Topic: Governments and their irrelevant projects just to steal public funds (Read 648 times)

The development of government projects that are not on target is of course because people from the government want the project to be implemented and they can get payment from those who work on the project. When an agreement has been reached from both parties, the project is started without analyzing the long-term benefits. long term and most of these projects cannot be completed properly, of course this is very detrimental to the country because they only think about their own group, not the benefits of the people at large.

I do agree that every nation has its own problems that could be similar to this, so many people do think that it should be local, but considering how many of us all have the same problem, it is not really about a single government. You can broaden the situation so much that it is basically every single nation.

Rich people live such a rich life that they are not even paying taxes that they should be paying and in return they get even richer, while the government is corrupt so they are taking way more taxes than they should and half of that money or more is gone towards the pockets of the politicians, so that means if rich are not paying for it, the people of the nation end up paying for all of this and gets even poorer every single year. This isn't one nation, this is the whole world.

This is called still with tricks, this behaviour are prevalent in corrupt countries, before the government of any nation will decide to reprint or rebrand a countries currency many things will be considered and would have been consultation, government don't just and the central bank of any country do not act just like that there should be many things that should be done, a project or idea that does not have economic important should not see the light of the day in civilized and transparent world, I have always said it that most African nations are not ripped to be independent because of the way they think, there are many pressing needs of the people why embarking on meaningless projects that will involve unnecessary expenses for your selfish reasons.

Op this is intentionally done by our so called leaders with the help of the central bank Governor to embezzle funds and lunder it through the printing process, many project has passed through the necessary process in the parliament severally and the funds approved too but execution has always been they problem, we really need miracle to get things right in many African nations 

New notes are designed based on public demand.  Again, the government or the bank can change the design of the currency for any reason.  Sometimes changes are made in the design of coins to enhance the quality of old coins.  In order to prevent counterfeit currency.  But reading your topic it is clear that the government wants to implement a big project to manage the design of the currency.  The above reasons may be for the benefit of the people.  But it is different in case of corrupt government.  The corrupt government is not talking about various schemes and taxing the people and stealing their money.

Basically, development is important, but what needs to be paid attention to is the long-term benefits because usually the projects that are built are often not on target. The government has a clear map for making breakthrough steps, but they ignore accuracy so that whatever projects are built do not meet the needs required. Corruption is increasingly rampant and the government only thinks about its group compared to the wider community, these are the characteristics of a country that does not have leaders who are sensitive to the people below.

Corruption is quite a detrimental act, but the government is often caught up in this problem. The public does not have access to make reports and instead corruption is discovered because of reports from opponents of the government in power. Not everyone who works in government likes corruption, but most of them are trapped in this problem for various reasons.

When the government of a certain country understands that her citizens are hoarding alot of her currency, making little to be in circulation. They might want to redesign their currency, such that everyone hoarding the currency will release.

Some people come here without knowing how wide here is. They might think it is just one of the many groups in their country. They will begin to drop undertail issues happening in their country.

Well, it's common in most developing countries and that's why it's no longer a secret thing that whether there's project or none, there's always the commission behind that project and thats' what kick back is called.

That's another one, getting contractors for the infra projects and pay them cheaper and the contractors will use sub standard materials whilst the budget, the actual one for funding remains the same. But since the contract is lessened, the excess budget will go to you know.

It seems that activities like this have become a normal thing in every government, they use funds that can increase in value but the quality of the goods is not of the quality they originally planned. Many governments really like corruption, as long as they have the opportunity to do it and it is not known to many people, it will continue to be carried out. As long as the people can gather all the available evidence, officials who are proven to have committed corruption will be dealt with clearly. Because basically corruption is an act that is very detrimental to the country.

It is very obvious and understanding that politicians has hijacked the Joy and the development of citizens so I believe we have to understand that politicians based on their own selfish interest and they have different strategies to still a public funds based on there are the one in charge of that particular office so if we look at the faces of politicians today or depend on them I don't think that will be able to make out something good for ourselves, that is we need hustle and not depend on government, when you are self employed you can not be reasoning of government and its facilities

And the gap will continue to increase because even the poor do not want to help themselves. and the rich are always manipulating situations to get richer and give themselves deals the corruption of the world is based on the benefits of some individuals and they are intertwined in working with the government, if not, they will find it very difficult to do what most of them are doing, and things like this won't stop now and it is left for the middle class and the poor to look for ways of surviving, In countries like ours, you will see a lot of abandoned projects. It is as if every government has its own plan.


if you look at the extent to which politicians are just too smart to steal money, you will know that politicians are people you are supposed to be scared of because  there are projects that are not even in progress and they have collected money and spent it, and since it is a fair share, nobody is holding anybody responsible for anything, and that is why such acts is even continuing. Politics is one of the most corrupt games I have ever seen. They don't give a damn about anything they want, whether it is money or how they will spend it, and even if the poor are not trying, there are privileges they can also enjoy, starting with providing jobs and opportunities, but they don't see other people as a priority, which is why the number of unemployed people is increasing, That is what they want.

Agree into this one and i would be pin pointing on where they are making some huge money..

1. Destroying fine road and reconstructing it
2. Unnecessary travel funds without clear purpose
3. Lottery easy winners
4. Departmental budget overprice on units and other supplies
and many more...

I think we are living on the same country. Which country you are from?
It is really indeed true that it is really just that truly sad that taxes aren't that able to be put up on the right way.

Infrastructure development is quite crucial in efforts to improve and accelerate the economy of a country and its people. However, if this development is not monitored properly, there will always be individuals who try to take advantage of this opportunity to obtain maximum profits from the projects planned and implemented. and apart from having a supervisory body, we as a society also have the same obligation and role to always monitor so that development carried out by the government runs well.

And corruption has always been a frightening specter for government agencies, because apart from being detrimental to state finances, their presence can also hamper a country's economic growth. Because if a country finds that there are many cases of corruption committed by government officials, this will be a special consideration for foreign investors who want to invest in that country, because clearly the presence of corruptors is a loss for investors.

Very rampant here in our country on which it is one or included into those most corrupt countries on which its not really that shocking anymore that these government officials or to those who are in position
would really be using up their power to take advantage to get that huge chunks specially on peoples taxes on which making out some projects which ended up on sub-standard because of trying out to slice up some part of the budget on which it causes up for those development to be ended up on be in poor quality or built. Its not something new anymore but is there something that we can do? There's none.

No one would really be able to stop them not unless if the administration would really be completely changed up with something leader which isnt that corrupt and trying out to handle up well everything into
his vicinity. It is really just that sad to think that tax payers are the ones or simply the people or citizens cant really be able to benefit out on those taxes that they had been able to pay up.
Well thats how reality works and there's nothing we can do about it.

The government officials from those countries are taking advantage of the fake projects for infrastructures or any type of project that they can have their kickback.
It's sad that it became a norm and the people can't do shit against these corrupted government officials as they've been put into there through votes but I think there's still the bigger power from the people that they can get kicked if they do it altogether.

In the case of the Philippines, historical revisionism and the fast-dropping value of the currency that they have.

In the Philippines, there is a certain political cabal that the current administration is highly against, given the fact that this cabal was responsible for them getting ousted of power in the past and the current president's father getting kicked out of the Philippines. The son is now doing everything in his power to revise history to make it seem as though his father was the hero all along, even though their family literally embezzled billions of dollars of taxpayer's money, killed dissidents who dared to call them out on their bullshit, and silenced the media to make sure they don't look bad on it. That includes changing the appearances of the bills, with an attempt to change the 500-Peso bill's appearance which initially boasts the very mug of the power couple that kicked them out of their tyrannical seat of power.

Oh, and yeah, the Philippine Peso is quickly losing its value, wherein the exchange rate was around 46 pesos per dollar back in 2016, to a whopping 56.80 pesos now, the hypothesis of many local economist is that the government and the central bank do this to give the people the false sense of value, as newer currency appearances and denominations make it feel like the people aren't really losing anything of the sort.

There's so may like this in our country which is considered a third world country, the ombudsman and the auditor of our country can be bribed which is why  there are unfinished and sub standard works like the national road and highways and there are a lot of white elephant projects, these are the corrupt official cash cow.
One of the biggest corruption by our government official is selling our rice buffer stock intended for calamities at a   much lower price.

Corruption and money laundering is very rampant in a third world system because the officials can be bribe, officials enrich themselves and use their position to make money.

This is the reason why on a third world country there are so many poor people and the gap between poor and the rich is very wide, the projects intended for projects for infrastructure are pocketed by corrupt officials.

Unfortunately, this is not a new thing in my country. I'm living on a third world country which is even listed on the top corrupted countries of the world; a title no one will be prouf of, no doubt. It is  major and long existing problem to be honest. A new leader won't aid it in a single term, and it will also be needing consistency not only for the official but also to the citizens of a country. For sure this is evident to many countries and I just wish I will live enough to see betterment in my country's economic situation.
Indeed, some of the projects are really helping its people. It is just the fact that officials are putting higher price to the actual project cost to bag on their own. Not all officials are corrupt and that is absolutely correct. And when it comes to project approval, it is also true that before it got signed, there will be needing different sector's support. We have ways actually, but if not all people would vote the rightful politicians then things won't change to be honest and that's the sad reality of some country's governments. Situations are that bad that corruption is being normalized and accepted by people as a non-stop problem to all countries.

What you said is a fact. It’s rare to see government officials who are giving public service genuinely without hidden personal desires. Majority are still focused not on the outcome of the projects, but on the amount of commission they will gained after building the projects. Sadly, some people are still blind about this, or they really are aware but they can’t do nothing to stop this corrupt officials from stealing the public funds. Except for those few who really are true to their services.

Digital is better because there is no hassle on keeping it but they can get tracked with it. For this, decentralized and anonymous currencies like cryptos can win here. Maybe he is only living in a cave for him to be surprised on these shady doings or it's just that he is lucky to live in a place where there are no such things like this (corruption). That's nice then and many wishes that they can also experience a life like that.

Moving on, state parties can cheat, this is why there are so-called "elections" for the people choose if which parties they think are honest. They only need to resist the temptation of being bribed, if they are that type of person.

First of all I don't agree with you that the project is neither boosting the economy nor the currency value. These projects are approved in plenty of stages and we can't assume that everyone involved in our government is corrupt.

Secondly if it's the case then your should look at the law of your country and try to get the point how you can raise voice against it in a lawful manner. It's very important to obey the rules and regulations of any country because everyone will do what he/she thinks is right then it'll lead to catastrophic damage.

The design of these new naira notes have led alot of Nigerians to suffer during that time. They have their money in their bank account, but were not given access to it. and they need it.   Some even have the old notes in hand cash but seem useless because federal government declared it void and outdated. They were just moving from one point to another looking for who to give it to.
And the funniest part of it is that, those that have little opportunity to help them to change the old notes with the new naira notes did it but they did business, and on a very significant percentage.
  And the worst of it all and the most painful of it is that, at the end of the day, all efforts seem in vain, because uptill now, I have not seen any significant development.


 Innovation and renovation is good but before then, there are certain factors that need to be taken good look at. For example; before a government should start a project, he or she should consider some factors like inflation and deflation, recession and others. Even those that are going to be given the contract to, all of them need proper supervision. material to be used in doing the project need to be checked for reliability and lack of reliability in them. the sincerity of the government and all others that are involve in the work need to be known.
 And also the effects of the project to the masses and country herself. it's advantages and disadvantages to the masses should be checked and balanced for smooth and efficient going.
And after all of the above have been putting into consideration, then, masses should be enlightened about it and they shouldn't be left in darkness.

When it comes to government funds, misuse is the rule. But I can only speak for my own country. It's brazenly obvious here how government officials don't really care about service or the people. They only care about making money and making themselves popular.

Government officials here don't care whether projects are irrelevant, superfluous, substandard, not even needed at all, or unfinished. What's important is that they make money out of them and they can use them to market themselves. Billions and billions are wasted and pocketed in the process.

Every now and then, we also change the design of our currency. One feature is added here, another there. But they're all useless.

same here, especially when I see that even those in low positions like city officials do wrong and steal the funds of the barangay, what's more if they have been elected to a higher position, right? Once again, they are doing the same projects even uf there's nothing need to fix just so they can say they have done something, as if the people of the town don't think, so now we should get to know better those officials who will run in the next election to reduce having a corrupt governmenr officials.

I understand what you mean OP, but alot of people do not get it clear as you didn't provide enough details to what the discussion is about. But for people like that understands I will definitely contribute to the said topic.

Most times I repeat this statements that in every decision taking by some government, there is a shadow party somewhere. Governments sometimes creates projects that could fetch the cartels millions in there pocket over night especially at the end of their tenure and if watched closely this case which you are specifically referring to was conducted at the end of their tenure, it's typical a means to milk the country before leaving the position of executive president.

Since I have come to understand that the country is beginning to look like a joke to the elites I have made decisions not to give ears to whatever strategy that they will develop.

This is not surprising really as this is very visible in every country. As much as we want to put responsible leaders on their respective positions, but majority still fall on being greedy and trying to make use of their position to satisfy their personal interests and desires. And making projects that are quite unnecessary or overpriced is probably one of their strategies to steal some government funds, and I think citizens are aware of it. But since they are not in the position to stop these irresponsible leaders, that’s why this kind of habit is still practice up to these days.

This can indicate priorities that may not be in line with urgent economic needs. The enormous expenditures spent on the currency’s makeover may seem irrelevant and insignificant, especially when basic infrastructure projects or local community development programs are neglected. In most developing countries, there is a serious challenge in resource allocation resulting in inefficiency. Drawing a conclusion that this implies the government endorses money laundering as its strategy of theft of public funds is quite a leap.
Public accountability is an important factor that can help alleviate suspicion, but secrecy and lack of transparency in public funds management can increase mistrust. Also, if wasteful expenditures are carried out without clear accountability, this might result in the loss of social benefits as well as undermine the economic growth of the country.

There is a need to enhance transparency and accountability in the use of public money, and government expenditure should be based on society’s genuine needs and the country’s economic situation.

As far as I know the impact is more in underdeveloped countries. With the increase in economic activities the level of financial terrorism has also increased tremendously. All developed and underdeveloped countries are victims of financial terrorism. Illegal money transactions have increased in most of the countries and at the same time illegal money is being used in various illegal activities.

At this point, any project that a known corrupt government presents will always be deemed as something negative. I can't blame the people as they're the ones experiencing poverty and hardships in the first place. They know the struggle more than anyone else.

These simple projects often line up huge money for those who are in charge especially if there is a system to which they can siphon the public funds effectively. I often see such projects here in the Philippines as well. They don't really amount to anything for the public, but they are done nonetheless to make people think that the government is using the public's money for the public.

Rebranding is good for a government but it should be in the interest of the masses because a government cannot just take sudden decisions that will affect the people negatively. Literally, every government is expected to do things that will be in agreement with her subjects hence, if a government wants to do something differently from the way it has always been done then they need to follow proactive measures.

It is just so unfortunate that some government uses these medium to succumb public funds all in the name of rebranding and doing projects that even lacks quality and they use inferior materials to run projects but however, it is the duty of the arms of government to make good decisions that will proffer solutions to the country and make judicious use of the country's Treasury and spend every penny accountably rather than spending extravagantly.

IMO government is the biggest scammer out there. It makes you believe the money it produces have value and then prints more behind your back to tax your savings because that's what it is, a tax. Printing makes inflation that makes you lose a part of your savings. I say fuck that, I never agreed to it. What they call money laundering is just you, the user, trying to be anonymous.
That's why we need independent, decentralized currencies, so our money really belongs to us. I don't need the government to tell me what I can buy and how much I can pay.

That's true that majority of tax payers are willing to pay more taxes then to go and ask government about money embezzlement. The main reason is that you need to have a strong background with links everywhere to step into politics, the weaker ones are easily kicked out by old  politicians. It is seen that politicians after gathering money usually left the country and keep there assets in treasurers of Swiss banks. The condition is better in developed countries bur worse in underdeveloped countries. 

The government attempts to adjust exchange rates so that the value of the Nigerian Naira can increase, but the daily depreciation of the Naira remains unaltered. Since the Baba Buhari administration, attempts have been made to create a new money, which even led to a significant number of individuals surfing during that difficult period due to the new notes. They won't print the updated notes when they try to band the old ones.
If the government can merely leave the old note for us to use in order to stay away from criminals, then I think it will be better. Because the design of these new notes makes it very simple for those who want to produce fake money, they won't have to go through a lengthy procedure like they did with the old note before they can do the fake note.

These projects are actually good because they can increase state income, but they do not develop human resources, so even though infrastructure projects are built with grandeur, they do not have an effect on the people. Having good infrastructure makes things easier for people, but because people don't have developed ideas, they can't take advantage of anything. A country is strong if it is seen from the people within that it is able to meet the needs of life and there is no poverty in a much larger aspect, so human resources are also important to develop.

The scale of needs may not be implemented so that the government seems to be imposing its desire to build several large projects. They take taxes from the community and the results are used to develop several strategic projects, but they forget to develop the human resources within them. This error should be corrected so that when the infrastructure is built, the community can use it as well as possible.

Let me start by saying that the first point of the OP in which he talked about the redesigning of the country's currency is certainly not valid because it shows the lack of understanding of the benefits of what is an international practice. But for the second point in which he talked about the corruption through infrastructural development, of course, it is so valid and it happens in many countries of the world. But still, corruption comes in different degrees/forms and infrastructural development might not be the case in some countries if such country is the kind that is strict with auditing when it comes to project allocation and execution.

Nevertheless, as you said, let's assume that such is the case, or generally, we are talking about the corrupt government that is making living difficult for the masses, well, the social medial is power and it's another good medium for people to reach out to the government, only that people do not take it seriously.

Social media attacks have been productive in the past, because that is the way many people can make their voice known, unlike the physical activism that demands your presence, more money and ruggedity. In my country, I've seen the government changing their minds because people called them out on social media in many cases. Even social media is a place where a petitions to be signed by the masses for appropriate bodies to know for subsequent action and sanctions would be known by connecting people to it for a redirect to the petition page. This makes petitions gains more popularity and has helped enough, even to let the powerful people and the highest sanctioning bodies of the world know about what people are facing in the hands of the government and private companies/individuals.

Fiat is indeed easier for any party to embezzle, especially if the money is in cash, so don't be surprised when there are state parties who cheat this for their own benefit by exploiting the power they have at that time. Because projects that exist within the country and are related to the government there will always be more money for the managers so there is no need to be surprised if you ever see something like that in the scope of your own country's government.

It's a major problem for the developing countries that their corrupt government officials are going to do some projects to solve problems that their city and citizens dealing with through infrastructures but little did the people know, they've got some kickbacks. And what they do is that they're connected with the contractors and builders of those infrastructures and they have commission with that. That's how the corrupt goes to make it look like they're real public servant. While in the develop countries, there could still some ways for them to take advantage of their fundings that gives some idea on how to bypass their law and system if they see some loopholes.

the government should have calculated when they rebranded their currency by updating the design of their old currency to the new one. like in my country, so far our government has rebranded their currency 4 times, from one that initially looked old, to something fresher. from what i read, the aim of rebranding this currency is to add several features that will make the currency harder to counterfeit, easier for the blind to recognize, and more durable. i don't know the reason why the government in your country rebranded their currency, but there is definitely a reason behind it all, whether it's good or bad i can't say for sure.

Usually, government projects are only for a small part of the population and isn't going to do much good for the majority. When it comes to government projects the main goal is to make it seem as cheap as possible so there won't be much opposition to it. Once the project started the costs are going to balloon and in there much anybody else can do, because stopping the project would make it seem like a fail and lead to a public outcry. I remember reading about a study that found out that almost all the large-scale government projects in the western world ended up over budget. It's so much easier to make decisions with money that you don't own and I wish there was more oversight over how inefficient politicians are with tax payers’ money. The problem is that most people are not really interested in politics in detail and will accept all the excuses the politicians offer for their high spending.

Can't that be a good strategy to eradicate black money and fight money launderers and other criminals hoarding money from illegal activities and other illicit works they do around the country? If the currency or the notes have been modified, people having cash will need to visit banks to get their funds exchanged and get the new notes, and those who don't do that within a specified date would lose value for the money they have.

When such things happen, people who have stored a lot of money through illegal businesses would barely be able to come out and exchange all their cash for the new ones because that would reveal what they have been doing and how much money they have been hiding.

Changing the design of a country's currency is not to increase the value of the currency but for other reasons, for example for security because the old currency is proven to be easier for criminals to counterfeit because this often happens in my country where counterfeit currency circulates and the public suffers losses because they cannot distinguish between genuine and fake, and also usually changes in images are accompanied by changes in the materials used for printing so that the currency becomes more durable and less easily damaged because better materials are used.
Unfortunately, things like this are often used by corruptors to commit corruption, but actually countries with high levels of corruption do not need things like this to commit acts of corruption, and as citizens we should be able to trust our country's government more even though it is difficult because we know they often commit acts which is detrimental to us small communities.

I believe the answer to the question you asked is always in front of you. The citizens have always shown their dissatisfaction through various means like activism, protests, suing of government, and reporting them to international bodies and allies among others.

However, the right question is, are these working? The answer may be a capital No in most countries. Naturally, if a country has good leaders, there will be no need for the citizens to go that length but to engage the government with constructive and creative ideas that can move the country forward for the common good of all. This means that it will be for the benefit of both the government and the citizens even if the government is bereaved of ideas.

Sadly, irresponsible and corrupt governments will continue to find excuses and get more advanced in how to steal public funds, even as they turn a deaf ear to the cry of the people.

Those who do not dare to openly protest against the government's work and go on social networks to complain are often people who do not understand anything about the country's economy and always like to blame others if they encounter difficulties.

Suppose even if what OP said is true then what is the more important point of this discussion if our opinions don't reach the government or we don't dare to stand up against what they do? If we cannot prevent them or dare not fight them, we should find ways to adapt and save ourselves. Hanging out on the internet and saying bad things about our country doesn't make us any less poor.

If not for corrupt practices, a government sometimes redesigns and restructures their currency if there is a perceived manipulation in the system but it is very bad that most government just bring up means to embezzle government funds all in the name of rebranding or redesigning the country's currency. A country's currency doesn't even need redesigning except in a serious case of compromise or suspicious attempts to manipulate the currency.

Well, have some point. It is really understandable in that part that a government needs to rebrand their design. I think it is also necessary, as time passes, that there should be a new design so that old currency can be exchanged, but this is not just the projects that the government is doing that seem suspicious. I live in a country where I don't trust the government anymore. Well, I don't want to mention anything; it's just that the government in my country is doing unnecessary things and making decisions that are not really needed, or what they did is suspicious, but what can we do? We can just give our opinions; it's not like the government will listen to us because they still have the power and authority. And also, it's hard to criticise them because they might be offended, and it will be a bad idea to do that. What we can do is watch them; we can't do anything.

The government may be wrong on some decisions, but they are not wrong on all decisions, and as citizens criticizing them may be easy, but they are not always wrong. It is not an abnormal thing for the government to change the design on their currency, the problem becomes when it is now done more often.

Changing the currency can force people who have kept money hidden away to come out of hiding, or render the money invested in the production of counterfeit money in mass to be wasted. Government have their reasons that is not always made known to every citizen because it cannot be understood by every common citizen.

I don’t know maybe is happening only in my country, but the government keeps on spending money on things that are not really necessary, what you said happened in my country during the last election, the government changed the currency of the country I don’t think it’s necessary, that’s not what the citizens need at that particular time, but am just surprise why they did that, maybe they will be able to embezzle more money by doing that, but it’s totally wrong to me.

If you see some projects which the government are planning to implement, and the amount which they plan on spending on those projects, then you will stop thing it’s a strategy to steal public funds. Firstly those projects are not what the citizens need at that particular time, secondly the amount which they allocate for those projects are always too much, most of them end up using less than 30 percent of the allocation to work, the remaining amount will be going to their own account.

I do not have very accurate words for that as I do not have an idea of the environment of your country so you may know well better than me but I have kinda idea that the government is putting the public in a big mess as most of the country government come into the power just to fill their own accounts/bags/pockets they really do not care about the middle-class people if in any case, they do some good projects they are just to show off it in front of the public eye just to make clean themselves.

The government should focus on those things that can make the country's economy strong and should bring those projects in the country that offer employment to the unemployed people which as result from these things will happiness in the country and we will see the country growing day by day.

But if I may ask, how can citizens effectively engage the government in that they can curb some of these corruption cases in the financial sector across the world. Because most of us will agree with me that what O.P. said, even though it is peculiar to a country where he probably comes from or resides, it is not out of place for many other countries out there that are suffering from financial corruption in government, where government initiates projects that end up with no true sense of meaning.

A country with almost a zero impact yet allocates humongous amounts of money to such projects which end up not successful or initiated. There are situations where countries leave with moribund projects, much more than completed projects or ongoing projects. How does the society, the citizens, the represented be able to curb this financial corruption in the government system if it is through probing?

How do we effectively probe the government to bring them to an account? Because you do not expect a solution from the same system of government that is engaging in such acts. Rather, I feel like the larger society should be able to have a mechanism or an instrument so strong enough to resolve these issues themselves.

Like you have rightly observed. If you don't create avenues to do project whether elephant projects or kangaroo type then you won't see loopholes to channel stolen money because they have to write them up in expenses to carry out the job. Government doesn't really have that kind of sympathy for the people, they are majorly interested to feed their pocket before coming down to the people but soonest it will be time for another election. This is the circle of what goes on unfortunately.

Governments in a country have different authorities, they work collectively but they don't loot collectively they loot people's funds individually. Mean in a command line, from top to bottom, they don't loot people's money by some planning. There is one fault person in that command line who is greedy and uneducated also, so he do anything for money. This means there are hundreds of projects being approved by the government of a country and then giving the responsibility to different individuals on the command line. Then they start looting the funds assigned by the government.

The point is, overall projects do not always serve the main purpose of looting people's money. But if we talk specifically about the new currency notes, or designs then the method is also different in different countries. In our countries, we still use paper money while in many countries they use plastic notes. The different is huge, the benefit is a lot in plastic notes while paper notes have their own perks The design method is also different. our government set a competition among the designers of the country that they have to submit there designs of new currency notes, and the winner will be awarded with goof amount of money. This method is so cost effective in all ways. But still, those who know how to hide money off the book, they always do it without any doubt.

The particular scenario you describe is often driven by two things: 1) an attempt to reduce counterfeit bills that circulate in the economy and 2) because all notes in the economy will also wear away over time and they need to be refreshed. Depending on the security measures that were put in place on older notes in some countries they are extremely vulnerable to fakes getting into the supply, so new notes are often a remedy with better security features. It can also be used to flush out cash heavy individuals who might otherwise be finding ways to avoid paying tax. The second part is the need to replace damaged and worn notes over time, so why not publish new designs with waves of new notes that enter the economy.

do you know what else is funnier? here in our country, even though the roads and other infrastructure are in good condition, they destroy them and keep plowing to fix them, for what? So that they can show something to the financial department of the country when they pass a financial statement that they used the money and it went to the project which is a big joke because people can see what those who sit in the government are really doing, In that way, they see that the money they can pocket is bigger and the project will be issued as having an exact or overbudget but the truth is that it has already gone to their bank accounts.

In terms of getting benefits from them for them, it is very easy to understand without having to think like the way an expert produces a masterpiece that is useful for the next generation.
The government has power over whatever it wants. They also have colleagues who can be hired in fields they specialize in that are not opposite to theirs.

When we mention the name of the government, in almost all countries, if we follow developments, we always find the negative side is greater than the positive side.

I am no longer surprised by them in how they get what they want even though they have a mission to improve the welfare of the people, but behind it all, a very small percentage of their thoughts focus on the welfare as stated in the vision and mission while leading.
In terms of what you mean, I think you can use your own analysis of what and how it really is.

This whole government "currency redesign" thing? It's a joke. We gotta stop buying into their bull****. They wanna spend money on fancy new paper, but schools are crumbling, roads look like they went through a war, and people can't afford basic healthcare. Totally pointless. This ain't about making things better. They wanna distract you from the real problem: an economy that's on life support. These politicians are playing three-card monte with our future, hoping we're stupid enough to fall for it. We need to be smarter than that.

Imagine what we could do with that money. Train people for real jobs, build stuff that actually benefits society. Help those struggling, give them a chance. Instead, they're pissing it away on some designer version of Monopoly money. Forget the pretty pictures, we need substance. This ain't a left or right thing; this is about common sense and demanding better. We gotta quit being pawns in their game. It's time to hold them accountable. Where's the investment in our future? Where's the real plan to fix this mess? We deserve more than empty promises and shiny distractions.

Yes! It sounds like an useless project. But as long as they do not cancel the existing notes, the spend on this should be minimum. But if the government is planning to cancel the existing notes and replace them with the new currency, then there are bigger game going in the background which is cleaverly disguised.

Governments usually do this kind of stuffs when they need to divert people's mind from a more important issue. Also as you say, it create opportunities for money laundering as well.

I don't know government print money just to spend it on a project and take some funds from it to their pockets but definitely politicians take a cut in every projects that comes under their rule and it just goes as black money into an offshore account and it's happening everywhere not just in the underdeveloped nations.

After implementation of large projects in underdeveloped countries, the impact on the public is much greater.  Because the money spent on these projects is collected from the general public through various types of taxes.  Which is very difficult for the people of a developed country.  Because in an underdeveloped country a citizen struggles to provide for himself and family needs.  There, their lives became more miserable as they had to repay the debt imposed by the government.  Many people do not know that the government has imposed debt on them.  And unknowingly they started paying that day.

Of course there's no change at all for it's value, what they want is how to legally steal the money from the country, so the senior government official will earn a lot money. This is why when there's a competition or contest which created by corrupted government, I'm sure the winner is people who work for the government.

Unfortunately most people who live in corrupt countries are also corrupter

They won't use their vote to get rid of corrupt governments, as long as they get a share, they will shut their mouth.

Oh, Asia, agreed. Still, can you tell me the part of Asia you are talking about? Just to relate what the OP narrated to what is happening or happened
in the country. Regardless, before the last administration in Nigeria towards the time of the general election, the CBN governor did a thing that was believed to be political. He did it so that there would not be an undue advantage for any candidate in a way that would not encourage vote buying that is plaguing the Nigerian electoral system.

He actually changed the face of the national currency towards that time, banned the old notes and made them useless because the old notes were believed to have been hoarded in their trillions at that time. This eventually worked, as it reduced vote buying and even reduced kidnapping which is another epidemic in the country. But there were panics as well due to the careless way he handled it. This caused the whole country to experience a cash crunch and it affected the economy, it was indeed bitting.

I experienced this, which was why know. But this section of the forum is global, how many people would know?

Some countries are far beyond saving at this point. I’ve heard people lose hope for my country because it’s so corrupt and contaminated that no matter who you vote for, there would always be a way for them to cheat and make whoever the richest win.

At this point the only thing to do is to leave the country because almost all politicians that are elected are useless and are only contributing to the problem.

I think you might be talking about the new ZiG (Zimbabwe Gold) currency... right?  Governments will pull any trick out of the hat to protect their power and also to deceive the public.

You can re-brand currencies or create new currencies, but if you do not fix the corrupt government that are the heart of the problem, then you will never have a good and stable economy. 

Use your vote to get rid of corrupt governments.

The post might be more beneficial in the Nigeria local board but some members might also want to know about the economic situation of other countries. Personally, international news attracts me because it helps me to make a comparison with the situation in my country. One of the pitfalls of the original post is that it didn't relate his position to a particular country keeping readers in the dark. Now members are put in a condition where they have to figure out the country he was referring to.

Anyway the redesigning of the Naira not was politically and corruption motivated. Some persons in power didn't want the present president of Nigeria Bola Tinubu to win the election so they wanted to make the currency scarce which would frustrate the ability of his party to buy votes. Fortunately, he had access to other currencies and connections in the Central Bank which aided him in winning the elections.

A special investigation into the Naira redesign showed that it was not the former president Muhamadu Buhari who approved the policy but his powerful nephew and aide Sabiu Tunde. He corroborated with the former CBN governor to siphon government funds through the printing and minting contract and misappropriation of the old notes. It was reported that the contract for the production of the currency was inflated and there was no accurate account of how some of the old were destroyed.

Although there are some benefits of redesigning a country's currency for a country that is going through so many economic problems spending close to $60m on such a project was ill-planned.

My thoughts too although, I think OP don’t want a more local view to the thread but rather, a global take on this, a wholistic approach based on what is obtainable everywhere in the world to relate with how its been done in his or her country and what effects is supposed to have.

A very nice argument mate, of course it’s constitutional and these ought yo be done without having so much of a negative impact on the country. Meanwhile, do developing nations and the underdeveloped country really need this? I mean, it takes a lot of money on expenditure and hardly any profit in return.
Although, this be the case when, it’s not done gradually and calls for an immediate flushing of the old currency.

You know that those things happen if the people seated in the government are corrupt? Governments are not made to steal funds but the people seated there are the ones who do that. Its strategies shouldn't be done in a way to get more money, but to help the public. It just so happens that they want to pocket in return which is evil in every aspect.

What made you post something like this OP? Is it because of the corruption in your country?

OP you should pay attention to what this user has said.
This conversation should take place in your local board where your colleagues from the same country but different provinces will have real life instances of elephants projects made to steal public funds and how the ordinary citizens is exposing them and forcing them to do the right thing. We can't just assume that this is rampant worldwide.

The redesigned of the Nigerian Currency was purely for political reason. It was because the incumbent president or the government as of that time does not want the opposition and some politicians to spend excess money on the electorates. Government does not really get money from the projects they carry out but some they got but the contractors are the once stealing the project money from different ways. Either by inflating the project or construct substandard project toe the public to use while they steal all the money to their pockets. Government stealing is from the construction and not the salarys.

Seriously, people involved in crypto should be the last ones talking about this!
The whole industry is filled with projects that eat billions in users' money just one fancy whitepaper and some graphs and deliver just a cheap useless copy that promised to cure cancer, end world famine and didn't even manage to get listed on an exchange without paying another bribe!

This is one of those moments when this ecosystem whos what's actually wrong in a corrupt government, it's the people that make it, just as the same type of people are ruining cryto and bankrupting investors.

He seems bittered the way he talked and presented this issue on this board.Invariably when the new designed currency is Also not in circulation,it's also serves as a bad sign.They didn't really intend to rebrand the currency for a positive impact,but initially for their own selfish interest and manipulations.
The designed currency instead resulted a into a cash shortage and several economic challenges that they experienced.According to the CBN,the purpose of the currency design was to promote and improve security,cash security against financial losess.Governments usually have thier way to oppress citizens.

Rebranding of currency designs can be acceptable if the country is trying to fight currency hording, but corrupt politicians can suddenly decide to change currency design to steal from the public purse and enrich themselves. When they redesigned the naira, I know that it brought severe hardship to the masses, because they banned the old currency while the new design where nowhere to be seen, a lot of people died while looking for the new designed notes. They eventually unbanned the old notes and funny enough we're still using the old notes till date, so you're left to wonder about what actually transpired in that project. A corrupt government can embezzle public funds in the name of proving a better life for it's citizens, in the end the same masses will become worse off than when they started their scam projects.

This type of thing is not only prominent in Nigeria. I am not sure if OP is nigerian but it also sounded relatable to me and I am from Asia. We have always wondered why the government seemed to prioritize doing useless things over solving actual problems.

They would be renaming a local place or “improving” a tourist spot for no reason at all. It does not improve nor change anything in our economy so we don’t know why they do it. There is a saying in my country that says “you know election is near when they are fixing roads that do not need fixing”  

There are so much things going on behind the scenes that honestly who knows anymore what the government is doing.

Yes this is very much common and one of the highest level of corruption which goes unquestioned and to give you an example wherein roads are laid and dug up within few days for installing some pipelines then the process repeats with different reasons. I think this mostly happens with underdeveloped and developing nations because I had been to Dubai and was really amazed to see how things work there as there isn't much room left for corruption.

Agreed.  I have no idea what OP is talking about exactly, and as is typical for members here, very little details are supplied as to what's supposed to be the topic.  I initially thought this might be about the US government and all of their excess spending on idiotic shit, but apparently not.  That's fine, too since government waste has been a contentious subject likely since the beginning of society and governments.

Rebrand their traditional (fiat) currencies with changes in graphic design, do you have any example?

I know governments and central banks can not be trusted and I know countries like Venezuela wanted to launch their digital currency years ago like Peso, but failed to be accepted by other countries and IMF.

But I did not know countries that make changes in logos of their national fiat currency. If you can give me examples, I appreciate it.
https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/venezuela-to-launch-digital-bolivar-in-october/
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2020/11/11/venezuelas-bitcoin-story-puts-it-in-a-category-of-one/
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/central-bank-digital-currency-evolution-in-2023-from-investigation-to-preparation/

OP, the design and refacing of a countries currency has been a habitual method that is even constitutional, for some countries is after a decade, some after two decades. There are several reasons why a country redesigns their currency note, it can be for a facelift, it can be to discouraged people that have looted the currency and hoarded it for a very long time, it can as well to be to fight against counterfeit notes that might be out there in circulation.  

What gives a countries currency value, is not redesigning of the currency, it is the economic viability of that country. However i don't see redesigning of a countries currency as a valueless project, I see it as a constitutional duty that is done procedurally to keep the countries bill in check.  Currently in ENGLAND they are gradually facing of the the British pounds that carries the image of late QUEEN ELIZABETH and replacing it with the image of KING CHARLES, because they laws allows that.

For me OP, it is not every action that your government takes that you have to criticize, sometimes you just have to look at the policies that government are presenting critically before you start criticizing.

wow, wait. I just found out that this is the flow of the process of how this project makes money, especially when it comes to changes in money bills, because here in our country last year there were like 2 changes in bills graphic designs, so that means nothing they spend here except for what they pay to the employees who makes the bills design, then they will earn a large amount once it is approved and implemented in the economy. If that is what the government department of finance and the central bank are doing, they will get a lot of money, but just like what others have in mind, what is the bearing in the economy of having proper and changes in the bills design?because there seems to be no change in its value....

Honestly, I don't understand what that graphic design edits the op's talking about. Perhaps it's about particular events in a specific country. In that case, sources that provide additional information would be appreciated.
In my country, corruption is a major issue, but there are also strong attempts to fight it, with a lot of arrests and criminal investigations happening lately.
We also kind of have systems that help make the processes transparent, and sometimes public outcry helps against shady decisions.

Rebranding a currency can somehow help the nation but where it's bad is when the old currency is not entirely wipe away while coupling with the new currency. Let say for instances, when there is serious looting in the country and government thinks and suspected there is lack of currency circulation then they have to rebrand their currency and make old currency obsolete where it can't be used and accepted any longer. Is just like what happened to Nigeria and yet the old currency are still in circulation, meaning the rebranding was for a fake and gamed the citizens were they are selling the old currency for cheaper rate in order to get rid away and yet it wasn't, with this we can say it's waste of resources and a failure to the country.

The government launch a design project > their employee joins the event > the government voted their employee to win > the winners get the prize from Ministry of Finance > the employee distribute the reward to the government.

The government didn't spend anything, but they can make money from their own project.

Should I advise you? This kind of discussion should be written in your local thread for effective discussion. Though I don't know your country, nevertheless, you sound like a typical Nigerian. What you wrote will be strange to many people, even to those people living in a poor country because the corruption allegation may not be so obvious/pronounced as much as you alleged in their countries.

Regardless, the two points I can bring out from your allegation are; 1. The change of the currency design and 2. The stealing of infrastructure money.

For the first part, you are so wrong, and it shows that you do not understand economics and national security. Without writing stories or mincing words, just research how many times the USA and some other top countries have changed the face of their currencies in the past 2 decades. You should also research the reasons for that so that you will be rightly enlightened about this.

It is a very good move and a standard international measure if you must know, which reduces counterfeiting, and hoarding, enhances security, and ensures the right monetary policies by ensuring the notes in circulation are truly what the economy needs among others.

As for the second part, if the country leaders are corrupt, of course, infrastructure contracts are the avenue they can hide under to steal. They will inflate the cost in connivance with the contractors. This is a serious problem in corrupt countries.

What would make a government to rebrand their traditional currencies just to edit some graphic designs with excessive amounts of money bills involved to execute such project that doe not mean to brings more values to the currency neither does it boost the economy level of the nation?

Meanwhile such is been an undeveloped country which the implemented bill for such valueless project is big enough to create infrastructures with the potentials of building the masses with valuable skills and otherwise a national financial revenue.

Do we assume it is still one of the money laundering strategies that the government intentionally creates loopholes in other to steal the public funds? Because even after the implementations and execution of Such projects, the same governments clamours that the nation has run out of funds after giving accounts of those irrelevant executed projects.