Corruption

CORRUPTION - WHOSE MONEY IS IT ANYWAY? by Isidore Domnick Mendis The Berlin-based Transparency International ( TI ) has bracketed three South Asian nations among the world's most corrupt . Of the 102 countries surveyed, India is ranked 72, Pakistan [77], Nigeria [101] and Bangladesh 102…(the most corrupt). Are the relevant governments concerned?

Fighting against corruption in India L-R: Transparency International's Admiral Tahiliani…:Tackle corruption on a war footing"; Dr. Kiran Bedi, India's first lady Police Officer…"Cleanse the political system"; Chetna's Anil Sood…Exposing the meter-tampering racket.

Hush money, graft, bribe, sleaze …… call it by any name but the meaning is just one - corruption in public life. The dirty 'C' word today is synonymous with the functioning of all government offices that deal with the public. People are coerced to pay over and above for a service, which they are legally bound to receive. A new study by Berlin-based Transparency International ( TI ) brackets India with some of the world's most corrupt nations. Of the 102 nations surveyed in 2001, India is ranked 72, Pakistan [77], Nigeria [101] and Bangladesh 102---the most corrupt. The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for India is 2.7. The index relates to the degree of corruption among public officials and politicians as perceived by business people, academicians and risk analysts. It ranges between 10 [most clean & transparent] and 0 [most corrupt]. Three of the world's cleanest nations are Finland with the CPI of 9.9, Denmark at 9.5 and New Zealand at 9.4. Canada ranks 7th. with a score of 8.9, England is 13th. at 8.3, USA 17th at 7.6, and Germany 20th at 7.4.

Among the organisations that are taking up the issue of corruption in India and challenging and fighting it are Tranparency International (India), Chetna, and Parivartan.

Transparency International (India) Chairman: Admiral Tahiliani (Retd.)

" If the political leadership is serious in tackling poverty as it professes, it has to deal with corruption first".

"Transparency International study is not at all surprising as some of the most significant legislations have not yet been passed. The Lok Pal Bill, declaration of assets by politicians, auditing of accounts of political parties, speedy trial of erring politicians, forfeiture of illegally acquired property and many other such legislations are in a limbo," says Admiral R.H. Tahiliani, former Governor and Chief of Naval Staff and now chairman of Transparency International [India] . Tahiliani's utterances are buttressed by the fact that political leaders are not willing to talk on the subject of corruption. Repeated attempts at getting in touch with Arun Shourie and Manmohan Singh---two of the most upright people in politics---drew a blank with the personal assistants of both saying their bosses were not interested in talking on the subject of corruption. According to the study the main breeding ground for corruption is the Indian political system, which has been supported wholeheartedly by the bureaucracy. Corruption, says the report, has reached such gigantic proportions because the electoral system is such that it requires sacks of money. " When the bureaucrat sees that the politician is corrupt then there is no fear. Yatha Raja Tatha Praja [ what the king does, so do the people]. If the king is corrupt the population too will be corrupt," says Tahiliani. According to the TI study there are perceptible linkages between poverty and corruption. " If the political leadership is serious in tackling poverty as it professes, it has to deal with corruption first," feels Admiral Tahiliani. Many academicians say that socialism is the fountainhead of corruption in India. Since independence the state has had a say in everything If one wanted to start an industry one had to get a license, if one wanted to close it one needed a prior permission. If one wanted to increase production one had to inform the concerned ministry. It was the licence Raj that became the breeding ground for corruption.

Now , as the state begins easing its grip on basic necessities, corruption levels too are declining. Take, for example, the privatisation of power in Delhi. Under state control there were a spate of corruption charges against it. Now with privatisation, things are improving dramatically. However, says Admiral Tahiliani, " Corruption abounds in areas where citizens have to interact with the state departments like the police, health, housing, taxes, municipalities or licenses for starting businesses."

CORRUPTION - WHOSE MONEY IS IT ANYWAY? (cntd.)

by Isidore Domnick Mendis

Chetna Founder: Anil Sood

"In a country where lawbreakers become lawmakers one can expect even worst. Not just our politicians, almost 80 percent of the bureaucracy is either comatose or busy making money."

Says Anil Sood of Chetna, an NGO that has taken up cudgels against corruption and has filed numerous Public Interest Litigations against many government departments, " The Transparency International report has just scraped the surface. In a country where lawbreakers become lawmakers one can expect even worst. Not just our politicians, almost 80 percent of the bureaucracy is either comatose or busy making money." Sood who is employed with a public limited company as a senior manager, enumerates some of Chetna’s achievements in its fight against corruption. " We exposed a Rs. 330-crore scandal where autorickshaws and taxis in Delhi were fleecing commuters by tampering meters. But no one was bothered till the

High Court intervened. Only then did the transport authorities, traffic police and Controller of Weights & Measures wake up and made electronic metres compulsory." According to Sood the biggest problem that hampers the fight against corruption is the non-cooperative attitude of the people. " No one wants to stand up and say no to corruption. Everyone is happy to pay the price of convenience. This compounded with the complete lack of administrative and political will has helped corruption thrive.

Parivartan Founder: Manish Sisodia

Another NGO, Parivartan has been fighting cases on behalf of people against the income tax department. " The idea was to help people get their income tax refund without paying bribes. It was a real tough job. Today our efforts have borne fruit and the process has become simple and transparent," says Manish Sisodia of Parivartan The NGO also took up cases against the Delhi Vidyut Board [earlier the Delhi Electricity Supply Undertaking]. Says Sisodia, " We began camping outside offices of DVB and asked people not to pay bribes. We received death threats from touts and staff members and we were shooed away. But the public response had to be seen to be believed. Finally the DVB chairman set up a system to get public grievances resolved." Today Parivartan is looking into other public dealing departments." We are motivating people to fight against the corrupt system," says Sisodia, a journalist by profession who says his organisation does a follow up after exposing cases. " We do not take up corruption cases for thrills. Most of the time we choose our work area on the basis of our knowledge and experience" However, says Sisodia, "If someone comes and tells us that a particular person is demanding bribe we follow it up. Unfortunately our system does not have any law to enforce accountability so even if we get people apprehended, chances are no action will be taken against them. It tantamounts to encouraging corruption. We need more like-minded people to fight this scourge. " Dr. Kiran Bedi Indian Police Service

Kiran Bedi, India's first woman police officer is one of them. She's been fighting corruption for years and isn't surprised by the Transparency International report. " The only solution is to elect clean politicians. Upright political leadership is the key. Integrity at the top prevents dishonesty. Even a policeman who is viewed by people as a symbol of corruption will change if we have clean leaders." But as of now that seems a far cry and people can just dream of the day when people at the helm will rise above the loaves and fishes of office. Till that is done India will have to contend with its 72nd. position in the list of 102 most corrupt nations in the world. Demographic Indicators 2000 and 20025 Indices for 2000 and (2025) Bangladesh Births per 1000 pop.

Bhutan

India

Nepal

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

25 (16)

36 (26)

25 (17)

34 (22)

32 (19)

17 (12)

9 (7)

14 ( 9 )

9 (8)

10 (7)

10 (6)

6 (8)

Rate of Increase %

1.7 (0.9)

2.2 (1.7)

1.6 (0.9)

2.3 (1.5)

2.3 (1.3)

1.0 (0.4)

Rate of Growth %

1.6 (0.8)

2.2 (1.7)

1.6 (0.9)

2.3 (1.5)

2.2 (1.2)

0.9 (0.4)

Life Exp. at Birth in yrs

60.2 (69.1)

52.4 (62)

62.5 (71)

57.8 (67)

61 (69.8)

71.8 (77.5)

Infant deaths per 1000 live births

72 (34)

111 (62)

65 (30)

76 (38)

82 (40)

17 (8)

Total fertility rate per woman

2.9 (2.1)

5.1 (3.5)

3.1 (2.2)

4.7 (2.7)

4.6 (2.3)

2.0 (1.7)

129.2 m (177.5 m)

2m (3.3 m)

1 billion (1.4 b)

24.7 m (40 m)

141.5 m (213.3 m)

19.2 m (22.6 m)

205 m

4.6 m

1.6 b

53.3 m

267.8 m

23.1 m

Deaths per 1000 pop.

Midyear population Midyear pop 2050

Figures in bold are for year 2000, and those in brackets are for year 2025. Data source: US census Bureau, International Data Base

People

Bangladesh

Bhutan

India

Nepal

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

Pop density per sq km

920.1

14.8

312.6

149

159

280.2

Malnutrition % under 5

NA

NA

NA

48.5

38.2

NA

Urban pop % of total

24.0

6.9

26.8

11.6

36.5

23.3

Rur density per sq km

1,196.5

502.6

419.2

658.4

382.2

1,629.2

Male Illitrcy % 15+

48.3

NA

32.2

42.0

41.1

5.7

Female Illitr. % 15+

70.7

NA

55.5

77.2

70.0

11.4

Figures in bold are for Year 1999 - others are for the year 1995. Data source: The World Bank Group

Environment Bangladesh Surface area sq km

Bhutan

144,000

47,000

Forest area (sq km)

10,100

NA

Annual deforestation

0.8 %

NA

0.2

CO2 ind emis met tons per cap Commercial energy use kg oil per cap Elec power consum kwh

India 3.3 m

Nepal

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

147,000

796,000

65,610

48,220

17,480

17,960

-0.0

1.1 %

2.9 %

1.1 %

0.3

1.0

0.1

0.7

0.3

198.8

NA

469.9

327.4

432.8

337.2

69.9

NA

338.8

36.9

322.4

208.8

650,000

Comparative data for south Asian nations Economy Bangladesh GDP US $ Market price GDP growth annual % GNP US $ (Atlas)

45.8 b 4.3

Bhutan 440 m 7.0

India 459.8 b 6.2

Nepal 4.9 b 3.4

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

59.9 b

NA

3.9

NA

47.0 b

399.2 m

442.2 b

5.1 b

64.0 b

15.7 b

370.0

510.0

450.0

220.0

470.0

820.0

Agriculture % GDP

21.1

37.7

28.5

41.3

25.9

NA

Industry % GDP

26.8

36.7

25.1

21.6

25.4

NA

Services

52.1

25.6

46.4

37.1

48.7

NA

GNP $ per cap (Atlas)

% GDP Exports % GDP

13.6

33.0

10.7

21.7

14.9

NA

Imports % GDP

19.4

42.0

14.2

30.3

19.2

NA

Dom Invst % GDP

20.3

48.5

24.0

19.2

14.9

NA

All figures are for year 1999 Data source: The World Bank Group

Technology & Infrastructure

Bangladesh Telephones per 1000

Bhutan

India

Nepal

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

3.0

16.4

22

8.5

19.4

28.4

PCs per 1000

NA

3.9

2.7

NA

3.9

1.1

Internet host per 10,000

NA

0.5

0.1

0.1

0.2

0.3

Roads,paved %

7.9

63.7

45.7

41.4

57.0

95.0

11,900

1,000

196,000

28,600

68,600

9,300

Aircraft Departures

All figures are for year 1998 Data source: The World Bank Group

Trade Bangladesh

Bhutan

India

Nepal

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

Trade % of GDP

7.0

17.7

3.9

6.5

8.2

17.9

High-tech exports % of manf exp

0.1

_

NA

_

0.1

NA

Foreign Inv US $ WDI

308 m

2.6 b

12 m

500 m

193 m

10.1 b

84.3 b

1.5 b

26.2 b

6.3 b

Total debt service US$

682.7 m

12.1 b

88.3 m

2.7 b

452.1 m

DOD US $

149.9 m

4.3 b

30.9 m

2.2 b

432.7 m

10.0

1.6

17.7

8.0

26.1

Present Debt US $

Aid per capita US $

All figures are for year 1998 Data source: The World Bank Group

Date:13/12/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/12/13/stories/2004121300860800.htm

Corruption index and India Ranabir Ray Choudhury A first achieved by India in the Global Corruption Barometer survey is the pessimism over the decline of corruption in the next three years or so. Of all those surveyed, 42.1 per cent felt that corruption would increase over time with 20.1 per cent expecting that it would rise substantially. Just 20 per cent felt that corruption would decrease. A whopping 55.8 per cent of those surveyed in India felt that corruption in the country would increase a lot. INDIA comes 83rd in the latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI) drawn up by the Berlin-based Transparency International (TI), being bracketed with Malawi and Romania. On a descending scale of 10, India's score is 2.8, China being placed 66th with a cleaner score of 3.4. Altogether 133 countries were covered by the TI survey, the list being topped by Finland (9.7). The top five other countries were Iceland (9.6), Denmark (9.5), New Zealand (9.5), Singapore (9.4) and Sweden (9.3). The UK had a score of 8.7, the US 7.5, Japan 7, Brazil 3.9 and Russia 2.7. According to TI, around 70 per cent of the countries surveyed scored less than five, the index focusing on perceived levels of corruption among politicians and public officials. As much as half the developing countries surveyed scored less than three, indicating a high level of corruption. The figures indicate that corruption is pervasive in Bangladesh, Nigeria, Haiti, Paraguay, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Georgia, Cameroon, Azerbaijan, Angola, Kenya and Indonesia, the scores of all these countries being below two. What is the methodology used to compile the figures? First, what is the definition of corruption that has been used as the yardstick for the purpose of the study? According to the TI, the CPI focused on corruption in the public sector and defined corruption as the abuse of public office for private gain. The surveys used in the programme have tended to ask questions "in line with the misuse of public power for

private benefit with a focus, for example, on bribe-taking by public officials in public procurement". Second, "perceptions" of corruption have been relied in place of empirical data because, as TI says, such data "does not reflect actual levels of corruption: rather it highlights the quality of prosecutors, courts and/or the media in exposing corruption. The only method of compiling data is therefore to build on the experience and perceptions of those who are most directly confronted with the realities of corruption". The CPI has relied on a number of surveys to paint its "corruption-perception" picture. Thus, senior business people from 15 emerging market economies were asked the following questions: "How common are bribes to politicians, senior civil servants and judges?" and "How significant of an obstacle are the costs associated with such payments for doing business? Further, CFOs and bankers, among others, were asked about the frequency of corruption in various contexts such as obtaining import/export permits or subsidies, avoiding taxes, etc. Of slightly more interest is the TI's Global Corruption Barometer survey which was released in July last year. The survey, which covered the general public in 47 countries, found that around 75 per cent of the nations surveyed singled out political parties as the principal institution "from which citizens would most like to eliminate corruption" followed by the police and then the medical services and education. The Indian performance here has been interesting, to say the least, with public awareness about corruption in education taking the cake. The survey listed Courts, Customs, Education System, Political Parties, Police, Tax Revenue, etc, and asked: "If you had a magic wand and you could eliminate corruption from one of the following institutions, what would your first choice be?" Very significantly, the strongest response of the 30,487 people surveyed related to the political sphere with as much as nearly 30 per cent of those surveyed opting to cleanse the political systems of their respective countries of the corruption bug. In terms of individual countries, Argentina headed the list with 58.2 per cent of those questioned targeting the political system. Japan came second with 51.9 per cent and Turkey third with 42.5 per cent. India followed with 41.2 (along with the UK), the US following behind with 39.1 per cent.

But it is in "Education System" that India has comes out on tops with 24.9 per cent of those surveyed wanting to tackle corruption in the sector. The important part of this finding is that India is way ahead of all the other countries in the survey as far as this sector is concerned. The Palestinian Authority comes second with 16.4 per cent, South Korea with 15.7 per cent, South Africa with 14.4 per cent and Guatemala with 12 per cent. Perhaps this Indian "performance" reflects in large measure the sheer size of the education sector in the country, and also perhaps the fact that the number of seats available at the different levels (schools, colleges, universities, etc) is far in excess of what is available. Another first achieved by India in the Global Corruption Barometer survey is the number of pessimists the country has regarding the decline of corruption in the next three years or so. Taking the total of all those surveyed, 42.1 per cent felt that corruption would increase over time with 20.1 per cent expecting that it would rise substantially. In contrast, just 20 per cent felt that corruption would decrease. A whopping 55.8 per cent of those surveyed in India felt that corruption in the country would increase by a lot, Cameroon coming second with 39.4 per cent and Turkey third with 37.2 per cent. This specific perception on corruption on the part of Indians is important because it reflects a view of things to come at a time when the economy appears to be looking up. Does this mean that economic development in India will go hand in hand with an increase in corruption of all types, probably because there is more money to be shared? Or does it indicate a total loss of faith on the part of the general public with those who are governing the country, which certainly is a far more serious issue than the first option? Transparency International has urged developed countries to assist poor States which have demonstrated the political will to curb corruption. One wonders whether the prescription will be applicable to India because the "political will" to put down corruption in all its forms is today conspicuous by its absence. © Copyright 2000 - 2006 The Hindu Business Line