|
Wednesday, July 24, 2002
Transparency in government
By Felino Santos
A CITY councilor has proposed that the City Government computerize its operations to ensure transparency in the service and in the doings of City Hall.
The councilor has a good idea there but the question is, how many in government gives a hoot to transparency?
Computerization will call for the establishment of a local area network or interconnecting vital city government departments like the city treasurer office, licensing, budget, engineer's office, city health, the City Council and some others.
Such computerization would mean that outsiders, or non-city government personalities or the public could have access to city government files. This would mean that the public would be able to read what at the moment is TOP SECRET or FOR YOUR EYES ONLY information of the city government.
Until today, all answers to inquiries of the city government fall on the realm of mere allegations. No one can say that an official is lying or not. His or her word is enough or is the law.
The public has no way of checking that what is being fed the citizenry are falsehoods or lies.
In the long time ago, a former top city official was boasting that the City Government had millions of pesos to its credit. This claim was denied by new officials who occupied City Hall. In short, these officials were not talking about the same time or that they were only lying to the people.
For example, if we ask the city government how much money is being wasted in the travels of certain officials in the city, we doubt if the officials concern will tell us true figures.
If we want to find out, how much exactly is the government earning in this city, no one will bother to give us certified figures because some of those who are supposed to be telling us the truth have been proved to be liars sometimes.
Last month, we learned that the city health office was without any medicines for the simple reason that the City Government did not release any money to buy the drugs. It appeared that the City Government did not have the P3 million supposed to be allocated for the purpose. We only learned about the shortage of medicine because the city health officer made a slip of the tongue and told the truth.
If the City Government did not have the money to buy the medicines, what other basic services are denied the public for the simple reason that no money is available for the purpose.
It will be very hard for the public to keep track of the goings on in this city. It will be hard to check about the whereabouts of money or how the money is being spent because records are still being kept on paper or if these are kept in computers, these are not for public viewing.
Without computerization and the storage of vital information in computer system, it will be hard to find things of interest for the people.
Last February, the Americans donated several big boxes of sports equipment to the City Government. For reasons still unknown, the boxes were sealed right at the Edwin Andrews Air Base and reportedly brought to the City Sports Office for safekeeping.
Months came and went and we heard nothing about how the US donated sports equipment was distributed to a very sport conscious people of Zamboanga, The Americans are about to leave town and they have no idea where the sports equipment went.
We made some inquiries and we got no definite answers.
Computerization will prevent the hiding of some secrets in certain closets in Zamboanga. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
|
