Bribery and corruption are pervasive problems inextricably linked to social and environmental issues globally. Rather than operate sustainably, big corporations driven by a pure pursuit of profits commit violations such as adopting unsustainable production and using child labor in Nestlé’s Ivory Coast cocoa operations (Perkiss et al., 2021). These unethical practices often arise when demand outstrips sustainable production. In the global business context, corruption may be experienced on the demand side (kickbacks) or supply-side (investors offering bribes) (Bahoo, Alon & Paltrinieri 2020). In both instances, the goal is to influence policies or procedures on sustainable natural resource exploitation. In this context, societal interests should supersede private or corporate benefits (Muff, Liechti & Dyllick 2020). Therefore, a high corruption ranking would lead to less stringent environmental preservation policies.
Corruption’s destructive effect on environmental sustainability is most profound in supply chains. According to Freise and Seuring (2015), firms in the apparel industry must manage supplier-related risks such as poor working conditions and environmental concerns. To control these risks, companies must green firm-level policies and stringent requirements for suppliers to produce raw materials sustainably. For example, accountability was lacking in Nestlé’s supply chain, leading to unsustainable cocoa farming practices (Perkiss et al., 2021). This problem is more common in corporations with fragmented supply chains that are challenging to manage. Many top global brands in the clothing industry, including Adidas and Nike, have to defend themselves against accusations of unsustainable sourcing of raw materials (Freise & Seuring, 2015). This scenario highlights the value of monitoring ethical conduct across the supply chain.
Business ethics have a strong link to corrupt practices in the international business context. In a corrupt environment, less ethical but politically connected corporations will offer bribes or cover their unsustainable operations (Bahoo, Alon & Paltrinieri 2020). As a result, supply chains become less transparent or visible, which has a reputational risk. Corporations such as Nestlé, Nike, and Adidas have been on the media to defend themselves against the use of child labor, unsustainable farming, and poor work conditions in their offshore operations or suppliers (Freise & Seuring, 2015; Perkiss et al., 2021). Therefore, creating an ethical supply chain is critically important to organizations. In a study by Aschendbrand, Proctor, and Trebilcock (2018), 74% of supply chain professionals considered safeguarding against corruption highly important to their organization presently. In addition, responsible labor practices, environmental sustainability, and human rights are also a priority to most firms. Therefore, multinational enterprises (MNEs) should audit their supply chains to eliminate unsustainable practices such as bribery and the use of child labor and promote socially and environmentally responsible production.
Current Status
Currently, Saudi Airlines has a business ethics code that all strategic business units and partners must follow to protect against corruption and bribery. It includes rules on ethical conduct by staff and guidelines on how to detect, report, and manage potential risks to promote integrity. The code also contains policies on conflict of interest and reporting bribery. To ensure sustainable supply chains, Saudi Airlines requires its agents, representatives, and suppliers to use this code as well.
Recommendations
Saudi Airlines should employ third-party tools and resources to foster ethical conduct across its supply chains. Examples include EPA SmartWay and Rainforest Alliance, which can enforce supplier compliance with the airline’s ethical code (Aschendbrand, Proctor & Trebilcock 2018). By enforcing ethics, the risk of corruption, environmental damage, and labor malpractices will decline.
Saudi Airlines should collaborate with regional non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to manage ethical risks in the international business context. Demands from NGOs operating in specific countries will promote measures for operating ethically and sustainably in unfamiliar markets (Freise & Seuring, 2015). Thus, this collaboration will ensure ethical and environmental aspects are incorporated into operations to avoid reputational damage.
While the airline’s ethical code is a positive step in combating corruption, more specific anti-bribery measures are required. Establishing an anti-corruption system in MNEs will help prevent corruption and bribery (Bahoo, Alon & Paltrinieri 2020). Saudi Airlines should create an anti-corruption unit to tackle ethical risks internally.
This essay answer the question posed concerning the role of civil society in combating corruption. Corruption has been escalating at a high rate in many countries in the world. Various sectors and government agencies have embarked on the war to fight corruption. This is because of the harmful effects of corruption to individuals as well as the economy as a whole.
The civil society also has not lagged behind in fighting corruption. The civil society comprises of diverse groups but all have a role in fighting corruption in one way or another. These groups include citizens, religious organization groups, NGOs among others. As stakeholders in the quality of governance and institutions mediating between the government and the public, civil society plays a key role in fighting corruption.
At the country level as well as internationally, this statement is unchallenged. But what does it mean in practice? To what extent is the statement true? These are some of the question this paper addresses and go further in highlighting the nature of civil society involvement.
The first part of this essay defines what corruption is and highlights few causes of corruption. The second part of this paper explains how civil society has evolved giving more focus to the third world countries. It also highlights the various roles that the civil society can take to combat corruption. Initiatives taken to empower the civil society have also been highlighted including the role of the media.
In conclusion this essay acknowledges the fact that civil role has key roles to play in combating corruption and these roles should be enhanced.
What is Corruption?
According to Botchwey (2000), corruption is defined as the act of obtaining advantage via dubious means or means that are not legitimate immoral, and that are inconsistent with the rights of others or the duty of the perpetrator. Corruption also exists where people may apply public powers for their own or private gains. Corruption exists in our society and has always existed.
The act is evil and unacceptable and has many negative consequences. Corruption is an impediment factor to economic growth and may cause economic downturn where it is severe. Most of the democratic institutions like legal institutions have suffered or suffer most where corruption is prevalent.
Some of the gangrenous effects of corruption may include low supply of public goods and services, embezzlement of public funds, downgraded infrastructures among others. There factors are detrimental to economic growth and development and calls for immediate attention wherever they exist.
For war against corruption to be won, efforts must move beyond a narrow response to a broader approach of addressing its underlying causes (Al – Shuaibi, n.d). Dealing with these problems will require a multi-pronged strategy tailored to the specific pattern of corruption in each specific country.
Corruption impedes sustainable development which is key in the economic development of every country. Causes of corruption can be summarized as follows:
The lack of political will to combat corruption at the leadership level;
The weak judicial system and the absence of the rule of law;
The weak parliamentary role;
Incomplete rules and regulations and public monitoring;
Weak media and inactive civil society.
The role of combating corruption should not be left to the official bodies and the legislative authority alone. Civil society should take an active role in enhancing and demanding democracy and human rights (OECD, 2003). They should commit themselves to the objectives of ensuring integrity and accountability in response to need for enhancing a system of good governance.
Civil Society’s Role Combating Corruption
As highlighted earlier civil society include the no-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community based organizations (CBOs).Some are progressive while others are conservative. The community and the social organizations fight corruption through religion and humanitarian agencies that fight for human rights.
Together as a society they discourage vices such as dishonesty and bribery that characterize corruption. In deed these societies campaign for democracy.
These groups including professional bodies and business associations participate in the fight against corruption while conducting their civil roles. Reports from the third world countries indicate that civil society was in active (Bardhan, 1997). The reason for this is because it has been marginalized.
Although the ability to effectively scrap off corruption following independence has been narrow, the civil society has given recognizable contribution in the fight against corruption. Roles taken during this period include:
Condemnation of official corruption by professional bodies, student and trade unions as part of protest against economic mismanagement by the government.
Exhortations against corruption by religious organizations leaders. These include leaders from all religious circles.
Too much focus on corruption scandals that have already been exposed by the political leaders in the opposition side of the government. In this case the media take the role of giving the issue much publicity.
The efforts raised above are considered to be reactive rather than been pro-active. They are inadequate in stemming out corruption and more pro-active actions should be devised by the civil society. An establishment of a more vibrant civil society is the way to ensure pro-active approach. Karkling (2005) in his arguments maintains that society has inspiration that is adequate to fight the vice.
Corrupt persons are likely to find their way out of the when it comes to the laws of the country. The government therefore needs support from the civil society in the campaign for a corruption free society ( Olabimpe and Sesan, 2006) This will ensure well founded initiatives that will check on the vice. Unless this is done the war against the vice will be lost.
The civil society is aware due to the changes that have occurred with increase in information. They are major actors in putting checks and balances in the political and socio-economic fields (Kidd & Richter, 2003). These factors include:
There has been proliferation of democratic constitutions facilitated by some political openings. This has given a chance to the growth of human rights and association freedom; a factor that is crucial in the fight against corruption. This has been manifested by the surge of civil society in general. The indicators of this move include the chapters of Transparency International in Nigeria, Benin and Kenya among other countries. There are other improvements like environmental and human protection bodies that also acts as indicators.
The growing emphasis of private sector towards economic development. Business associations and various representatives have kept the government on its toe towards implementing policies that create conducive environment for business.
Technology improvement has made it easier to expose government officials that are corrupt. For instance, the existence of effective and efficient electronic and print media has been on the vanguard in this context.
The emergence of well informed middle class and increase in the number of business people who reject the old system of nepotism and self dealing and instead engage in openness and fair dealing (Ralchev, 2004). They have the conviction that low corruption stimulates economic growth. More proactive roles include the following:
Creating public awareness about corruption
Most of the cases of corruption involve public and private officials. Civil society stands on a more neutral ground as an independent actor in combating corruption and representing the interest of the public at large.
In their research Noorjehan & Beagali (2008) found out that information on corruption can be obtained from statistical studies The publicity of information concerning the development of patterns and action plans has been enhanced seminars and conferences that are effective in creating awareness. This would be achieved by these organizations lobbying for the legislation of more strict rules on corruption.
Formulating and promoting actions plans to fight corruption
This involves lobbying for new laws that are geared towards combating corruption. Advocacy for institutional reforms, legal and judicial reforms, freedom of information as well as heavy penalties for the individuals or institutions found guilty of corruption.
There is also monitoring of actions and decisions of the government.
Various policies enacted by the government ensure that the will of the people guides the actions of public administrators. The expectations of the community are that they receive standardized public utilities. The public can actively participate in the formulation of laws that will regulate behavior.
This kind of supervision and oversight role ensure that the government or the state is accountable to its key roles and that it carries them out in a transparent manner.
Enhancing the Role of the Civil Society in Combating Corruption
The fact that corruption is real and that it hampers economic development, there has been the growing desire among domestic and transnational actors. Civil activism has been enhanced by the political liberalization that over the past decade has been improving becoming robust. The civil society and the non-government agencies have been pushing for good governance and low corruption. The question is how may this role be enhanced?
Mobilization of opinion against corruption and corrupt people
Civil society plays a key role in the national governance and therefore it is actively involved in the fight against corruption. In general, civil society and the media can create awareness on corruption and its damage on economic development.
Both groups can form a formidable force that can force the policy makers and the government to initiate reforms against corruption. When involved in restructuring of state structures the public will Maintain a positive culture against corruption.
It is apparent that civil society, NGOs, trade unions and other such bodies have a chance of fighting corruption in the electoral systems through addressing the issue therein and facing out corrupt officials. The electoral system is a genuine facility that could effectively be used in voting out corrupt officials in the government and other sectors where it applies.
The community involvement and support to the organization formed to implement restriction give a successful outcome. The media has the potential of supporting the anti-corruption agencies in carrying out their duties through working closely with them in order to provide relevant information that would help the agencies identify the corrupt people.
This will ensure harmony between constitution and statutory promise as well as ensuring that the corrupt officials comply with the regulations set against them.
Limitation
Several factors can be identified as limiting the development of a vibrant civil society and its involvement in combating corruption. Major limits will mostly come from the state. In certain countries, public rules limit basic civil rights and will impede the development of civil society organizations.
The lack of transparency of public operations and the limited access to critical information do not encourage the direct participation of citizens in the conduct of public affairs.
Citizens may also impose limits. In certain countries, citizens are ignorant on information in regards to the costs of corruption and the existence of several avenues available to them for fighting corruption. Citizens do not always understand the realisable personal gains they can get by fighting corruption. They therefore lack the motivation to be actively involved in eradicating the vice.
Lack of resources can also be a limit. Most of the civil society organizations have inadequate information and technical capacities required for pro-active actions rendering them inefficient in their fight against corruption. Previously these organization have been addressing environmental issues and basic human rights until more recently when they devised ways of engaging themselves in the war against corruption.
Empowering the Civil Society Organizations in their fight against corruption
The effective functioning of the civil society must have an effective legal and regulatory framework that helps guide it’s functioning. Some aspects of such legal framework may include the basic human rights and freedom among others.
Such freedom would enable people to come together and form non-governmental organizations that would facilitate the fight against corruption. Empowering or strengthening the capacities of civil society organisations means to:
Provide these organisations with information and expertise;
Support training programmes;
Contribute to the raising of funds; and
Forge more partnerships between civil society actors.
Requirements for registering these non-governmental organisations should be reasonable and not bureaucratic. Government should support civil society by waiving taxations on them. Effectiveness of the civil society can be enhanced through access to information and knowledge (Bertram, 2005). Adequate funds raised for the civil society will attract well-educated and highly motivated people.
This ensures that the capacity of civil society in combating corruption is not comprised. The local groups have teamed up with international organization like Transparency International, or TI to fight corruption.
TI is a worldwide movement which helps in the fight against corruption and its stakeholders are those that against corruption. It is a non-governmental and non profit. TI’s has grown to the membership of more than 60 countries since its launch in 1993 and has membership in every continent in the world.
The civil society also gains more support in the area where there is great mobilization against corruption. The objective will be achieved through strengthening citizen support for the existing anti-corruption NGOs, and increase participation of other stake holders whose primary interest may not be necessarily the fight against corruption.
Publishing surveys that show how prices of basic commodity rises due to corruption should be a powerful tool in mobilising the public. Talking about the general damages of corruption is not good enough. Many countries like Pakistan have undertaken public awareness campaigns at the national, provincial and district level through schools and universities.
The Role of the Media as part of civil society in fighting corruption
It has been logically argued that the fight against corruption could not be won without free media because of the role it plays in the whole process. The linkage between the media and fight against corruption is critical. Free media plays a significant role in the fight against corruption because it helps expose or uncover various hidden corrupt cases.
Though most of the countries have a free media, many factors still impede the efforts made by the media in their role towards fighting corruption. These factors may include corruption among the media itself, state control over media among others factors that hamper the functioning of media.
Media may also be inhibited in its role towards combating corruption by libel laws and intimidation. In some countries violence against journalists has resulted in strong self-censorship. Legal framework that guarantees freedom of expression forms the foundation of a vibrant media.
Freedom of information laws differs in some respects from one country to another. Journalists practicing in Turkmenistan are prohibited by the state to publish comments that connote corruption. However, the head of the state is immune from this law. Government monopolies on printing and television signal transmissions continue in many countries, creating pressures for self-censorship.
Media business is booming and can be a major industry but the partisan nature of the ownership structure continues to hamper its development and growth. An appropriate system of corporate governance within the media would ensure non-partisan participation by the media.
Allowing free entry, especially the foreign press that is non-partisan can also help mitigate the problem of “media capture”. Foreign media can help to create a highly competitive and diverse media culture.
Some countries mostly from Europe have made great strides in ensuring free press. Freedom of the press is highest in countries with the lowest levels of administrative corruption.
Conclusion
The fight against corruption is a multi-dimensional approach and it is evident that the civil society plays a significant role in the process. Statistics has it that there is no single agency that can win the bathe against corruption unless by partnering with other stakeholders.
This has happened in many developing world. Since the Civil society acts as a watchdog to the government and also defends the public interest, there is dire need to accord it the due support in the fight against corruption. The civil society should therefore be involved in the enactment of the anti-corruption laws as much as possible and also in their enforcement.
A well developed civil society will represent a wide variety of interests. Organizations with diverse organizational structures will view corruption from different perspectives which will bring together diverse view points to design a strategy and increase its chances of success.
To ensure that the measures taken are not politically biased, there should be more political will based on a broad support from various sources in the civil society. A variety of interests ensures that the anti-corruption initiatives taken meet the public interest.
The discussion clearly indicates that the civil society has an important role to play in the negotiation and in the implementation of government instruments against corruption. The contribution made by the civil society can never be underestimated.
Reference List
Al – Shuaibi, A., n. d. The Role of Civil Society Organizations in Combating Corruption. Palestine: Palestinian Legislative Council
Bardhan, P., 1997. ”Corruption and Development: A review of issues, “. Journal of Economic Literature, 35 (1997)
Bertram, I., 2005. Fighting corruption in developing countries: strategies and analysis.
West Hartford: Kumarian Press Botchwey, K., 2000. Fighting corruption, promoting good governance. Durban: Commonwealth Secretariat
Karklins, R., 2005. The system made me do it: corruption in post-communist societies. New York: M.E. Sharpe
Kidd, J. & Richter, F., 2003. Fighting corruption in Asia: causes, effects and remedies. Geneva: World Scientific
Noorjehan N. & Belagali, H.V., 2008. Educational Philosophy of Dr. Zakir Husain. India: Global Vision Publishing.
OECD., 2003. Fighting Corruption: What Role for Civil Society? Canada: OECD
Olabimpe, B. Sesan, A., 2006. Fighting corruption in Nigeria: challenges for the future. Kampala: Fountain Publications Limited
Ralchev, P., 2004. The role of civil society in fighting corruption and organized crime in Southeast Europe. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, Volume 4, Issue 2, 2004, Pages 325 – 331
On a global scale, the term corruption has gained prominence and is now part of the technical jargon used by both scholars and experts on governance discourse. This term has attracted the attention of scholars, human rights bodies, and international organizations, among others. The significance of his term is much more felt by those in power. Within the discourse of corruption much attention has focused on the real and workable definitions of this term. While many people have proposed various definitions of the term, all of them tend to focus on the illegal acquisitions of public assets, privileges or advantages due to by taking advantage of the powers vested in their offices1. Generally, the hazards, perils and dangers of corruption are widespread.
Other than slowing down the rate of economic and democratic growth, graft creates a sense of mistrust, injustice and poverty, to mention but a few23. Overall, corruption brings immense human suffering to the majority who are the victims while the few beneficiaries of corruption continue to profit4. In light of the widespread effects of corruption, anti corruption initiatives have gained a lot of intensity in the recent past. Many governments have acknowledged the need to combat corruption either under external pressures or through intrinsic motivation to improve the lives of its citizens. Various anti graft bodies, programs and strategies have been developed the world over.
On the backdrop of the notion that corruption is an international issue of concern5, the aim of this paper is to evaluate the success of anti corruption strategies in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is a transcontinental country which lies within Eastern Europe and Central Asia6. Even though Kazakhstan has a presidential system of governance, there are notable tendencies for authoritarian leadership under President Nursultan Nazarbayev7. Such tendencies can be attributed to the fact that the Kazakhstani society is highly patriarchal; males have absolute authority over the females8. Kazakhstan is the country to declare independence from the former Soviet Union, yet it is amongst the first of these former soviet states to ratify and accent to international anti graft standards. While its patrilineal culture cannot be blamed for the rising levels of corruption, many scholars have mentioned this as one of the catalysts. However, anti corruption activities in Kazakhstan have gradually intensified over time. Anti corruption strategies in Kazakhstan are systematic, progressively gradual and piecemeal. Currently, there are numerous strategies, programs and anti graft agencies actively involved in combating graft in Kazakhstan. As mentioned earlier, this paper aims at evaluating the anti graft strategies within Kazakhstan. As such to help meet the main aim of this paper, a number of key questions seem relevant:
What are the key strategies for anti corruption strategies in Kazakhstan?
How successful are anti corruption strategies in Kazakhstan?
To answer these two key questions, further sub questions have been developed. These include:
What anti corruption agencies exists within Kazakhstan anti graft war?
What id the roles of the Kazakhstani government in combating corruption?
What is the prevailing legal framework?
What is the role on international community in anti graft initiatives?
This is a research paper and as such the findings are analyzed from a scholarly perspective. As such Kazakhstan anti graft initiatives are analyzed Vis a Vis Bo Rothstein’s Big Bang Anti Corruption Theory. Rothstein stipulates that anti corruption agents fail because their approach gives enough room for corruption to mutate. Rothstein proposed a strategy that creates the big bang effect. Within Rothstein’s proposal, anti graft measures have to be simultaneous widespread and have an immediate impact as opposed to slow piecemeal and systematic strategies. Anti Corruption initiatives in Kazakhstan has failed, and when analyzed against this theory one gets the idea why this is the case.
Kazakhstan anti-corruption legislation
Corruption is a major challenge which is not only reversing the economic gains of any country but also affecting the growth and development of democratic leadership. Corruption takes many forms, with anti corruption agents coming up with varied criteria within which graft can be defined. Amidst the continuing debate, numerous legislations are being developed on a daily basis to mitigate the ever changing face of corruption. This implies that within the existing legal frameworks in a majority of countries, there exist legal Loopholes which corruption agents exploit. Exist statutes are characterized by ambiguities, errors, gaps and inconsistencies in some of its provisions. This creates the necessary environment for selfish and fraudulent officials to manipulate the law for self enrichment9.
Generally, Corruption is defined as the illegal acquisition of property, advantages, privileges and benefits by state officials directly or indirectly by taking advantage of the powers vested in their offices1011. As a legislative measure the Republic of Kazakhstan has developed a number of anti-corruption legislations to curb corruption within and without its territorial boundaries12. These legislations are meant to protect the freedoms, rights and security of its citizens emerging from all forms of corruption. It is also meant to protect the integrity of the state agencies and other stakeholders mandated to perform various functions on behalf of the state13. This is by means of detecting and suppressing corruption related offences. It also categorizes the various forms of corruption and relevant penalties14. This was after the realization of the fact that corruption is a major obstacle in the social, economic and even political development of the country.
The challenge of corruption and the tendency to be corrupt has led to the deliberate manipulation of the otherwise rigid acts thus exposing the existence of the factors that create an environment conducive for corruption to triumph. To facilitate the identification of such factors the Independent Anti-Corruption Council (IAC) started the execution of an anti-fraud proficiency of legal provisions and drafts of legislative legal acts. The mandatory need to conduct the anti-corruption proficiency of legal provisions shall change the functioning of all state stakeholders. There was a call to direct attention to the prevention of fraud in state organs at the initial decision making stages15. This position was drummed by the president of the Foundation for parliamentary development.
The ‘Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia’ (EFCA) in corroboration with the ‘Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland’ facilitated the creation of the Independent Anticorruption Council (IAC) drawing its membership from the non-governmental organizations and the business community. The mandate of the IAC was to advise the government through recommending measures to increased and enforce anti-fraud values in society. The IAC was also meant to lobby the civil society to partake in the monitoring of corruption and facilitate the developing of government policies to address official fraud.
The republic of Kazakhstan has also put in place the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code in its state policy against corruption. This forms an important base for fighting corruption. It states corruption related criminal offences and relevant penalties for offenders16. However, the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code has been criticized and accused of falling short of the international set standards. The particular failure is on the elaborate information on the interpretation and interpretation of is provisions on bribery offences.
The ‘Law on Public Service’ purposefully brings to scope who a public servant is and tries to differentiate between administrative public officials and political public officials. The law identifies judges and deputies of parliament who are responsible for fraudulent offences committed as prescribed by in the constitution. It also states descriptive provisions on how they should be hired. This should be in an open manner and open to public scrutiny. In addition to the aforesaid code, the president initiated a ‘Law on Anticorruption Efforts’17. This law also defines corruption, and corruption offences goals. It states basic principles vital in the fight against fraud in government institutions. First, every body is equal before the law and any court of law. It regulates the conduct of state authority in state agencies how they are to be publicized and legal control over them. It states the priority in the protection of the rights and legal interests of citizens and legal organizations in addition to the administration of state agencies in terms of their social political and economic management systems.
In addition, it prescribes the criminal responsibilities for both the corrupt state officials and members of the public who try to compromise them to engage in corrupt activities. To ensure the sustainability of these provisions, the Law on Anti-Corruption Efforts has a provision for whistleblowers and witness protection. They are protected by hiding their identity unless it becomes absolutely necessary to reveal their physical protection18. Similarly, the’ Code of Ethics for State Officials’ states administrative offences of state officials. They are not to engage in corrupt activities or any acts that may portray their person as to be engaging in illegal transactions or incompatible with the dispensation of public duties19. This creates the justification for restriction from any commercial or gainful activities with the exception of scientific, instruction and creativity20. Further, state officers are restricted from any gainful gambling with other state offices. Though it is not a criminal offence, it attracts disciplinary action where if repeated in a span of one year will lead to demotion or dismissal21. To complement this, state officials are required to declare their wealth within and outside the republic of Kazakhstan and file their tax returns on annual income as prescribe by law2223.
Review of Kazakhstan’s anti-corruption strategies
On a global scale, corruption is an issue of serious concern for the growth and development of underdeveloped countries. On the other hand, developed countries see corruption as a hindrance towards the development of economies and democratic ideals globally. As such, there have been concerted efforts in the recent past from all quarters towards combating corruption. To sufficiently end endemic graft, international anti corruption agents have emphasized intensification of anti corruption efforts at the domestic front, before collaboration with international anti corruption agents such as Interpol and the FBI. In this regard many of the countries plagued by corruption have intensified their own domestic anti corruption efforts. While there are a variety of motivations for the intensification of anti corruption efforts in developing countries, most of these countries do register improved results. For instance Kazakhstan, whose anti corruption efforts have been under the watch of the international community since the country ushered in democratic systems of government has been systematically improving steadily over the years. A survey by Transparency International, which annually compiles an index list of county’s rating on combating corruption, indicates that Kazakhstan has moved 40 places up2425 to position 12026. These improvements can be attributed to intensification of anti corruption strategies within the country.
Since the late 1990s, combating corruption has been an important issue in policy development. In efforts to root out endemic corruption from within its system Kazakhstan has over time developed its own strategies to combat the vice. As explained elsewhere in this paper, Kazakhstani’s anti corruption efforts are focused on collaborating at both the local and international levels27. In this regard, the government has steadily moved in to create the necessary environment which would allow anti corruption agencies to operate with minimum interference from state law enforcement agencies. As a young democracy, Kazakhstan’s anti corruption efforts are immune perils that young democracies face; dictatorship and executive interference.
Under the leadership of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Kazakhstani government aided by its law making organ, the parliament, created several national anti corruption institutions as one of the key strategies to combat corruption. The main reason of these institutions was to mainly coordinate anti corruption activities. While this seems a noble idea, many critics however argue that this is a move to stifle anti corruption efforts since the government claims to much power through these institutions. Through ‘The Commission on Prevention of Corruption and Enforcement of the Civil Service Ethics’ CPCECS, the Kazakh government aims at strengthening anti corruption efforts with the public service by enhancing the implementation of the public service ethics 28.
‘The Disciplinary Councils’ works in cohorts with the CPCECS, in enforcing disciplinary measures within the public services. Furthermore, the councils ensure that the anti corruption law is implemented within the entire public sector. ‘The Coordinating Council’ as well as the ‘Security Council ‘have duplicated roles as those of ‘The Disciplinary Councils’29. As explained earlier these councils work under the direct supervisions of the president30. International critics claim that direct involvement of the president interferes with anti corruption activities. Kazakhstani’s anti corruption policy development is under ‘The Agency of the Fighting against Economic and Corruptive Crime’31. This agency is also charged with the mandate to coordinate all inter-ministerial anti corruption efforts within the Kazakhstani government.
To avoid chaos and ensure progress in combating corruption, anti corruption activities in Kazakhstani are systematically implemented through a series of programs. The Kazakhstani government sees the programming of anti corruption activities as a vital strategy that would not only ensure progress but also minimizing corruption from within the government. In this regard the government has instituted three major 5-years anti corruption programs in the last fifteen years. The end of the year 2010 saw the successful implementation of the fourth State Anti-corruption Programmed which ran from 200632. Objectively, the purpose of this program as well as others before it is to ensure that there was improved regulatory anti corruption framework, oversee the necessary legal reforms, and to popularize the necessary anti corruption initiatives amongst the Kazakhstani public. As explained elsewhere in this paper, these programs also ambitiously target the corporation with other international anti corruption agencies33.
Tied to the functions of these programs is the state’s effort to make the necessary legal reforms to aid anti corruption initiatives. The Kazakhs government has come under intense pressure, from within and without, to reform the judicial system34. To facilitate this, parliament provided the necessary legal framework by passing a bill which allowed for anti corruption-friendlily changes to be made within the legal systems. Such changes affected the criminal code as well as the procedures of the criminal code and effectively reinforced the accountability of the entire Kazakhstani judicial system for crimes related to corruption35. In addition, legal reforms were also targeted to make sure that there was adequate security and protection of basic human rights, freedom and liberties of all members of the public and thus enable them to voice their concerns about corruption without fear of intimidation 363738.
The above mentioned strategies focus their attentions on anti corruption activities on the domestic front. However, Kazakhstani government has developed ambitious anti corruption strategies that also incorporate cooperation with international anti corruption agencies. The country is enjoined to numerous international anti corruption watch dogs such as the European council on anti corruption, GRECO. The purpose of such cooperation is seen by critics as the right strategy towards aligning Kazakhstani’s anti corruption initiatives with international standards such as those set by the European Union and the United Nations. Furthermore, and as mentioned elsewhere in this paper, the country has ratified numerous international anti corruption standards such as the ‘UN Convention against Corruption’. In relation to the internal legal reforms, Kazakhstani has also ensured that the reforms also provide the necessary legal infrastructure to allow for collaboration with international anti crime agencies such as the Interpol and the FBI39. All these strategies are implemented alongside the 10 year anti corruption strategies, which is explained later in details.
In view of the strategies developed to fight corruption in Kazakhstani, it is imperative to state that the levels of corruption have drooped. However, corruption is still rampant. This can be attributed to notions suggested within the scholarly circles on why corruption thrives regardless of the ongoing efforts to combat it. One such notion is suggested by Bo Rothstein, and stipulates that unless there is immediate and widespread implementation of anti corruption efforts that has a big band effect, corruption will keep mutating. Therefore, for corruption to be effectively dealt with in Kazakhstan, anti corruption agents need to change their approach.
Kazakhstan 10 year anticorruption strategy
Following the legislation of anticorruption in Kazakhstan, this part endeavors to highlight the Kazakhstani 10 year anticorruption strategy. In reference to corruption in Kazakhstan, it is imperative to recapitulate on the causes of this social vice that has continued to plague the Kazakh government. The growth of corruption can be indirectly connected to the growth of economy in this former Soviet Union state. The Kazakhstani economy has experienced tremendous growth since the country ushered in democracy. Suffice to state that the growth of Kazakhstani economy is built on large oil deposits within the country. While the existence of these oil deposits has brought positive benefits to the country such as direct foreign investments, its negative side cannot be overlooked. The Kazakhstan elite, which includes high ranking government officials have vitally dominated Kazakhstan energy sector, with aim of attracting direct benefits. While the booming economy is not the cause of widespread corruption, most scholars believe that it is the absences of a strong anti corruption law which necessitates administrative malpractices in the energy sector. As such much of corruption practices in Kazakhstan are administrative
40. In addition, the Kazakhstan officialdom is held in high esteem and as such lives in luxury. Suffice to say that to meet that social expectation most of the officers within Kazakhstan government lives that are far beyond their means. Since the existing anticorruption law does not allow such officers to be directly invested in the oil sector as well as receive any direct benefits, most of these officers register businesses under spouses and other relatives41. This has intensified corrupt practices, especially within the oil sector42.
In light of the high involvement in corruption by high ranking government officials, fighting corruption by the government seems relevant. Over the last 15 years as reported by Kairat Kozhamzharov, who heads the Financial Police (a body charged with the mandate of rooting out corruption), Kazakhstan has had three government backed programs to firth corruption43. While Kozhamzharov’s led Financial Police indicates the government’s commitment to fight corruption in the recent past, reports show that there is a lot than needs to be done if corruption is to be rooted out. The failure of past anti corruption efforts can be attributed to assertions some of the anticorruption scholars that effective social changes within the social political framework needs to be gradually instituted44. Furthermore, as noted by the United Nation time is of essence in any social change activities45.
The theory of social gradual change seems to be the most dominant notion within Kazakhstani government anti corruption circles. Under the direction of President Nazarbayev, the Kazakhs ruling party Nur-Otan established a 10 year anticorruption strategy in 2010. The 10 year anti corruption plan foresees the collaboration of the government and the entire Kazakh society in eliminating corruption. Within the strategy, focus will be on policy issues especially on the recruitment of public officials to the civil service. The new personnel will be required to institute prohibitions, restrictions and other policy requirement to prohibit the spread of corrupt practices46. Furthermore, Kozhamzharov asserts that the 10 years strategy is focused on utilizing all forms of technologies, especially media technologies to create a new anti corruption attitude within the Kazakh society. This implies that social media such as Facebook, the TV, and the internet among others, will be vital in this program. Kozhamzharov sees training through these media as well as through formal educational which includes schools curriculum as the most effective way of reeducating the people attitudes. This means that this strategy aims at involving everyone in the fight against corruption.
While the ten year program is a plausible idea, it is on the brink of failure just like the other three programs instituted previously. Research by social scientists argues that social change can only be effective through the Big Bang Effect47. Within the Big Bang theory, social scientists stipulate that people are utility-maximizing48. In this regard, corruption thrives because of the existence of an environment that encourages the practice49. This theory seems to explain the failures of all Kazakhstani’s government efforts to fight corruption, which are build on gradual and attitude-change based strategies. In relations to social attitude change, big bang theorists argue that understanding people attitudes towards corruption is of no help.
The most important thing is instantaneous and simultaneous changes within which everything within the social political system changes and tips against corruption50. This is a situation referred to as “Schelling-type tipping point”, where any effort for social changes is massive and is not limited to progressive introduction of piecemeal strategies, commonly referred to as entry point strategies51. Instituting small changes, such as the Kazakhstanis 10 year program, is not enough to convince corruption agents that there is no room for corruption. As such the Kazakhstani anti corruption effort will not reach the tipping point. The risk of such progressive measures is that the system gradually slides back to corruption. This explains Kazakhstanis low rating (120/173) within the Transparency International’s Index in the years 201052.
Approach to anti-corruption in Kazakhstan
The analysis of anti corruption strategies mentioned previously reveals a lot about the approach to anti corruption in Kazakhstan. Clearly it is evident that all anti corruption activities are targeted at particular segments of the Kazakh society; the ruling class and the elite. All the anti corruption laws made, statutes ratified and programs implemented target high ranking government offices and key figures in the public service. Key local and international anti corruption agencies have previously closely monitored The President and his close relatives, the prime minister, members of the cabinet and key business figures, aiming to detect corrupt dealings involving these individuals. Suffice to say that the Kazakh society is highly hierarchical and that the family is derived along patrilineal heritage. Moreover, the Kazakh society is also highly hierarchical and ones social status is based on family ties53. The higher the family in the social hierarchy tree, the more power and respect it attracts.
As such individuals from the elite are respected while those from the peasantry have no power vested in them54. Such hierarchical nature means that social importance diminishes as an individual climbs down the social ladder. As such, power relations are a top down affair: from the higher echelon of the Kazakhs social tree, power, authority, social significance diminishes significantly to the peasant. Since power is exercised by the Kazakhstani elite, it also means that this groups of social class Kazakhstanis Control much of the business empires. As such the probability of engaging in corruption diminishes down the social hierarchy. Due to the power relations within the Kazakhstani social hierarchies, Anti corruption initiatives are top down as they mostly target the elite. They Kazakhstani peasant this becomes a mere watcher in the side stand.
Prof. He explains three main approaches to combating corruption namely the bottom up approach, which involves the mobilization and empowerment of the masses to fight graft in the public services; the mass movement approach which empowers the masses but without any institutional support, and finally the top down approach55. Within this section the top down approach will be analyzed Vis a Vis the Kazakhstan scenario. It is imperative to state that the top down approach incorporates the localization of graft laws and institutions, creation of state controlled ant graft institutions and a notable level of legal reforms all aimed at combating public administrative graft.
While the top down approach is not primarily limited to any community, the Anti Corruption Resource Centre argues that this approach, prevalent in Muslim states due to their hierarchical nature56, requires the creation of national anti graft institutions57. The purpose of these institutions is to allow for the necessary legal, political as well as social framework to combat crime. Furthermore, such institutions allow local governments to have a firmer grip in anti corruption activities as well as creating the necessary framework for cooperation with international anti graft institutions58. In Kazakhstani scenarios tends to conform to the requirements of the top down approach since the Kazakhstani government has created a number of institutions to support anti graft efforts. These institutions include ‘Financial Police’ which play a key role in the implementation of all anti graft policies, ‘Coordinating Council of Law Enforcement Agencies’ charged with ensuring effective law enforcement including the necessary anti graft legal reforms and ACCERB, and public service auditing committee with thru primary role of overseeing efficiency in public spending. There are others such as the office of the ombudsman which observes due respect to all human rights as well as the Kazakhstani ministry of finance which performs similar roles to the ACCERB59.
National anti graft institutions cannot function without the necessary legal backing. In view of the top down approach anti graft laws enable the institutions to create the necessary legal structure60 and allow for investigation and prosecution of corruption cases within a give country61. When this assertion is analyzed against the Kazakhstani case scenarios, there exist sufficient evident to pint out that Kazakhstan follows the top down approach. Kazakhstani President Nazarbaye ordered his ruling party, Nur-Otan which controls parliament to institute the necessary legal reforms which would allow for the prosecution of those implicated in graft cases. For instance, in 1998 the Kazakhstani parliament adopted laws which defined corruption and also set the national objectives and goals of fighting corruption62. To supplement this law, other statutes have been adopted which stipulated penalties in particular areas which might be prone to corruption. These areas include the public administration63, state procurement64 and the public service. These laws operate under the platform set by the 1998 law on anti graft activities.
The top down approach to anti corruption has been criticized by scholars and anti graft bodies alike for assume weaknesses. Government institutions mandated to end corruption are the same institutions which are seen as the chief agents of corruption. Furthermore, such institutions cannot act free of political interference since they essentially work agents the same government which establish and funds them. In Kazakhstan, these cases have been reported by anti graft civil authorities which accuse the state police, the executive as well as the parliament undermining the operation of such institutions. For instance, Kazakhstani media law has been amended severally by the parliament to curtail any efforts by the media to critique the government. While the Kazakhstani government claims this is in the best efforts to stifle dissent, it is evident that such the media laws stifle democracy instead65. Such failures of the Kazakhstani’s also confirm Bo Rothstein assertions that only si8mulataneosu small and large scale efforts creates the necessary big bag effect which discourages corruption. The implementations of piecemeal anti graft efforts, such as the case in Kazakhstan does not generate the necessary motivations for graft agents to end corruption
International anti-corruption standards
As argued earlier, corruption in Kazakhstan seems to thrive because of a weak legal framework as well as inefficient public administration system. Procurement malpractices are also catalyzed by a thriving economy, driven by vast oil deposits. The establishment of a capitalist economy has attracted direct foreign investment. All these factors conglomerate and create the necessary conditions for corruption66. Within the anticorruption circles in Kazakhstan, corruption is viewed as systematically ingrained in the culture of the ruling elite. While analyzed Vis a Vis the big bang theory these views tends to confirm the theory’s assertion that people history may falsely determine the way they behave in the present. This implies that people tend to borrow from history in determining the present behavior. As such, corruption agents are motivated to engage in corrupt malpractices by an already existing culture of corruption67. This assertion tends to explain the existence of endemic corruption in Kazakhstan.
Since the 1990s the Kazakh government, buoyed by a thriving democratic environment, has undertaken gradual political as well as economic reforms, all aimed at engaging anti corruption agents at both domestic and international level. At the domestic front, the government, through the Kazakhstan parliament passed a series of statutes and laws to curtailed corrupt practices. As reported by OECD, domestic laws in Kazakhstan are compressed into a comprehensive legal document aimed at suppressing corruption in the public and private sectors686970. While the Kazakhstani government has done a lot to counter corruption at the domestic front, international anti corruption agents have taken notes of the effects of corruption in curtailing the growth and development the nation at large. As reported through Wikileaks cables, Mr. Kulibayev and others relatives and friend of the Kazakh president have for along time received improper payment on behalf of President Nursultan Nazarbayev71. This proves corruption in Kazakhstan is deep rooted and that Bo Rothstein Big Bang theory on corruption is exemplified in Kazakhstan.
Regardless of the underlying big bang effect, the Kazakhstan government has endeavored to align its anti corruption agents along international anti corruption standards. Suffice to say that since the mid 1990s, many government in collaboration with a number of international organization such as transparency international, the United Nations and others have taken note of the negative effects of corruption on the world economy. These antic corruption agents have focused their efforts mainly on ratifying a series of international standards within which corruption will be curtailed at global level. As such a series of legal documents and agreements have been ratified to minimize the risk of corruption. Kazakhstani government under the leadership of President Nursultan Nazarbayev has accepted some of these ratifications. Specifically in June 2008, Kazakhstani government ratified ‘UN Convention against Corruption’, which was immediately followed by the ratification of all the protocol and requirements of the ‘UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime’.
By ratifying these standards, Kazakhstani government accepted the liability of engaging corruption at both domestic and international fronts. According to Transparency Kazakhstan the ratification off these two broad statutes was a big and positive step towards engaging endemic corruption in Kazakhstan as other powerful anti corruption agents such as the United Nation would use the necessary legal and diplomatic backing to engage corruption in Kazakhstan. This implied that domestic law such as ‘Law on Public Service’, ’Law on the Fight against Corruption’, ‘Corruption Offences Involving Unlawful Receipt of Benefits and Advantages’ would be harmonized with these ratifications. In this regard Kazakhstani domestic anti corruption legal framework has been enhanced and enabled to corporate with these international standard in criminalizing, combating endemic financial fraudulent activities such as money laundering, the recovery of assets lost through corruption, investigation as well as prosecution corruption cases7273.
Both Kazakhstan domestic anti corruption legal framework and the international standards ratified by Kazakhstani government have a number of shortcomings. The collaboration of both the domestic and international laws creates a stronger anti corruption legal background that will assist both the local and international anti corruption agents in Kazakhstan deal with corruption more efficiently. Specifically ‘UN Convention against Corruption’ has not made it criminal to conceal assets acquired through corrupt deals. Even though concealment of such assets is considered as a grave offence and covered in part by Art. 28 and Art. 363 of ‘UN Convention against Corruption’ which also stipulates a penalty of between 15 to 20 years imprisonment, most of corruption related cases under this act are categorized as grave offense. However, ‘The Decree of the President of Kazakhstan’ passed in 2005 creates the necessary leg framework for dealing with any form of corruption cases including the concealment of assets illegal acquired7475. While both the domestic and international standards seem to complement each other in combating widespread corruption in Kazakhstan, when analyzed Vis a Vis Rothstein’s big bang theory it seems that no much benefits would be created since such collaboration is gradual and is not aimed at creating the big band anti corruption effect.
Organizations which help to promote anti-corruption standards in Kazakhstan
According to Bo Rothstein, many of the anti corruption agents world, in trying to combat wide spread corruption tend to focus on their anti corruption activities on understanding why people’s behavior condone corruption as well the attitudinal changes that would effectively change people perception of corruption. Rothstein further argues that such efforts would not be successful and further explains that what is more important is for the anti corruption agents to understating what people believe about anti corruption efforts as well as the perceptions that people do have on how the world works. From a policy [point of view, Rothstein’s assertion a lot of ramifications. It implies no single anti corruption agent supersedes others in combating corruption. The judicial system cannot claim to be more equipped tan the political system. Neither can the civil society, the media, the religious organizations or any anti corruption body. This is because such organizations have only influence only over their jurisdictions and that if people do not have the right kind of attitude on the efforts of such anti corruption agents, then corruption will still thrive since people will not be motivated enough to combat corruption76.
In Kazakhstan anti corruption activities have attracted the attention of both the government, the political elite, the civil society as well as other international anti corruption agents. Notably all the anti corruption agents, other than the government backed Financial Police, paint a negative picture of corruptions standard in Kazakhstan. OECD Anti-Corruption Network reports that Kazakhstani Auditor-General, who heads the main auditing committee, ACCERB77, is powerless as that position is subsidiary to the Kazakhstani parliament. Furthermore, there is duplication of roles between ACCERB, which also confers directly to the office of the President on matters of public budget and Ministry of Finance. As such Kazakhstani presides usually has direct influence in the manner in which public resources are allocated and spent78.
This view seems to corroborate with the findings of Global Integrity, another of the international organization assisting to fight corruption in Kazakhstan. Global Integrity reports that the Kazakhstani Ombudsman Office, which is headed by and given the mandate to protect the encroachment of basic human rights and misuse of public funds by Kazakhstanis government officials,79 is relatively powerless as there is direct interference from the Kazakhstani executive. Such powerlessness seems to mock the Kazakhstani legislative empowerment80 of this office. These sentiments on the powerlessness of the office of the ombudsman are also echoed by Freedom House, an NGO concerned with rating for governments on democracy.
Freedom House assert that the Kazakhstani ombudsman office is not allowed to interfere with police work as well judiciary, some of the major government agencies accused of abetting crime in Kazakhstan. Furthermore, the office is ill equipped to handle corruption investigations in the entire public sector81. While the media is one of the most effective tool which can combat corruption from within the country, the media organizations in Kazakhstan operates under the highly confining Kazakhstan media law. Despite the fact that the Kazakhstani government claims to be democratic, it has not provide the same space to the media. The media law drafted by the Kazakhstani parliament is explicit in criminalizing any criticism leveled against the President through the media law828384. The media law was further dealt a blow in 2008 when the parliament made a number of amendments. Despite off international pressure, and instead of improving the provisions of the media law to empower the press in reporting on democratic governance , the Kazakh parliament made amendments that provide further strictly limited basic human rights such as the right to free thought, conscience and worship85.
The anti corruption activities in Kazakhstani have not been without adequate financial funding. In anticipation and appreciation of anti corruption efforts in Kazakhstani, there have emerged a number of organizations whose primary responsibility is to fund anti corruption agencies within the country. Such include the European Union. In early 2010 the European union provided in excess of Euros 3.4 million to aid in the reform of the judicial as well as the legal system for a three years period ending 201386. The purpose of this generous grant was to facilitate the implementation of the best possible international practices within the Kazakhstani judicial system that would greatly enable the curtailment of all malpractices including corruption. Furthermore, the funds were intended to address Kazakhstan lawyer assertion there needs to be security clearance, for all professional legal professionals to investigate corruption without interference from state authorities such as the police87.
The existence of anti corruption organizations in Kazakhstan has not helped much in alleviating corruption. This can be seen as the implications of Young’s social change theory which stipulates that piecemeal and gradual implementation of anti corruption strategies doesn’t lead to an effective outcomes since corruption agents will eventually spill over areas under control of the anti corruption force 8889. This is further aided by Rothstein assertion, explained earlier that people attitudes about the effectiveness of anti corruption agents determines the efficacy of the fight against corruption90. Rothstein assertion seems to agree with a survey which was conducted by sociologist in Kazakhstan. In this survey, it was found out that as much as 22% of Kazakhstani’s public tolerates corruption since they do not trust the efforts of government anti corruption efforts91. As explained above most of the international civil societies working in Kazakhstan accuse the Kazakhstan executive of wilding too much power to the extent of its benefits from corruption
Implementation of anti corruption initiatives in Kazakhstan
As previously explained, corruption in Kazakhstan is systematic; it is deeply ingrained in the Kazakhstani social, political as well as business set ups. In this view, these systems operate in such a way that corruption is highly tolerated. As explained by Bo Rothstein such systematization accrues with time and as such it builds a culture of corruption which if not countered with a big bang, it will continue to influence generations to come. This is because future generations are brought up believing that corruption is the way the things works92. With regard to effective and successful engagement of anti corruption initiatives, various approaches have been offered by professional, civil rights organizations as well as scholars. With this in mind, this section offers an overview of the present anti corruption implementation actions in Kazakhstan.
Against the backdrop of the systematic nature of graft in Kazakhstan, implementation of anti graft initiatives is also gradually progressive and systematic. As previously mentioned the president of Kazakhstan, for the last fifteen years, has been required by the law to implement five year programs aimed at creating an enabling environment for anti graft activities. Such programs are bureaucratic and systematically follow each other and are backed by the state93. By the end of the year 2010, the fourth five-year plan had just been successfully implemented94. The systematization of anti graft war in Kazakhstan is not limited to the five year programs. Other anti graft strategies are systematic as well.95. The creation of the necessary anti graft infrastructure is also systematized96. The government of Kazakhstan, unlike Rothstein, sees the attainment of a corruption free state as only achievable through a series of systematic steps97.
Amongst the very first step the government undertakes is the improvement of the judicial environment. This is done by drafting laws and making amendment in the existing laws. The purpose of this initial measure is to provide the necessary legal framework which will allow for the implementation of any anti graft strategy. This is usually followed by deliberate improvement to state corporations and institutions. Usually, surveys are done to find out the extent and the nature of graft within these institutions. This is attained by making further amendments in the legal frame based on the new findings. With such improvement of the judicial and law enforcements comes the development of anti graft programs. These programs are designed in such a way that not only do they allow for efficient operation of the domestic anti graft agencies but also cooperation with external bodies. The development of such programs happens alongside anti corruption popularization campaigns, mostly done through seminars and lectures. At this point the civil society is incorporated in anti graft activities. Incorporation of the international anti corruption agents is usually the last action98.
Conclusion
It the fight against corruption in Kazakhstan is well on course. There are many strategies in place some at the implementation stage, and others awaiting implementation. To help in the implementation process is the International community, represented by such agencies as the FBI, transparency international, Interpol amongst others. Additionally, other international organizations such as the European Union endeavor to see the end of graft in Kazakhstan and as such provide the necessary funds. These funds are committed to improving the anti graft infrastructure including the improvement of the legal framework. While there exists a set of law in Kazakhstan, the mutation nature of corruption related crime has facilitated the need to make amendment to the existing law as well as implementation of five-year anti corruption programs.
The Kazakhstani government has committed itself to fight corruption. In this regard it has created the necessary institutions such as the Security Council, the financial police among others. Furthermore, the government has endeavored to cooperate with international bodies that fight corruption. As such the Kazakhstani government has ratified a series of international standards such as the UN convention against corruption amongst others. Regardless of all these efforts, ending of graft seem to be evading Kazakhstani anti graft agencies. This is due to, as Rothstein explains, assuming the wrong approach to anti corruption. According to Rothstein no matter the efforts put, if those efforts do not create a big bang effect, then corruption agents will not be motivated to stops corruption. In this view, the intensive anti corruption strategies would not work. Suffice to say that all anti corruption agents needs to have a different approach to combating corruption.
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Certain Issues of State [Kazakhstan] order 2003 art 1225.
Holding Administratively Liable the Spouses of Public Servants for Failure to Submit or Untimely Submission of Tax Declarations on Aggregate Annual Income [Kazakhstan] order 2001 art 7-21.
Regulation and Control over Entrepreneurship Activity in the Republic of Kazakhstan [Kazakhstan] Order 1999 art 3.
Transparency International, “Corruption Perceptions Index 2009 South Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia” 2009. Web.
Richard Hoagland, “US embassy cables: Kazakhstan’s anti-corruption campaign” 2009 Web.
Arnur Aubakirov, “Government OKs New Plan to Fight Corruption” 2011 Web.
Michael Johnston. Syndromes of corruption : wealth, power, and democracy. (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge 2005.)
Offe, Claus. Political Corruption. Conceptual and Practical Issues. (Palgrave/Macmillan, New York: 2004) 77-99.
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Bo Rothstein. “Anti-Corruption – A Big Bang Theory”. Department of Political Science, Göteborg University 2007 Web.
Peyton Young, Individual Strategy and Social Structure: An Evolutionary Theory of Institutions (Princeton University Press, Princeton 1998).
Hung-En Sung, “Democracy and Political Corruption: A Cross-national Comparison.” 2004. Crime Law and Social Change 41:179-194
Donatella della Porta and Alberto Vannucci. Corrupt exchanges: actors. resources, and mechanisms of political corruption(Aldine de Gruyter, New York1999)
Thomas Schelling, Social Mechanisms and Social Dynamics (Department of Sociology, Stockholm 1996).
Central Asia Newswire, “Kazakhstan, 10-year anti-corruption strategy” 2011 Web.
Abdumalik Nysanbayev, Kazakhstan: cultural inheritance and social transformation(The council for research for values and philosophy, Altiny 2003).
Deborah Hefferon, “Kazakhstan – Language, Culture, Customs and Business Etiquette” 2011 Web.
Zengke He, “Fighting against local corruption through institutional innovations in current China.” China News Service 2000. Web.
Faisal Abtani, “The prevention of financial crime within an Islamic legal framework” Economic Affairs, Vol. 27 Issue. 200.
Anti Corruption Resource Centre, Islamic Approaches to Corruption Web.
James Hollyer, “Is it better to Empower the People or the Authorities? Assessing the Conditional Effects of ‘Top-Down’ and ‘Bottom-Up’ Anti-Corruption Interventions” Center for International and Area Studies Yale 2011 Web.
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Sanford Gordon, “Assessing Partisan Bias in Federal Public Corruption Prosecutions.” The American Political Science Review (2009). 103(4):534–55.
Alícia Adserà, Carles Boix and Mark Payne. “Are You Being Served? Political Accounatability and Quality of Government.” (2003). The Journal of Law, Economics & Organization 19(2):445–490.
Law on Anticorruption Efforts [1998] 267-1.
Law on A Code of Ethics for State Officials [2005].
Law on State Procurement [2002].
IRIN, “Kazakhstan: Media watchdogs pessimistic about new press law” 2011 Web.
Bo Rothstein, ‘Anti-corruption: the indirect ‘big bang’ approach’, (2011) Review of International Political Economy, 18: 2, 228 — 250.
OECD, “Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic Of Kazakhstan, The Kyrgyz Republic, The Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Ukraine” 2005 Web.
Law on Corruption Offences Involving Unlawful Receipt of Benefits and Advantages [1998] 267-3.
Ibid.
Law On Public Service CC [1998].
Richard Orange 2010, “WikiLeaks: Kazakh billionaire who bought Duke of York’s home has ‘avarice for large bribes’” Web.
OSCE, “OSCE Centre helps promote international anti-corruption standards in Kazakhstan” 2010 Web.
The Law On Civil Service [1999].
The Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter: CC) [2003.
Bo Rothstein, Anti-Corruption. The Indirect “Big Bang” Approach Quality of Government Institute,” University of Gothenburg.
ACCERB, “Accounts Committee for Control over Execution of the Republican Budget of the Republic of Kazakhstan” Web.
CAN, “Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Ukraine” 2006 Web.
Ombudsman Institution in Kazakhstan, “Activity” 2011. Web.
Statute on Commissioner for Human Rights established {Kazakhstan] Order 2001 art 947.
Hjörtur TORFASSON, “European Commission For Democracy Through Law. (Venice Commission) In Co-operation with the Constitutional Council of Kazakhstan” Web.
Bruce Pannier, “Kazakhstan: Journalists Concerned About Effects Of Draft Media Law” 2004 Web.
Global Campaign for Free Expression MEMORANDUM on the Draft Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Mass Media 2004 Web.
Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Mass Media’ (Mazhilis) [2004].
Law on Religion and Religious Associations (Mazhilis) [1992].
EU,” Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Kazakhstan,” European Commission Web.
Rothstein, Bo, and Daniel Eek. “Political Corruption and Social Trust: An Experimental Approach.” (American Political Science Association Philadelphia 2006).
Mark Warren. “What Does Corruption Mean in a Democracy?” (2004). American Journal of Political Science 48:328-343.
Bo Rothstein and Stolle Dietlind.. “The State and Social Capital: An Institutional Theory of Generalized Trust.” (2008) Comparative Politics.
Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights, Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, Freedom of Peaceful Assembly in Kazakhstan: Authorization Denied, Final Report on Monitoring Freedom of Peaceful Assembly in the Republic of Kazakhstan During its Chairmanship of the OSCE (Almaty: Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, 2010): 3.
Bo Rothstein, “Social Capital, Economic Growth and Quality of Government: The Causal Mechanism.” (2005) New Political Economy 14:67-87.
James Rauchand Evans Peter. “Bureaucratic Structure and Bureaucratic Performance in Less Developed Countries” (2000) Journal of Public Economics 75:49–71.
Susan Rose-Ackerman, 2006 International handbook on the economics of corruption (Edward Elgar Publishing, new jersey 2006).
UNDP. “Fighting Corruption in Post-Communist States- Lessons from Practice” 2002 Web.
Blake Puckett, “Clans And The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Individualized Corruption Prosecution In Situations Of Systemic Corruption “ 2010 Georgetown Journal of International Law’s Web.
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As Boylan (1-2) argues, corruption is one of the prime causes of Russia’s political, economic and, social problems, because of the rampant involvement of most government officials in corruption. As he further adds, although the government has put down measures to contain the practice, for example, the adoption of the 1997 anti-graft legislation, such efforts have achieved little, as corruption has become a normal practice in the Russian bureaucracy.
One thing that makes the whole scenario worse is the fact that, the same law enforcing officials mandated with the duty of safeguarding the Russian citizenry’s rights, have collaborated with corrupt groups to terrorize the same citizens they took oath to protect. Therefore, as a result of these “gangs” sharing their gains with law enforcing agents, the economic security of most business persons is at stake hence, the common practice of businesspersons also offering bribes to receive protection.
For example, in 1999, over 5.7% of the total annual earnings of the Russian government were bribes. The same has been the trend over subsequent years, because of the increasing corruption index. Although most research findings showed a decline of revenues received from bribe tax by 0.3% from the previous 1.4% in 2006, the corruption index has risen over the recent years, as currently the Russia corruption syndicates contribute over 300 billion annually (Roaf 1-3).
In addition, as media reports indicate, the extortion of money from innocent citizens in Russia has developed into a recognized institution, because the practice is not only common in business world, but also the practice is spreading into learning institutions, military recruiting agencies, and learning institutions. Because of such uncontrolled corruption levels, organizations that have failed to comply with the new corruption standards have been forced to go into liquidation and there is increased lack of media freedom.
In addition, because of the clear connection between corruption and increased crime, security standards have declined in Russia, because of the ever-increasing net of criminal gangs, which evade the long arms of the law, because of the nature of bribes that they offer (Feifer 1). Considering these effects resulting from the escalating levels of corruption in Russia, corruption is one of the primary impediments on Russia’s political and economic stability and democracy.
Causes of corruption
Historically, the falling of communism opened doors to the economic market restructuring of Russia’s economic structures. In the process of that transition, criminal organizations rose into power as most business operators sought ways of protecting their wealth. One of such groups was the Russian Mafia, a criminal gang that controls a bigger section of Russia’s black market.
In addition, back then, Russia lacked a strong police force to combat criminal gangs hence, giving way to increasing cases of insecurity, money laundering and corruption, as this was the only way of protecting one’s acquired wealth (Glenny 10-33). Although incoming and outgoing governments have put up measures to combat these practices, these historically inherited behavioral norms have been the hardest to eliminate from the streets and public offices in Russia.
The corruption net in Russia is very wide, as it involves both government officials and most powerful business stakeholders, who control the biggest ratio of Russia’s economy. Although most individuals assume that corruption is a historical heritage in Russia, as Roaf (2-4) argues, this problem has persisted, because the government of Russia has failed to enact strong legislation to combat the vice.
For example, Russia’s complex tax and custom system does not safeguard citizens from power abusers, who take advantage of weaknesses in the accounting and auditing systems to steal public funds. In addition to such deficits in regulation, the government has also failed adopt effective capital controls to manage the flow of money among its citizenry.
These inadequacies have forced most low-earning government officials to engage in corrupt deals to substantiate their economic deficits. On the other hand, excessive government taxation imposed on citizens has made the scenario worse, as most low-earning employees have to carry the burden of the system.
In addition to weak economic control measures, Russia has a weak legal enforcement system hence, the nature of failures that are clear when it comes to prosecuting crime perpetrators. Majority of crime perpetrators are individuals of the political class and the business elites; hence, considering the influence they have on the government, it becomes very hard to prosecute them, as this may jeopardize the stability of Russia.
In addition to governmental flaws, the civil societal has also failed to defend citizens’ civil rights through monitoring all governmental processes. The fact that there are clear media biases in reporting corruption cases in the government have made the case worse, as most media reports never expose the real corruption level in Russia (Orttung 2-3).
Effects of Corruption in Russia
The Russian corruption takes two primary forms namely; stealing of public finances by governmental officials and soliciting of bribes by governmental officials for any service offered. Regardless of the form of corruption, all sectors of the Russian bureaucracy have felt the effects of corruption.
The effects are so damaging to an extent, most foreign investors have been scared to invest more of their funds in Russia. For example, in 2009, IKEA (a Swedish firm that deals with furniture products) announced its intention to terminate its business expansion prospects, because of the unpredictability of Russia’s market structures.
Considering this, corruption has greatly contributed to the declining growth and development levels in Russia, because of the increased inequality in resource and capital finance distribution. Majority of the individuals who benefit from corruption funds are politicians, prominent businesspersons, some criminalized gangs, hence, the common citizen rarely benefits from such proceeds, although they are the main taxpayers (Stott 1).
One prime product of the rising Russia’s corruption levels is abuse of office power by governmental officials. Soliciting of bribes from citizens by governmental officials has become a common practice among all public office bearers in Russia. This has greatly affected the distribution of public finances, as most of these officials have diverted most public finances into personal pockets.
Such diversion of public funds resulting from abuse of office powers has made the Russian government to loose billions of development revenue. For example, annually the Russian government losses billions of dollars to rogue importers who bribe custom officials hence, evading paying tax. As research studies show, although Russia has no mechanisms of accounting for this in its national budget deficit, this is a clear indication of weaknesses in its revenue management systems.
Economically, corruption has reduced the level of both local and international investment levels, as most investors have expressed intentions of withholding or withdrawing their investments from Russia. Russia is one of the Asian countries with the lowest levels of foreign direct investments, as its increased corruption levels have deterred normal business operations.
On the other hand, corruption is one of the primary factors that have deterred the much anticipated for industrial restructuring. There has been many corruption reported cases among most firms participating in this process, as most of them have to bribe their way into getting the contracts hence, perform poorly (Roaf 4-6).
Another detrimental effect of the increasing levels of corruption in Russia is denial of media freedom. Prior to Putin’s media crackdown of 2006, the media played a central role of exposing all governmental corruption scandals. This changed with the confiscating of media rights hence, the current media biased reports of the level of corruptions.
Majority of currently operating media houses in Russia are state managed or are managed by individuals who have strong ties with the government hence, the current controlled flow of information. Going hand in hand with confiscation of media rights is the declining respect of citizen’s fundamental rights.
The government has failed to protect its citizens from the corrupt hands of middlepersons and law enforcing agents who have greatly abused their powers. Over the recent past, more so prior to the 2007-2008 elections, the government took most previously owned private organizations, for example, the Gazpron energy and Yukos oil company.
This largely has denied citizens property ownership rights, as most individuals cannot afford to pay big taxes or bribes demanded by finance officials to sustain their enterprises. In addition to taking away of media and private ownership rights, as Orttung (4-5) argues, corruption is one of the primary causative agents of the increased state insecurity as more criminal gangs have rose into power.
The organized crime gang net in Russia is very extensive to an extent it operates not only in Russia, but also in other international countries, because of the increased corruption levels in Russia’s custom department. Considering this, although the present leadership has put up measures to deal with the situation, still corruption remains one of the biggest problems facing the Russian government (Serio 11-27).
In conclusion, the impacts of corruption are evident in Russia with the current increasing levels of abuse of power by government officials. Therefore, to remedy the problem, there is need for the Russian government to adopt means of reforming its systems of governance, as this is the only way of cleaning its systems from negative impacts of corruption.
In addition, there is need for development of a free civil society, which should go hand in hand with decentralization of power, because of the need to reduce the current abuse of office of power among its officers.
Corruption has become a livelihood for many government officials worldwide. Russia is no exception with government officials being the most involved in corruption cases. The rising corruption cases have been related to the 2006 Russian president’s policies that were meant to strengthen the state on the expense of the Russia’s civil society. The vice even expanded in 2007 – 2008 elections as well as in other aspects of Russian public life.
Though anti-corruption organizations such as Transparency International agree that corruption in Russia has decreased over the years, the amounts of bribes being given are increasing as well (Welu 1). Many corruption cases in Russia have been associated with bureaucrats which instead of developing economic growth, they are more involved with corruption. The most incidences of corruption cases in Russia are occurring in the cities where large numbers of bureaucrats are found.
However, corruption is basically everywhere in Russia. Traffic police have been shaking down motorists, bribes by government officials especially from businessmen, just to mention a few. As a matter of fact, Transparency International has ranked Russia as one of the major corrupt economies in the world with the prime minister being alleged of having obtained wealth by illicit ways. Law enforcement agencies including the police are no exception.
Some even go to the extent of tricking drivers roads in order to get them to break the law so as to obtain bribes from them. Institutions like schools and hospitals are also involved in corruption where students pay their teachers in order to get good grades, patients pay doctors in order be given health services that should be given free. The greatest percentage of Russians has admitted having given bribes to the extent of threatening the nation’s economic stability.
The core of Russia’s corruption has always been the law enforcement which has made alliances with a number of crimes. Most of the law enforcement officials spent most of their time looking for possible ways of obtaining corporate raid. This has drained great Russian citizens especially businessmen who have fled to other countries for fear of getting mixed up with the law (Owen 1).
Corruption has destroyed many citizens’ relationships with the police, politicians as well as non- governmental officials. The amounts of bribes given by businessmen have been reported to be more than the national budget. What is disturbing is that bureaucrats take bribes from businessmen promising them to provide legal business operation regulations, but they do not keep their promises. Studies have described this kind of corruption as being a great threat to the nation’s economy.
Corruption has been linked to low salary levels of most officials. Due to these claims, they get involved in corruption with the claims that it is the governments fault after all. Corruption has been described as a symptom of other nation problems. Such problems in Russia include an impassive parliament, intimidated media or an influenced judicial system. Failure to practice democracy in Russia has been another cause of corruption.
However, public servants have been received salary increments but this has not stopped their corrupt deeds. This is because are much lower than what they always get from bribes. For instance, judges’ salaries have been raised and still bribery levels in this department are increasing.
This scenario is worsened by the fact that current bureaucracy operates without any supervision and control of power since the internal checks have been abolished from the administration. As a result, basis for corruption is created especially in the nongovernmental organizations which now have the rights to control actions on them by the government.
Consequences of corruption in Russia
A number of negative outcomes have occurred in Russia due to corruption. Most o them have affected the nation’s economy as well as political systems. The 2007 and 2008 parliamentary and presidential elections respectively were greatly influenced by corruption.
It is obvious that official who were in office before the elections were afraid of losing power to new groups since they can only obtain wealth illegally when in office. They were also afraid of being prosecuted once they leave office and lose power. This has caused a battle between the new group and that of Putin being left behind.
Formation of political parties have also been a problem since the bureaucrats have an already established party of their own that is only based on staying in office to preserve their power(Feifer 1). However, the opposition party made the fight against corruption its main agenda during the campaigns which resulted to be a powerful tool for them. However, these anti corruption claims were not real since both groups used the claims only to gain support in the elections.
Government officials have cracked down the Russian media in order to prevent exposure of their corrupt dealings. The most influential television networks are now operating under the direct control of the government. Printing companies that were initially private are now being run under the state’s control.
Political officials are ensuring that there is no information publication in regional media and the internet. However, some anti-corruption efforts have bared fruits with a Russian governor being jailed recently while other political officials are facing charges over abuse of power. Despite the success however, the corruption fight was used as a political tool by Kremlin which means that after he gets into office, he no longer fought against the vice.
The energy sector has been the most affected as the government is taking over most of the assets of this very vital sector. The state has bought and moved most of the assets of the important oil companies to the company that is controlled by the state. Russia’s oil pipelines are also exclusively owned and controlled by the state giving it control over foreign energy firms that are involved in Russia’s energy sector (Englund 1) .
The banking sector has also been affected by corruption with the state making no efforts to reform the financial institutions whose operations have not been clear. This is in order for the political officials to control the country’s economy. These intentions were clearly demonstrated with the murder of the country’s great economy regulator, Andrei Kozlov, who was working on shut down of corrupt banks.
The increased crime and terrorism attacks have been facilitated by corruption especially in the law enforcement department which is supposed to protect the country against such vices. Instead the officials are involved in allowing the operations of crime and terrorism in order to get bribes all at the expense of fellow citizens.
Corruption has also enabled the entry of illicit goods to the country by corrupt border guards. Most of these goods are drugs which have affected the youth negatively. A number of mayors responsible for city property management have been assassinated to allow corrupt political officials to access the property.
Addressing corruption
The initial effort in fighting corruption in Russia should be the reformation of the bureaucracy. The government too should be accountable to citizens and this can only be achieved by allowing free media. Power should be decentralized to local levels to allow for efficient checks and balances between the federal and local levels of governance.
Initiation of equal economic developments all over the country can provide a great base for the fight against corruption. Policy makers especially from U.S. should help Russia in realizing its anti-corruption policies. Russia has been advised to join an Anti-Bribery Convention which will evaluate Russia’s current anti-corruption efforts and enforce implementation of policies to prevent corruption by all member officials.
Conclusion
It is clear that corruption in Russia has diminished economic growth in the country with the most affected being the poor citizens who, in most cases, are deprived of their rights. Instead only the rich enjoy the state’s services through bribery which are meant to freely serve everyone. Since corruption is deep-rooted from the government officials, only they can twist the situation by stopping abuse of power to get everything they want.
Power should also be decentralized to allow the local authorities check and balance the state’s operations. A transparent and efficient commission against corruption should be formed to investigate those who are faced with corruption allegations and ensure that they are dealt with by the law. Most importantly, for the fight against corruption in Asia to succeed, federal officials should start the process from a personal level by not accepting or giving a bribe.
Corruption is one of the big problems in various developing countries that are rich in oil. It has been considered to be pervasive and an important element of resource curse. Corruption has always been extreme in Angola and Nigeria and billions of US dollars have been disappearing.
Most of the disappearing billions are from kickbacks, and this has led to the concentration of the wealth into few hands. Since the countries are endowed with resources, they are said to suffer from the resource curse. Angola is considered to be the second oil produce after Nigeria.
Angola receives a lot of money from various oil companies in the form of signature bonuses that are received before the signing of contracts. The oil wealth has been to line and oil the wallets of the elite and political class within the society.
Unbridled corruption is the norm in the oil economies. In Angola, the aid agencies have estimated that billions of dollars have been lost in royalty payments through corruption.
Corruption and Bribery in the Oil Sector
A lot of oil revenues have disappeared from government coffers according to the reports by the Human Rights Watch and Global Witness. There has been evidence according to studies undertaken in France and Switzerland about the bribes that are given to the president of Angola Eduardo Dos Santos, and it is by no coincidence that he is the Richest Angolan.
Corruption is the main bane of the Nigerian development, and this has eroded the benefits of oil wealth. Corruption is endemic in the Nigerian economy with oil serving to distort the oil structure. The Nigerian domestic refineries have been laid into waste due to the rampant cases of mismanagement and corruption.
It is by no coincidence that Nigeria is ranked as the third most corrupt country in the world. The corruption in Nigeria is manifested in various media sources and tribunals that have been established to investigate some cases of financial impropriety on the government officials (Jerome, Adjibolosoo & Busari, 2005, p. 4).
The oil industry in the African continent, particularly in the largest oil producers like Angola and Nigeria is the centre of corruption and there is a need to introduce transparency in the management of oil resources. This is illustrated in Angola and Nigeria where billions of shillings cannot be accounted for.
Oil wealth is unable to translate to economic development within these countries. Government official have been enriching themselves by diverting oil money and revenue as well as taking of bribes. This was illustrated in Switzerland when a judge froze several accounts that had millions of dollars which was used by foreign businessmen to bribe Angolans.
A trial in Paris of three business executives’ demonstrated that Total Final Elf spent a lot of money in bribes. Halliburton, a US oil services company has openly admitted bribing tax officials in Nigeria (Kochan & Goodyear, 2011, p. 103).
Angola and Nigeria are the largest oil producers in the sub-Saharan Africa, and their economy is highly dependent on oil exports. Despite oil generating a lot of revenues, the two countries and its population still languish in poverty. 63 percent of the Angolan revenue and 40 percent of the Nigerian revenue come from oil.
From the turn of the century there have been a lot of efforts to try to gain access to the oil deposits of Nigeria and Angola, this global competition was intensified by the deep water technology introduced between 2004 and 2008. There is a need for Nigeria and Angola to invest the huge oil deposits in order to enhance the standard of living for their population (Bloomberg, 2012, p. 1).
Management of Oil Reserves
The management of the huge oil resources is considered a crucial factor for the development of the two countries and the reduction of poverty. Corruption, bribery, lack of transparency in the allocation of an oil license is a cause of concern. It is accepted that the misappropriation of oil revenues and assets by the corrupt elites is the main cause of the underdevelopment of these countries.
In Angola, the documented cases of corruption by the Global Witness in the oil sector manifest the rampant cases of corruption. The documented cases of corruption explain how the wealth and oil revenues of Angola have been subverted for perennial gain and to support the selfish aspirations of the elite individuals who are at the centre of power in the country (Global Witness, 2012, p. 6).
According to the report by the Time for Transparency, approximately US $ 1 billion of the oil revenues goes unaccounted for. The revenues from oil in Nigeria and Angola are often subject to corrupt deals, and the governments are not in a position to account for it.
In Nigeria, people in authority or public figures have high tendency to abuse the oil revenue. Sani Abacha, for example, is estimated to have looted a lot of dollars and dashed it into foreign accounts.
Various multinational firms have been found guilty of bribing authorities in order to gain access to the exploitation and transit of oil (Nicholas, n.d, p. 4). A US construction company called Kellogg Brown admitted being part of a bribing scheme in order to get a contract of constructing a natural-gas plant.
The Global freight forwarding company admitted that through its subsidiaries and affiliate companies, it managed to bribe various foreign and local officials in Nigeria and Angola on behalf of their customers and for this it was forced to pay a criminal penalty after investigation.
There have been a lot of concerns as to how licenses are given to oil and gas companies; this is because there is no prospect of transparency as to the exact amount of revenue or license fee paid by the companies to the respective governments (Global Witness, 2012, p. 7).
In the two countries, corruption characterizes the overall resources curse, and it is considered to be a huge problem. Bribery and corruption in the two countries take a political and bureaucratic form, and it can as well involve the abuse of office by the decision-makers and also corrupt acts by the officers who are responsible for the formulation of policies.
The prevalence of lack of transparency is manifested in the case of Angola. The country has poor distribution of wealth and income due to the unaccountability of the government to the people. Angola is perceived to the highly corrupt in the world, and it is ranked at position 142 out of 163 by the transparency international perception index (Brief, 2008, p. 2).
Conclusion
Angola and Nigeria are faced by rampant corruption and bribery. The players in the oil sector have the belief that bribing and corruption is inevitable. Several oil companies have admitted to having bribed officials in the oil sector in order to gain favors and contracts. Resources curse is closely linked to corruption and bribery in the two countries.
In these countries a lot of money can not be accounted for and corruption is taking a bureaucratic way and government official have developed the habit of abusing oil revenue. The oil sector has been converted as the epicenter of corruption in the two countries. Global Witness, a Non-governmental organization has tabulated various cases of bribery and corruption in the Nigerian and Angolan oil sector.
Global Witness, 2012. Rigged?: The scramble for Africa’s oil. Gas and minerals. Web.
Jerome, A., Adjibolosoo, S. & Busari, D. 2005. “Addressing oil related corruption in Africa. Is the push for transparency enough?”, Review of Human Factor Studies Special Edition vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 7-32.
Kochan, N. & Goodyear, R. 2011. Corruption: The new corporate challenge, Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Nicholas, S., Oil, Corruption and the resource curse. Web.
Corruption is one of the biggest menaces that have faced the current world. It is vice that has robed many if not all nations a lion share of the resources that would otherwise been placed in capital projects. Across the globe political corruption has manifested in the manner that public officers have used their de jure powers for illegitimate benefits.
The political officers who are charged with the core obligation of discharging their mandate with the cardinal objective of protecting the interest of the public have gone astray and turned a threat to the welfare of their employers, the citizens who pay taxes hoping better delivery of public goods.
“Corruption manifests itself in varied forms that range from bribery, nepotism, misappropriation of resources, graft and patronage,” Ades,A & Di Tella, R. (1995). This kind of practices has resulted in the loss of public confidence on their own government .During electioneering period political candidates have promised haven to the electorate on their desire to relentlessly fight the vice raising the public morale to vote in favor of such candidates.
These expectations abort immediately after the winners take over governance and begin to slow down their promises. Many governments have put in place institutions that are geared towards spearheading the war against graft. The anti graft bodies have ended up utilizing public resources without proper accountability as to the output from execution of their mandate.
Globalization has had a great impact on corruption .With globalization the ways in which corruption is practiced has been transformed to take into consideration the technological advancement. The improved communication in the mobile telephony for example has enhanced coordination between various corrupt officials and made it possible for faster corrupt practices. Globalization has enhanced transnational activities e.g. human trafficking, drug trafficking and terrorism.
The war on corrupt practices has also been complicated with better new ideas and software that conceals evidence necessary for indictment of corrupt officers. However, globalization has also enhanced the fight against corruption by boosting the modes of carrying out investigation and improving the methods of netting criminals e.g. through the use if CCTV surveillances and use of modern equipment in fighting terrorism.
The transnational security threat caused by corruption is fast escalating across the boarders of the nations. Some of the security threats arising from corrupt activities include drug trafficking, international terrorism, kidnapping, international illegal immigration and money laundering. These threats to security has created instability causing fear by investors and other economic agents to withdraw their investments a move that has adversely affected the economic prosperity and growth of the economies (Chinhamo, O. & Shumba, G. 2007).
It is the misuse of the legitimate authority that has hugely fueled these activities that results in the global threat and security gap. The custom officers who are responsible for guarding the territorial boarders against smuggling of dangerous products have severally abdicated their mandate of protection and continuously used their position for selfish and short term economic benefits.
Taking into account the threat of drug trafficking has led to the fraudulent smuggling of illegal drugs onto the countries boundaries without having followed the legal procedures and practices (Benaissa, H. 1993).
Worst still is that the syndicate that trades in the dangerous drugs is the top government officials and rich business person who are hard to bring into account and have proper legal verdict passed to them. The act has further increased the distributional gap between the rich and the have not. Again the drugs like cocaine, bhang and nicotine among other drugs have negatively robbed the states the strong labour force that could contribute greatly to the nation’s income.
Majority of the drug consumers are the youth who after addiction and drunkenness have been driven into oblivion and thus becoming non productive. Some have thereafter engaged in criminal activities e.g. crimes and theft a situation that has created instability and led to heavy expenditure on the security budget.
Atatas S.H. (1990) argues that International illegal immigration which is also as a result of corruption has caused a threat to security as citizens from other nations aim at extending terrorism in peaceful states. These individuals are characterized by sneaking with dangerous arsenal that can be used to destroy the peaceful coexistence. The immigration officers have thus slept on the job by not becoming strong on the need to be vigilant on international movement thus enhancing criminal activities across the globe.
Human trafficking has also been in the rise in the international scenario. Many individuals have been kidnapped across the boarders and detained. The kidnappers have always demanded exorbitant payment in order to release the victims. This way corruption has been facilitated by the collusion of our security servicemen to drive the world in further security threats.
International terrorism has for a long duration remained a headache in the international situation with many heads of states organizing for international treaties and agreements on the need to corporate to help eradicate the threat of terrorism. Terrorism has destroyed trillions of investments within seconds when missiles are directed towards cities and towns with a bid to have supremacy gains.
The world leader s who are interested in having recognition without any tangible reasons have embarked on this kind of unproductive war to have themselves known. Through the wanton destruction of property the states have lost a great deal of resources that could be used to finance capital projects
Finally, the impact caused by money laundering has threatened countries financial system and caused financial panic amongst the various financial institutions. Income that has sneaked into the financial system without clear roots has made it difficult for the policymakers to come up with policy documents that can help manage the economy in prudent manner. The practice has resulted into serious inflationary impact and financial shock that has caused financial flight.
This move has retarded the growth of the economies and employment has thus been curtailed as a result of the minimum opportunities. What now remains clear is that the transnational crimes that results from corruption are of high gravity and must be given the attention and weight necessary for mitigating their huge impacts.
Accordingly to Ades,A & Di Tella, R. (1995). the US government should build on its international relations with other states and nations around the globe to assist in curtailing the terrorism threat and drug trafficking amongst various crimes. It is in only symbiotically coordinating with other states and international community that may aid easy apprehending of the criminals.
The upheaval that is likely to be encountered is the differing international laws and varied practices and cultures. Any way it would be much easy and cheaper for seeking this cooperation and integration as international unnecessary barriers will be past constraint.
In conclusion the adverse effects of corruption are of great magnitude and efforts have to be put into place to help curb the problem. Corruption must be viewed in a wider perspective and the manners in which it intersects with other transnational threat are indispensable in our discussion. It is therefore in order for every patriotic us citizen to shun this vice and avoid engaging in any act that breach the set laws.
Reference List
Ades,A & Di Tella, R. (1995). Competition and Corruption: Applied Economics Discussion. Oxford: Oxford University press.
Atatas S.H. (1990). Corruption: Its nature, Causes and functions.Aldershot: Alianza
Benaissa, H. (1993). Corruption and the Socio-cultural cotext. Deventer: Kluwer Law and taxation publishers
Chinhamo, O. & Shumba, G. (2007). Institutional working definition of corruption. London: Macmillan Publishers.
Nigeria and Angola are some of the African states that are frequently faced with corruption in the oil sector mainly because of a number of factors, including the presence of Multinational Companies and defective governmental policies. Personal rulers ruled these states in early 1990s before the end of the Cold War.
The political leaders entered into various contacts with MNCs from developed countries, who took advantage of underdevelopment in Africa. The two states are the largest producers of oil in Africa, even though they are still poor, as compared to other states that have oil across the world.
Government contracts are awarded to friendly oil companies that would later share the proceeds with a few elites in government. Some organizations such as the Global Witness claim that oil fields have provided the two states with billions of dollars but the same dollars end up in pockets of few government autocrats.
In fact, the global agency on corruption and misappropriation of public funds claims that poverty in the two states should be attributed to corruption and mismanagement of public resources such as oil (Shleifer &Vishney 1993, p. 602).
In the two states, non-existent companies are given lucrative concessions, but no clear records showing the beneficiaries of the projects. On the other hand, officials from Angolan and Nigerian governments claim to be making progress as far as transparency in the oil sector is concerned, which would attract genuine foreign investors.
It is established that Nigeria is the main oil producer in the entire region of Africa, pumping approximately 2.14 barrels of crude oil in the global market per day while Angola is known to contribute approximately 1.79 million barrels of crude oil to the world market daily. Currently, Angola is in the final touches of a deal, enabling it to receive 1.4 billion US dollars to boost the oil sector.
Due to this partnership, the state has gone ahead to reveal its expenditures and records on oil exploration (Baumol 2002, p. 19). Equally, Nigeria has also set up some policies that would help it cope with the increasing cases of oil fraud, one of them being liberalizing the oil sector.
This paper talks about corruption and bribery in the oil sector in Nigeria and Angola. It is established that corruption in the two states is closely related, even though each state will be discussed separately.
Background Information
Angola
On 15 July 2000, one of the most stable oil companies in Angola , the Marathon Oil Company, deposited 13, 717, 989 American dollars to one of the Jersey banks accounts in England. The bank is known for its rigorous banking laws. Investigations revealed that the one of the Angola’s bourgeoisie, Sonangol, owned the luxurious bank account.
It was later established that the amount represented the one-third agreement between the American based oil company and the Angolan government. The firm had been contracted to transact oil business on behalf of the Angolan government. Within the same period, Sonangol was believed to have transferred a certain amount of money to a private account belonging to him.
Furthermore, private investigations revealed that in the same period, some government officials, including the government minister, received some sums of money (Jerome, Adjibolosoo & Busari 2005, p. 26).
For instance, a charitable organization owned by the then head of state, as well as a private bank in Angola charged with the responsibility of checking the bank accounts of those alleged to be engaging in illegal firearms trade, received huge amounts of money.
It is evident that byzantine political and economic associations in Angola are prevalent. In fact, the state is one of the lowest in terms of transparency according to the TICPI rankings. The most surprising thing is that American firms and other firms from developed nations continue to conduct business with the government oil firm of Angola.
In the state, human rights organizations, diplomatic missions and supranational organizations have raised alarms over the misappropriation of public funds but no one is willing to listen. Indeed, the proceeds from oil end up in the pockets of a few individuals in government. Moreover, the finances are used to procure firearms that would later be used to propagate civil unrests.
However, neither the UN nor the IMF has been able to substantiate such claims. It is therefore true that proceeds from oil have destabilized the nation for many years, leading to loss of lives and property. The 25-year-old civil war is approximated to have affected several individuals, 500,000 people having been killed.
Nevertheless, infant mortality rate is always high because the state is unable to provide quality healthcare to expectant mothers and the newborns. Similarly, life expectancy has declined to hit 45 years, down from 60 years (Kochan & Goodyear 2011, p. 12).
In Angola, individuals are known to export more oil as compared to the state agency charged with the responsibility of marketing Angolan oil abroad. In 2000 for instance, the state exported oil totaling to 6.9 billion US dollars. Out of the total amount, 2.9 billion dollars belonged to one individual that is, Sonangol.
Analysts claim that about one billion US dollars flow into and out of private bank accounts yearly. Surprisingly, the Angolan law provides that all oil proceeds should be used to better the living standards of citizens, through construction of infrastructure, offering quality healthcare and improving the knowledge of citizens.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists observed that money is usually transferred from Multinational Companies to private bank accounts, without considering taxation and other requirements. This would mean national and international laws governing the behavior of state and non-state actors in the international political economy are not followed.
In 1977, the US government sponsored a bill referred to as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to curb the increasing cases of bribery but the law seems to be ineffective in stemming out corruption in Angola. International political economy scholars observe that Multinational Companies use their political and financial power to influence international laws that create barriers to their operations.
The power of such MNCs block the countries of the core from influencing the third world to accept policies that would curtail corruption conflicts emerging from scramble of oil. In Angola, oil firms have a tendency of hiring government security agencies, such as the police and the military to provide security to oil exploration fields, which have complicated the security of the state since early 1980s.
Oil crisis and corruption in Angola can be traced back to its establishment in 1956, when the Portuguese government set out plans to explore oil. Immediately after the departure of Portuguese in 1975, various groups scrambled for oil in the state.
Some groups employed a Marxist approach to the development of the economy, such as the MPLA, FNLA, and UNITA. In 1976, MPLA managed to form a government based at Luanda and went ahead to form a national oil company (Sonangol) that would assist to market Angola’s oil locally and internationally.
Immediately it was formed, the MPLA government used the proceeds from the Sonangol to wrestle its long-term enemy, the UNITA group, which had its funds from other sources such as diamond trade, the apartheid regime from South Africa and the US government. However, the civil war did not affect oil exploration because external forces controlled the sector.
Through the president’s charitable organization, a lot of money has been channeled to private projects that do not aim at benefiting the people of Angola. The organization claims to fund social projects such as setting up of hospitals, funding university education and supporting the construction of social amenities such as universities and schools. Through such projects, billions of dollars have been lost.
It can be concluded in this section that leading oil MNCs such as BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Ocean Energy are responsible for the rising cases of bribery in Angola. For instance, the head of state Dos Santos was invited in a private meeting organized by the named oil firms in the US to chart the way forward.
The Angolan forces had eliminated the UNITA opposition leader three days before the meeting but the US government was reluctant to question the credibility of the visit. In fact, the US government sent a representative in the meeting.
From the above analysis, it can be observed that the rich countries do not pressurize the less developed states to open up their economies and to embrace transparency in case their people and companies are benefiting from the arrangement. This shows that states are led their national interests in the international system.
In other words, the international system exists according to the Hobbestian state of nature, whereby life is anarchic, short-lived and brutal. The US has always opposed democratization process in Angola because it would interfere with its national interests.
Since the US MNCs are reaping maximally from the confusion and poor governance in Angola, the US would hardly use its power as the superpower to influence Angola to adopt certain policies such as those adopted in Kenya under the structural adjustment programs.
The ongoing economic partnership between the government of Angola and the IMF cannot be compared to that witnessed in Kenya. Realists would describe the problem in Angola to be associated with the nature of the international system, which is anarchic and brutal.
Ethics are not embraced because the rich states would only want their citizens to benefit from the resources found in another state. Even after the change of power and authority in the US, nothing has changed since the Obama administration has not promised to act.
Nigeria
Nigeria is one of the most corrupt nations in the world according to the international transparency body, the global witness. Just like Angola, the proceeds from oil in Nigeria do not reach the poor. Profits are shared out among the rich individuals in society. In fact, various organizations, including the UN, the IMF and the world have accused Nigerian government of corruption because close associates of the heads of states manage oil firms.
The small firms that do not meet the international operational standards are warded government tenders even without vetting them. Just like in Angola, government officials register companies with their names, which are in turn given tenders in their departments or ministries. Others are registered privately and do not identify the real owners or beneficiaries of the oil proceeds.
For instance, one of the companies owned by the senator and the president’s relative was given a lucrative government contract to manage oil activities. In Nigeria, just like in Angola, companies have battled it out in court over the existing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
In a recent interview with one of the Swedish journalist, the head of state, Jonathan Goodluck, admitted that corruption was rampant in the oil sector, even though he promised to handle it. The president pointed out that since the government had succeeded in tackling corruption in the fertilizer industry, it would also get rid of the vice in the oil sector.
In Nigeria, the main problem is related to the presence of MNCs, just like in Angola, even though the state of affairs in Nigeria is more complicated since it involves the ethnic communities who feel subjugated and neglected by their own government.
Petroleum exploration in Nigeria takes place under the directorship of the joint ventures, which are mainly between the MNCs and the government of Nigeria. In fact, this is usually the main problem, especially when it comes to share distribution. The national oil corporation controls the activities of all stakeholders in the oil industry.
For instance, all companies operating in Nigeria must conform to the norms of the Nigerian, by changing their names to sound Nigerian. Due to this fact, all companies must have Nigerian names to reflect their activities in the state. This means that all multinational companies operating in Nigeria have the sole purpose of bettering the living standards of Nigerians, which is obviously not true.
Over 95% of all crude oil processed in Nigeria belongs to the Multinational Corporations. This means that a small percentage is controlled by the Nigerian populace thus the working class would not have access to the distribution of oil resource.
Some of the Multinational companies operating in Nigeria include Royal Dutch Shell (British), Chevron (American), Exxon-Mobil (American), Total and Agip (Adejumobi 2007, p. 23).
Owing to the many problems affecting the Nigerian oil sector, the conflicts in the Niger Delta are never ending since 1990. Since 1990s, the ever-increasing tension among the MNCs, the government and the communities around oil exploration fields led to increased corruption and mismanagement of public resources.
In particular, the minority ethnic groups, such as the Ogoni and the Ijaw believed that their resources were being exploited. Even after changing from autocratic regime to democratic system of government 1999, corruption was still a major problem in government.
Due to corruption, people in government are able to fund militia groups, which are frequently utilized during elections to instill fear among voters and intimidate political opponents (Lawal 2007, p. 5). Furthermore, money obtained through corruption in the oil sector is utilized in buying voters and persuading them to elect incompetent leaders.
In the oil exploration fields, leaders use their power and resources to fuel tribal clashes leading to instabilities and loss of lives. The militiamen are everywhere in Nigeria meaning that it has become a norm. This is attributed to corruption in the oil sector. On the other hand, the government and the MNCs use their financial capability to suppress any form of opposition from resisting communities or competing entities.
Due to corruption, victims of crime, such as rape, assault and kidnapping can never seek justice mainly because of corruption (Kofele-Kale 2006, p. 11). The culture of impunity is wide-spread to an extent that people fear conflicting with those perceived to connected to the oil economy.
Effects of Corruption on the Two States
In the global political economy, the demand for oil is rising but the supply is falling meaning that any country that produces oil is strategically important, given the fact that it can alter the economy of the world. The current international system is different from the previous one. For instance, when the oil cartels controlled the supply of oil to major world economies, the economy of the world was affected largely.
Presently, it is hard for this scenario to happen since small countries would come in salvage the situation. For this reason, corruption in states such as Angola and Nigeria can lead to unrests and instabilities in the supply of oil globally. For instance, the political instabilities and ethnic clashes witnessed in Southern Nigeria town of Warri in 2003 affected the economy of the West African states.
One of the American strategists argued that in the competitive international political economy, even a single barrel of crude oil counts a lot. This means that issues such as corruption in the third world can easily increase the prices of oil globally. From this perspective, it is true that corruption in one state can lead to conflicts related to price increase globally.
Additionally, corruption complicates the governance system since the poor are not given any chance to participate in societal activities such as voting peacefully and electing leaders of their choice. As earlier noted, politicians in Nigeria use their resources to influence voters to re-elect them or to support policies that favor their corrupt deals.
In this case, governments elected are never responsive to the wishes and desires of the majority. Such governments would only serve the interests of the masters, which are MNCs in the case of Nigeria and Angola. In other words, elected leaders in Nigeria and Angola are referred to as Comprador-bourgeoisie. Such leaders would come up with policies that would only favor the existence of MNCs and the rich nations.
For instance, leaders receive briberies only to allow defective labor laws to be applied in the state. Furthermore, the elected leaders in government, such as in Angola, are coerced by the MNCs to suppress workers whenever they attempt to demonstrate t demand for their labor rights. Regarding the environment, there would not be sustainable development because the laws governing exploration and mining are not followed to the letter.
MNCs are only interested in maximizing their profits but not preserving the environment. The kind of exploration taking place in Angola and Nigeria cannot be compared to that taking place in countries such as China, Russia, and the US.
In such developed countries, the future generation is always considered meaning that the government ensures mining and exploration adheres to the standards set by the United Nations Environmental Program.
Corruption in the oil sector in Nigeria and Angola has led to the formation of class society, whereby the minority own everything while the majority are left languishing in great poverty. In Angola for instance, we are told that government officials including the head of state and his cabinet own billions of dollars while the rest of the population is still struggling with basic needs such as food, water and clothing.
Furthermore, the gap between the poor and the rich is ever increasing, as witnessed in Nigeria whereby a certain ethnic group is empowered with resources while the other is perpetually pushed to the periphery (Tanzi 1995, p. 43). The Christian population is always in constant conflicts with the Islamic populace mainly because of issues related to resource distribution.
In many cases, money meant for development of infrastructure is channeled to arms proliferation. The Nigerian and Angolan governments can barely offer healthcare to its citizen meaning that child mortality rates in the two states are expected to rise, even though the two economies are expected to do well due to natural resources.
Corruption through links with the MNCs has eroded the sovereignty of Nigeria and Angola. The state does not have the power to act unilaterally since it has to consult its development partner even offer small issues touching on state security.
The oil firms are actually represented at every level in government meaning that elected officials in Nigeria and Angola are simply puppets of the west. In global affairs, the state does not have the power and authority to contribute to important discussions because it has to consult the people who provide funds.
In this case, Nigeria and Angola are simply treated as renter states meaning that they do not have the power over oil in their own land. In 1992 for instance, Nigeria and Angola did not attend the AU summit aimed at discussing the effects of MNCs and the influence of the west in Africa.
The two states were urged not to attend by the US MNCs because it would interfere with their cooperation. It is true that the power of the state is affected by corruption.
Solutions to Corruption in Nigeria and Angola
Corruption is chronic cancer that has always affected the living standards of the poor in Africa. It is the major cause of conflicts such as tribal clashes, political instabilities, poor governance and increased crime. To solve the problem, it would be prudent to identify the major cause of the problem.
It is identified that the west, through their MNCs, are solely to blame for the rampant cases of corruption in Nigeria and Angola. For this case, it would important for the developed countries to embrace transparency by cutting links with corrupt government officials and their businesses.
As earlier stated, the west act as the safe havens for corrupt African leaders because corrupt leaders keep their resources in stabilized states such as Switzerland, France, Portugal, the US and Britain. Such states should publicly cut links with criminals who steal from their governments only to invest abroad.
This would be one of the most important policies aimed at curbing the vice (Scher, D 2005, p. 78). Sanny Abacha of Nigeria for instance is reported to have kept his money in one of the Swiss account meaning that the west propagates the activities of the corrupt individuals.
Another strategy would be to lobby the United Nations Security Council to slap economic and political sanctions to corrupt states. This would make it difficult for corrupt leaders to market stolen oil abroad, as was the case with Libya in early 1990s. This would ensure compliance and respect of the rule of law.
For this happen, the international community should intervene and the developed countries, through their MNCs should not interfere. The warlords and politicians who use oil proceeds to equip their people with arms are to be investigated, arrested and charged at the International Court of Justice (ICC).
This system of administering justice has worked elsewhere and can apply in Nigeria and Angola. In Kenya and Liberia for instance, aggressive leaders, who tend to use militia groups to instill fear and intimidate political opponents have received or are about to receive their share at the International Court of Justice (Klitgaard 1988, p. 76).
Conclusion
It can be concluded that corruption in the two states are not different in any way. Leaders in the two states divert public resources to their private accounts. The same resources are used to propagate tribal conflicts and suppress political opposition. MNCs have a big role to play in proliferating corruption because they bribe leaders in order to be given tenders and contacts to explore oil.
Corruption lowers the status of the state in the international system because government officials are generally treated with low esteem during global conferences and meetings. Furthermore, corruption creates a society with ‘ten millionaire and ten million beggars’.
Corruption in Nigeria and Angola is a global problem that should be addressed through formulation of global policies. For instance, slapping sanctions to Nigerian and Angolan government officials would be a great solution.
List of References
Adejumobi, S 2007, “When Votes Do Not Count: The 2007 General Elections in Nigeria”, Nordic Africa Institute News, Vol. 1, no. 2, pp 23-56.
Baumol, WJ 2002, The Free-market Innovation Machine: Analyzing the Growth Miracle of Capitalism, Princeton, Princeton University Press.
Jerome, A, Adjibolosoo, S & Busari, D 2005, “Addressing oil related corruption in Africa. Is the push for transparency enough?” Review of Human Factor Studies, Vol. 11, no. 1, pp 7-32.
Klitgaard, R 1988, Controlling Corruption, University of California Press, Berkeley.
Kochan, N & Goodyear, R 2011, Corruption: the new corporate challenge, Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Kofele-Kale, N 2006, “Change or the Illusion of Change: The War against Official Corruption in Africa”, The George Washington International Law Review, Vol. 38, no. 4, pp 697–747.
Lawal, G 2007, “Corruption and development in Africa: challenges for political and economic change”, Humanity and Social Sciences Journal, Vol. 2, no. 1, pp 1-7.
Corruption is a common feature in many world economies. It is a word that is usually understood in negative terms by many once it is mentioned. However, research shows that there are two ways in which corruption is viewed.
There are those who see corruption as a boost to the growth of any system. Others see corruption as a hindrance to the growth of a system. These two views have elicited public discourses on whether corruption greases or sands the cogs of a system.
Grease the cogs aspect
When talking about to grease the cogs, one is essentially talking about the advantages of corruption. The first advantage is that corruption enables a system to avoid bureaucratic structures that would cause delays in the progress of a system. For instance, an innovative system may need faster processing of legal documentation like licenses and permits in order to proceed.
Government bureaucracy would cause delays and probably cost the system especially where time is a significant factor. However, through corruption, there will be faster processing for the requirements. Corruption will have served as an incentive to the officials to quicken the process. The second advantage is whereby corruption is used in avoiding uncertainty in any undertaking.
Through corruption, a system stays certain that its requirements will be met because it would have developed a mutual relationship with the corrupt officials. This is what is commonly called relationship conflict. It facilitates a system’s long term planning. It is also a mechanism for reducing uncertainty especially in those areas that have sluggish bureaucracies or low supervisory levels (Mahagaonkar, 2008).
There are problems that may come about from these advantages. First, it all depends on the corrupt officials when it comes to making decisions on who is to get the much needed service. This happens when the corrupt officials decide to be biased in selection.
This can lead to good projects not succeeding because the system may have a low bribing ability. It is also very doubtful for a system to depend on relationship conflict to keep away uncertainty because issues like secrecy and political stability may only allow short-term relationships (Campos et.al. 2010).
Sand the cogs aspect
Regarding the sand that cogs, we are basically talking about the disadvantages of corruption. Corruption in the first place hinders innovation or progress in any system. Many studies have shown that corruption prevents economic developments especially in systems located in developing countries and in those economies that are small and open.
Corruption affects adversely the accumulation of human capital. It has been estimated that when corruption increases by just one percent, it cause a corresponding reduction of three percent in the growth of any system. Corruption gives a lot of discretion to the bureaucrats. They become the ones to interpret regulations in such a way so as to get the maximum from corruption.
They cause forced delays so that corruption figures increase. This in turn slows down the progress of development. This argument disputes the fact that corruption promotes growth or as it is put, greases the cogs of a system, instead it slows down development or it sands the cogs of a system (Hodge et.al. 2009).
Conclusion
It is clear from these arguments that corruption is multifaceted. It can grease or sand the cogs of a system depending on how each system handles it. One can see that corruption reduces delays by by-passing bureaucratic procedures.
But others see that too much corruption increases delays as the corrupt bureaucrats buy time to reach high bribery figures. However, corruption is largely harmful to the growth of any system. Efforts should therefore, be made to reduce bureaucratic delays so as to reduce corruption levels.
The PBS documentary titled Cairo Revolution is about the response of ordinary Egyptians on Mubarak’s oppressive government leadership. It is about non elitists who grew increasingly discontent with the happenings in Cairo. It is about ordinary citizens who could not continue to watch the heightening levels of corruption and injustice.
The revolution followed several years of repression in Egypt. Youthful Egyptians got tired of the rising police brutality and interrogative torture upon the citizens. Other issues including election rigging and refusal to hand over power by the Mubarak regime fueled the protest. The young people constituting of not less than 60% of the population became tired of the rising unemployment rates. Many of the Egyptian youth became unemployed despite having university education.
The people wanted change and would do anything to see that change. A group of young people led by a technology savvy civil engineer formed a movement – the April 6 youth movement. The movement started campaigning in 2008. They organized a peaceful protest against the injustices experienced by textile workers. The success of that protest led to the formalization of the movement with a mission to organize and mobilize ordinary people to fight for their rights.
It took three years to regroup, strategize, coin the movement’s agenda and launch out. They demanded that Mubarak and his children should never run during presidential elections. They called for immediate dissolution of the national assembly and a repealing of the emergency law.
Other issues included reformation on the constitution and government policies. The movement was out to denounce corrupt leaders and bring a lasting change to the unemployment problems of the youth. They wanted to see Egypt freed from police brutality. The revolt became a massive success.
Organizing for a revolution is not an easy task. The difficulties to be dealt with became enormous. The government was not ready for any anti government protests and would use government tools to deal with any assertions against the regime. The youth movement got into planning despite the government’s opposition.
The movement had obvious strength that the government did not know. The strategy included the use of cyber space – internet to spread the planned revolt. The leaders of the youth movement used social media channels including face book, twitter and blogging to mobilize the youth and further their anti government slogans.
They used viral videos showing excessive brutality during police interrogations. Other means of communication included the use of cell phones to send short messages that the youth forwarded to all the contacts on their cell phones. The movement also spent quality time together studying the works of Nelson Mandela and the student led resistant in Serbia. One of the key leaders of the April 6 movement went to Serbia to learn the art of non violent protests.
He learnt how to teach others to protest peacefully. He also learnt how to put demands in a peaceful way and how to organize and get people into the streets. The movement’s success resulted from the massive support received from the youth and eventually across the entire population.
The movement’s team work and skill in planning, organizing and mobilizing paid off. The government’s reaction only served to strengthen and catalyze the movement’s success. The use of non violent techniques learnt from the Serbian experience solidified the movement’s success.