Corruption basically is the dishonest use of conduct by the people who are in power. Corruption usually may involve bribery. The fraudulent change of something from it’s original state or putrefaction also includes in corruption.
Corruption can uproot a whole country from it’s roots and we have many examples of it in the past and in the present as well where this particular deed and wrongdoing is seen in many countries across the world, Third world countries being affected more than the developed countries. Corruption undermines not only the economic but the social development of a country.
It undermines the revenue the government generates which in turn undermines the efforts of the government to reduce poverty in the country. It also limits it’s ability to invest in producing areas. When there is corruption in the community there is a particular type of tension between the individuals who pay the taxes and the government who collects it from them. When the taxpayer is assured that his tax will be used in improvements in the country like in it’s infrastructure, schools and hospitals, basically that he will see a better payoff, the system will work is a reasonable manner. But when corruption flourishes then the taxpayer will find ways so that he does not have to pay the taxes.
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Corruption also distorts the thinking of the government related to the projects of the public. They undertake projects which are of much bigger scope than what is required for the country at the moment. This presents a heavy burden on a rather weak budget. To go on with the project, the government will cut the spending of other projects which may be more important. It also discourages the innovation and the development of the private-sector.
Entrepreneurs with bright ideas will be intimidated by the bureaucratic obstacles which lay in their path and the financial burden which becomes a hurdle in starting a new business. Corruption also leads to the mislocation of human resources. The government officials invest their time in dealing with the bribery system and avoiding penalties. They use their time in creating strategies for these purposes and so no work is done in case for the government or for the public.
Corruption disrupts and destroys the basic building blocks of a country which are health and education. These building blocks are indispensable and basic for the national of the particular country for them to live a decent life.
Corruption stops the development whether it be social and most importantly the economic development of a country and increases the poverty level as the national or international investment is deflected when it is needed the most as the investors would prefer a country which are less corrupt.
An another impediment which corruption causes is the political instability. It distorts the electoral process which in turn undermines democracy and the government institutions of the country. In a country which has weak government institutions the police could also be overwhelmed because of corruption which means less convicts being caught and a climate of fear would arising over the region. This will in turn encourage more people to get into corruption and the economy of the country will sink lower than before.
Corruption aggravates injustice and inequality. It distorts and twists the rule of law. The victims of the crime are punished through corrupt rulings.
Corruption is equally found in the rich countries and the poor countries but the one thing that is common in-between the two is that the poor in the country are affected the most.
To counter and express serious concerns on all the threats corruption poses to a society, it’s security and stability and other problems addressed above like disrupting the health and education system, increasing the poverty in the country, being a cause of political instability and in turn undermining democracy, aggravating democracy and inequality and perverting the rule of law, the General Assembly of the United Nations passed many resolutions.
The united nation also has a convention for anti corruption which is known as UN convention for Anti corruption (UNCAC). This powerful implementation is there to strengthen the anti-corruption programmes there are in a region. Many countries are harmonising anti-corruption legal framework which is according to the european and international standards. In this regard new rules are also being made and the previous rules are being amended.
New anti-corruption institutions which work under the government and who have the main aim to fight corruption are being established in many countries. The institutional framework to fight corruption is also being strengthened. The newly created institutions to fight corruption are not presently working to their full potential because of different reasons, being understaffed and not having the expertise in this particular regard could be some of them.
In short, Corruption is a silent killer for a country. There is no limit to it. The government officials will ask for money for work which is their job. The police will ask for ransom after kidnapping innocent people. The budget for a big project would go into the pockets of the project manager. The prime minister will ask for money to be available for meetings. In fact no one would be safe from it directly or indirectly. And the public would go into the streets for protests, aggravating the situation more. Finally the corrupt country becoming a threat for the international community as the corruption would give rise to other global crimes as well, such as terrorism, human trafficking etc.
Wonder what it could do to a third world country like Pakistan. We have to work collectively as one to save our nation from this curse and learn to “SAY NO TO CORRUPTION”.
