand up for their rights and complain when there is a need so that problems are tackled. The survey itself stressed that corruption can be limited by simple steps such as disseminating information about the process needed to establish a project and clarifying and revising regulations to do away with any outdated or necessary procedures that complicates the process. Talking travel EGYPT joined the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Tourism Committee as a regular observer last month. Sherine Shoukry reports on the international organisation's initiative to open up its doors to developing countries as observers. According to Adla Ragab, economic advisor to Zoheir Garana, minister of tourism, the tourist sector has been affected the most by the financial crisis, "but also it is one of the sectors able to recover the quickest," she said during a workshop that was lately held in Cairo to discuss the aspects of cooperation between the Ministry of Tourism and the OECD. One aspect of cooperation is a two-year programme that will be implemented by the ministry in collaboration with the OECD with the aim to develop a culture of evaluation of tourist policies in Egypt. Other programme activities include tailored education and training for the tourist sector, climate change issues and an in-depth review of tourist policies in the country. According to Alan Dubira, deputy chairman of the OECD Tourism Committee, there is a very proactive agenda in Egypt to advance human resources which are considered the main engine to improving any sector including tourism. "Along with the human element comes marketing, transportation facilities, safety and investment as the main drivers to a flourishing tourist industry in Egypt," said Hisham Zaazoue, first assistant to the minister of tourism. Nevertheless, maintaining a balance between tourist activities and preservation of nature is a must. According to Tarek Danish, assistant to the chairman at Orascom Hotels and Development, the Orascom group has launched the Green Gouna Hotel Label Project where hotels are faced with stricter auditing and higher standards if they want to obtain a green label, which certifies they have met the environmental standards set by the group. "Gouna is only a pilot project. We hope to take this project to other destinations to develop eco-friendly tourism," he said. In order for the tourist sector to survive the current economic crisis, the government needs to have a more focussed agenda that incorporates elements of economic intelligence, development, research, innovation and upgrading the quality of services and human resources. "The government and the private sectors are partners in this and coordinating their roles is crucial," said Dubira. Cementing partnership AS PART of the European Commission's (EC) support for socio-economic development, Klaus Eberman, head of the EC delegation in Egypt, visited on Monday the Minya cement plant, one of Suez Cement's five production facilities. "The plant is believed to play a major role in developing nearby residential areas through its corporate social responsibility [CSR] activities," said Eberman. "CSR is part of our core business strategy. Efforts are also focussed on improving the company's performance in terms of safety, environment and social responsibility," said Mohamed Fathi, the plant manager. The plant has earlier implemented the "Zero Accidents" programme to upgrade professional safety. It has also been partnering with local institutions, NGOs and United Nations agencies to support the local community. In addition to offering two scholarships, amounting to 40,000 euros to the best young engineer graduate of Minya University, the company is also providing some 3,757 children with educational and food assistance to encourage their families to continue sending them to school. The Minya plant was established in 1991 and is ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified. All about executives THE AMERICAN University in Cairo (AUC) organised a reception this week to honour participants of its executive development programme to be held in Chicago next July. The AUC Executive Development Programme (EDP) is a partnership between AUC and Kellogg School of Business in the US, designed to give executive education to business leaders in Egypt and the region. Participants enrolled in a two-week education seminar that was organised by the International Executive Education Institute (IEEI), established in 2008 by AUC School of Business, Economics and Communication (BEC) with a mission to enable current and future business leaders to master the necessary tools to grow their businesses in a challenging global environment. According to Ghada Howeidi, director of the IEEI, Kellogg-AUC EDP is the institute's biggest programme this year. "We are implementing the programme in Egypt and the region in cooperation with a number of international corporations and institutes," she said.
