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  • Reasonable Reform Request

    REASONABLE REFORM REQUEST

    http://asbarez.com/116774/reasonable-reform-request/
    Wednesday, November 27th, 2013

    BY GAREN YEGPARIAN

    I recently attended a program where the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund
    (HAAF) was discussed.

    The organizers pointed out flaws in the work of the organization,
    mostly in its form, and saw corruption manifested through those flaws.

    There is no question that corruption is rampant in the Republic of
    Armenia and throughout the former USSR. It should come as no surprise
    that the HAAF could be susceptible to some of that.

    Of course it is obvious that the HAAF does important work in
    our homeland. So there's a dilemma. How to continue reaping the
    benefits of this effort while minimizing its problems, in this case,
    corruption? This applies even to the APPEARANCE of corruption which can
    harm the organization's credibility and ability to perform its duties.

    Someone came up with an excellent suggestion at the close of the
    program.

    It turns out that quite a few members of our two republics' governments
    sit on the board of the HAAF. The number cited during the program
    was thirteen, (though at least some of those individuals are not
    government officials, despite being part of the homeland's current
    power structures). This serves no purpose. Guidance as to what
    projects the HAAF should undertake can be delivered to its board of
    trustees from the governments without the membership of government
    officials. No board would undertake any other projects, unless some
    extremely outlandish idea was presented. This creates a good check,
    a counterbalance, to the inherent power and influence of government.

    One of the key ideas presented in the ethics trainings I have to go
    through because I serve on local government-appointed boards is that
    even the APPEARANCE of a conflict of interested is problematic. In
    the case of the HAAF's Board of Trustees, we have at a minimum the
    APPEARANCE of potential corruption. Why not eliminate that appearance
    since no substantive purpose is served by the presence of government
    officials? Leave in place the various organizations' representatives
    and noted business leaders. Let them do their jobs.

    If the presidents of our two Republics were to be named as "honorary
    co-chairs" or some other such title for the sake of conveying
    the importance of HAAF, I could see that. Otherwise, the petition
    (born of the event I mentioned above) requesting this change in the
    composition of HAAF's Board of Trustees is something I plan to sign.

    I hope you two will sign the petition when it is circulated.



    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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