(December 11, 2002) An appeals court in Lesotho has suspended a $2.2m (£1.4m) fine against the Canadian engineering firm at the heart of an alleged bribery scandal.
The long march against graft
(December 10, 2002) Of all the challenges facing China’s new and largely untested leadership, none is more critical to the survival of the Communist party than containing rampant official corruption. Minxin Pei.
‘Free Iraqis’ meet in Washington to discuss reconstruction
(December 10, 2002) The participants agreed that Iraq’s debts are of two types: civilian debts […] and military debts. […] Military debts should be renegotiated because they were incurred by a government that was not representative of the population.
Lesotho corruption trial: Sole’s applications dismissed
(December 18, 2002) The Lesotho High Court dismisses three applications brought by the former head of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority challenging his conviction for multi-million rand bribery and fraud.
Cleaning up has been far from easy
(December 6, 2002) When the Thai economy collapsed in 1997, many business leaders and their urban middle class employees believed that politicians had failed them.
Thailand doubts it will be ready for Lao energy in 2006
(December 6, 2002) Thailand has admitted it may not have the transmission lines in place by 2006 to handle a negotiated power export from Laos.
Three Gorges engineer hails critics of the dam
The chief engineer of the Three Gorges Corporation has heaped praise on opponents of the world’s biggest dam, calling their "different voices and views" an invaluable contribution to the success of the project.
A light for Laos out of poverty: Nam Theun 2
(December 5, 2002) But the hydroelectric dam will only go ahead if Thailand buys its power and the World Bank guarantees international investors for their foray.
Powerful new corporation plans more Yangtze megadams
(December 5, 2002) China’s newest power giant, created with much fanfare in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People in September, aims to finance not only the completion of the Three Gorges project on the Yangtze River but also the construction of many more huge dams upstream, a respected Chinese publication reports.
European [Investment] Bank dilutes transparency
(December 5, 2002) The European Investment Bank, the development funding arm of the EU, is likely to find its new transparency rules do not satisfy social and environmental campaigners.
MoI plans 200-MW hydro-electric plant in Quang Nam
(December 2, 2002) The Ministry of Industry (MoI) is seeking government approval to build the 200-MW Dak My 4 hydroelectric plant near the Dak My River in Vietnamese central Quang Nam province, at a cost of VND3,500 billion
($229 million). The time to kick off construction was not announced.
Ending Vietnam’s hydro threat to Cambodia’s Mekong tributaries
(November 30, 2002) The loss of lives and uncompensated damage to property, riverside crops, and fish catches, is the tragic outcome of a deliberate and economically flawed hydro development strategy.
‘World’s greatest air-conditioner’ gives rise to a lot of hot air
The extent to which the huge Three Gorges reservoir will affect the climate in the region is the hot topic at the centre of a perplexing series of contradictory statements issued recently by the corporation building the dam.
Timeline for the dam
(November 27, 2002) A guide to what’s happening when in the Three Gorges project construction schedule.
U.S. jury may quiz Kaijuka
(November 23, 2002) Richard Kaijuka, former World Bank associate director, may face a U.S. grand jury set over the US$10,000 bribery scandal concerning the 250MW US$550m Bujagali power project, reports Alfred Wasike.
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