CORRUPTION CORRUPTION, A UNIVERSAL CURSE

Corruption is a universal curse, found almost everywhere in the world, in the rich as well as poor countries, with the only difference of intensity. Terms like shares, kickbacks and per centage are now used as substitutes for bribery. According to the World Bank, one trillion US dollars are lost each year in the form of bribery. In Pakistan, according to Transparency International’s National Corruption Perception Survey, 2010, Rs. 223 billion are transferred each year from one pocket to another in the form of petty bribery. Many people have now started regarding corruption as their right, because with the passage of time, there is a growing tendency in several societies to accept corruption as a necessary evil. The process of greasing the palm of concerned officials for achieving personal objectives is rapidly gaining strength, and now, it is often said that all is fair in love, war and business. Transparency International’s Bribe Payers Index, 2011 has revealed the fact that the business companies of 28 countries make full use of bribery in their international business transactions. Dutch and Swiss firms pay maximum bribes in the world for gaining international businesses. It is interesting to note that corruption is regarded as an evil in the developed countries, but quite ironically, the business firms of these developed countries often indulge in widespread corruption and bribery in their international business dealings. A glaring proof of this phenomenon is the fact that the 12 of the first 13 countries included in the Bribe Payers Index, 2011 belong to the developed countries. The list of the countries that resort to bribery for promoting their business interests includes five Muslim countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, UAE and Saudi Arabia. With its bribe paying companies for attaining international businesses, India stands at 19 along with Taiwan in this ranking.

A major cause of the growing virus of corruption is that those who freely indulge in it, do not feel any sense of shame and gone are the days when such people had to face social boycott. The facts stated in Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer 2010-11 reveal the fact that the level of corruption is on the rise in most societies of the world. According to it, 58 per cent respondents from all over the world stated that corruption has increased during the last three years. Twenty-three per cent of them remarked that there has been no increase or decrease in the corruption level during the last three years. Sixteen per cent of them were of the opinion that there has been some reduction in corruption during this period. The same survey points out that 77 per cent Pakistanis believe that corruption has increased in the country during the last three years, while 17 per cent of them think that corruption has decreased during this period. Among the seven South Asian countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan) the maximum number of the abovementioned respondents belong to Pakistan. They have stated that there has been increase in corruption in the country. Moreover, 50 per cent Pakistani respondents admitted to have given bribe during the past 12 months. The international image of Pakistan with reference to corruption has been presented in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, 2011. This index is based on the ranking of less corrupt to more corrupt countries. The least corrupt countries are at top positions in this ranking, while the most corrupt countries are at the bottom of the list. Among the 183 countries of the world included in this ranking, Pakistan stands at 134 along with Maldives. Among the South Asian countries, on account of their higher levels of corruption, Nepal and Afghanistan are lower than Pakistan in this ranking.

 Corruption seriously affects the economic growth of the country and undermines the government’s ability to provide basic facilities and services to the people. This situation inevitably leads to a considerable reduction in the flow of foreign investment in the country. United Nations Office for Drugs and Crimes has reported that investment in corrupt countries is 20 times more expensive than in the corruption-free countries. Besides this, corruption severely undermines human development and democracy, as a result of which, there is a sharp reduction in the provision of public welfare services. The reason is that instead of being used for the welfare of the people, resources of the country are spent for personal gains and benefits. In his message on the International Anti-Corruption Day 2009, the UN secretary-general very accurately described the situation resulting from corruption in the following words:

‘When public money is stolen from private gain, it means fewer resources to build schools, hospitals, roads and water treatment facilities. When foreign aid is diverted into private bank accounts, major infrastructural projects come to a halt. Corruption enables fake or substandard medicines to be dumped on the markets and hazardous wastes to be dumped into handfill sites and in oceans. The vulnerable suffer first and worst.’

Perhaps, due to this reason, in the UNDP’s Human Development Index, Pakistan’s ranking is 145th in the 187 countries of the world in terms of human development. Among the eight South Asian countries, its ranking is fifth with reference to human development and it is categorised as one of those countries which have low level of human development. According to the Asian Development Bank, corruption becomes the cause of the wastage of 17 per cent of the country’s GDP, and in the same way, World Bank’s 1998 estimates revealed that corruption in Pakistan was equivalent to ten per cent of the country’s total GDP.

Corruption damages the rule of law, crushes the spirit of democracy and shatters the confidence of the people in their democratic institutions and rulers. For this very reason, according to the Transparency International’s Global Corruption Index, 53 per cent respondents of the world have stated that political parties are involved in corruption. Moreover, 57 per cent of them believe that parliament and other legislative bodies are also corrupt. This situation often leads to the derailment of democracy and Pakistan has experienced it on a number of occasions. In addition to this, corruption has harmful impacts for political stability and economic growth, but even then, we are showing no signs of improvement while combating this evil. In Pakistan, corruption is rampant in development projects and business deals. Getting bank loans written off is also a serious form of corruption. Besides this, the health department of our country is replete with corruption. All of us are fully aware of the widespread corruption in government hospitals, in the sale and purchase of medicines, machines and medical equipment and in the provision of medical services. Substandard medicines, fake medical certificates and the provision of gifts and concessions to the doctors in the name of sales promotion of medicines have become an almost daily routine.

But it should also be remembered that the health sector of our country is not the only victim of corruption. Signs of this evil can be found in developed countries as well. Thus, according to the World Health Organisation, each government of the developed countries suffers an annual loss of $23 billion, on account of fraud and misuse of medical facilities. At the global level, 10 to 25 per cent of public procurement spending (including on pharmaceuticals) is lost to corrupt practices. Corruption in the health sector amounts to directly playing with human lives. For this very reason, the World Health Organisation has warned that infant mortality rate is high in the countries suffering from higher levels of corruption. As a natural outcome of this alarming situation, Pakistan’s ranking is 33rd in UNICEF’s global ranking of 195 countries, with reference to the mortality rate of children under the age of five.

Furthermore, experts are unanimous in their opinion that corruption causes the growth of international terrorism and organised crime. Corruption is related to money laundering and the international trafficking of illegal money assists international terrorism. The disturbing law and order situation, through which we are passing now, is perhaps, the outcome of our own corrupt practices. Corruption has penetrated into all spheres of life, but it is of a much severe nature in certain specific areas, which have been identified in Transparency International’s National Corruption Perception Survey, 2011, according to which land administration is the country’s most corrupt institution, followed by the departments of police and taxation.

Corrupt practices have seriously damaged our international credibility, with the result that no one is willing to trust us in economic matters. The gravity of the situation calls for decisive and effective steps for the eradication of corruption, aimed at the restoration of our credibility, saving our rapidly disintegrating system, alleviating poverty, provision of basic facilities to the people and solution of our economic problems. It is of utmost importance because nations that fight corruption and improve their rule of law, can increase their national income by 400 per cent.

There must exist an anti-corruption strategy to govern it, structure it, drive it, and above all, to provide the direction and shape that it must take to succeed. Fighting corruption requires both leadership and partnership. It requires many leaders in national and local governments, in the judiciary and security forces, in the tax administration, in corporations and among citizens in every community. When we look at today’s most successful societies, we find densely-integrated networks of public and private activities. Such partnerships draw on the shared interests of citizens, businesses, elected officials and civil servants. They all aim at breaking up the monopolies, the unchecked discretions and the lack of accountability that lie at the heart of corruption.

Besides accountability, there is the urgent need for the enforcement of a system capable of minimising the chances of corruption. A fine example in this regard is that of Korea, as mentioned in a research paper ‘Corruption — its causes and effects in Pakistan’s case (a review)’, written by Pakistani research scholars, published in the June 2012 edition of the International Journal of Business and Behavioural Sciences. ‘In response to Koreans desire for a corruption-free society, in August 1999, the government set up a number of comprehensive anti-corruption programmes. These programmes are based on three basic principles, according to which, the emphasis should be on prevention rather than on punishment. The approach should be comprehensive and systematic, and the feasibility and effectiveness of programmes should be given priority. Under these principles, the government has adopted the following three strategies to maximise the programme’s effectiveness. 1. Establishing an anti-corruption infrastructure, that will enable Korea to fight corruption systematically and consistently. 2. Promoting administrative reforms in corruption prone areas, such as law enforcement agencies, the construction industry, tax administration, housing, environmental management and the food and entertainment industry. 3. Building local and international partnership among governments, enterprises and civil societies.’

But it is a bitter reality that anti-corruption efforts in the developing countries are themselves becoming controversial due to their own inherent corruption. Political interference has transformed the process of accountability into political vengeance and political favouritism. Based on the principle of something is better than nothing, the process of accountability aspires to dry clean the corrupt elements. But this attitude is by no means helpful in discouraging corruption. To make the matters worse, certain laws are also assisting the corrupt elements to escape from the grip of law.