Francis Fukuyama speaking to Rudaw on June 27, 2023. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An American author said last month that the Kurdistan Region should build its own state in order to fight corruption, adding that the state should recruit people with knowledge and skills.
“I think that one of the most effective ways [to fight corruption] is actually to build your own state in Kurdistan, and by a state I mean just people - people with the right knowledge, skills. It is what we call state capacity. And that state should not be linked to the functional politics within Kurdistan,” Francis Fukuyama told Rudaw’s Diyar Kurda on June 27.
“It should be a permanent bureaucracy of people who are recruited for their merit and skills and have the knowledge to actually run the organs of government effectively. And I think that is what will displace the kind of patronage politics and the corruption that is the characteristic of places like Kurdistan,” he added.
Corruption is deep-rooted in the government institutions in the Kurdistan Region.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has pledged to fight corruption through digitalization of its institutions but little result has been seen so far.
Rampant corruption plagues all levels of the Iraqi state as well.
UNAMI head Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said last year that “I think the challenge is corruption. In the absence of tackling corruption, any attempts to push for serious reform will not succeed.”
“I think that one of the most effective ways [to fight corruption] is actually to build your own state in Kurdistan, and by a state I mean just people - people with the right knowledge, skills. It is what we call state capacity. And that state should not be linked to the functional politics within Kurdistan,” Francis Fukuyama told Rudaw’s Diyar Kurda on June 27.
“It should be a permanent bureaucracy of people who are recruited for their merit and skills and have the knowledge to actually run the organs of government effectively. And I think that is what will displace the kind of patronage politics and the corruption that is the characteristic of places like Kurdistan,” he added.
Corruption is deep-rooted in the government institutions in the Kurdistan Region.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has pledged to fight corruption through digitalization of its institutions but little result has been seen so far.
Rampant corruption plagues all levels of the Iraqi state as well.
UNAMI head Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said last year that “I think the challenge is corruption. In the absence of tackling corruption, any attempts to push for serious reform will not succeed.”
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