Anti-corruption bill 'useful'

(ANSA) - Rome, March 31- The government's anti-corruption bill, now nearing approval after being bogged down for two years, is "very useful but does not have miraculous effects," anti-corruption czar Raffaele Cantone told a conference Tuesday.
    It would be a "mistake," he said, to give the impression that "the bill can wipe out corruption".
    "The bill is very important but a well-designed code of contract bidding is a lot more use to stem corruption than raising penalties".
    Speaking on the sidelines of a conference organised by the anti-corruption authority and the OECD on guarding Expo 2015 contracts, Cantone insisted that the bill which will hit the Senate floor Wednesday is not a panacea because the fight against the corruption epidemic is not waged by "repressive measures alone".
    As for the bidding code, Cantone added, the framework of new rules is being put into another government bill.
    "The underlying idea," he said, "is to cancel structures run by commissioners and ad hoc procedures". "That book has to be closed, and another one opened".
    Cantone and Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan recently unveiled what they called a decalogue of 10 rules to try to address a seemingly endless stream of corruption scandals. The 12-page directive aims to prevent graft and kickbacks in public contracts and State-owned firms.
    It calls for the corporate life and operating decisions of State companies to be made public, the rotation of managers and executives, stringent conflict-of-interest rules, a map of at-risk areas, and protection for whistle-blowers.
    The new rules will be applied immediately to unlisted firms that are directly controlled by the economy ministry, and will be extended to listed ones after consultation with Consob stock market watchdog agency.
    They will affect companies that are strategic to the Italian economy, such as ANAS roads and highways operator, ENEL power utility, ENI oil and gas giant, Expo world's fair manager, Finmeccanica aerospace and defence giant, the Italian Investment Fund, Ferrovie dello Stato national railway company, Poste Italiane post office, RAI public broadcaster, and SOGEI information and communications technology company.
    The 'decalogue' is meant to become a blueprint for regional and municipal public companies as well.