IntroductionCorruption is an act that has very denting consequences and has a wide range of corrosive effects on societies, it tarnishes democratic values and the rule of law, leads to violations of human rights, distorts markets, erodes the quality of life and allows organized crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish (United Nations convention against Corruption, 2004). One of the prominent examples of high level of corruption case studies is the State Capture of South African institutions by the Zuma-Gupta patronage, thus affecting the functionality, credibility and image of multiple state institutions (Madonsela, 2019:113).
Countries in the developing world such as Nigeria, which was ranked the second most corrupt country out of 148 countries in 2004(Ifeanyi,2012).
With South Africa being ranked 61st out 168 countries in 2015, that does not put us at any of a risk for underdevelopment (KPMG, 2016). Firstly, it must be understood what qualifies as a “corrupt” behaviour, and according to a definition given by the World Bank- “corruption is the abuse of public power for private benefit”, and according to the Prevention and Combatting of Corruption Activities Act (12 of 2004) it is an act of giving or receiving gratification that induces either public or private actors to act in an improper manner in the performance of their duties.
Various points of departure and perspectives.Although corruption is associated with a totalitarian state of power, it still found its way into a democratic state, although it is not expected that power abuse would be a crisis, due to the decentralisation of power that is within most democratic states (De Wet, 2016:4).
A viewpoint from Christian leaders was based on how corruption affects the Christian environment, and several Christian leaders came together to express their views and possible contributions that can be made by the Christian environment in addressing corruption. De Wet based his research on a liberal democratic perspective, supporting the notion of a just and balanced distribution of power amongst the state officials, and by doing that he was trying to deduce that within a form of liberal democratic state, citizens have the right to freedom of speech and to hold each government or private official performing a public function accountable for their actions. However even within that form governance, various countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Angola, Afghanistan, India etc, still find themselves in a crisis of various forms corruption activities.
He continues to state that “the prevalence of corruption in a society where it not supposed to flourish, indicates a complicated situation containing a deeply rooted problem”. This then provides a point of departure for this view, whereby corruption is investigated based on lack of morality in officials. However, this is just but one of many viewpoints from which the prevalence of corruption can be analysed. Power hungry elites that have gained the support of the oppressed majority or minority use the power acquired through votes (that is of course within the liberal democratic states) to pursue individual interests. In some instances, it may not even be the case of democratically winning the votes, like in the case of the Zimbabwean administration during the tenure of the then president Robert Mugabe, whereby citizens were intimidated not to vote against him using military force.
Therefore, amongst many acts of corruption listed in various studies, I have realised so far that that corrupt behaviour is not only action that are recorded on paper as corrupt, but also those that are indirect and not recorded, like the intimidation and manipulation of citizens to support a particular individual, in order for him/her to acquire some level of authoritarian powers, should be seen a corrupt and a violation of human right, because the right to freedom of choice by citizens is being limited. That then cannot be said that it was a democratic election.
It is also highly maintained by several scholars that emerging economies are likely to experience high levels of corrupt behaviour (compared to the already developed ones) due to pressures of meeting social need and fixing the system that was left by the colonial administration. These pressures will be fully discussed in the assignment.
The effects of corruption in South Africa’s 4th administration. Jain (2001), remarked that there is an increased number of academic articles on corruption and that this increased attention is prompted by the realisation that development requires, above all, good governance and that sound policies and aid efforts seem not to attain the required goals if the economic and political environment is not conducive to development. This narrative fit well when looked against the days of the 4th administration of the South African government. It should be noted that South Africa is a developing economy.
Corruption which took centre stage at the height of the 4th administration referred to above, negated developmental policy positions on reigniting growth adopted by the governing party at its Polokwane Conference which affirmed the need to ” stabilise the governance and finances of State Owned Companies and ensuring that SOCs play a developmental role” (ANC Polokwane Conference Resolutions) in that corruption and looting of state resources became the order of the day during the 4th administration, ESKOM, SAA (South African Airways) and Transnet had to be bailed-out financially on a year to year basis by the government due to poor governance on the part of board of directors and lack of proper oversight by government, this practice on the part of the said administration caused enormous destruction on the economy of the country and discouraged foreign capital investment.
The financial strain currently experienced by ESKOM and SAA has led to a situation whereby billions of Rands which were intended for economic development had to be diverted to these SOE (State Owned Enterprises) to keep them afloat.
Corruption is therefore an antithesis to democracy and the rule of law. Corruption diverts resources that are needed to improve the lives of the citizen to enrich a few at great cost to many. Corruption prevents the state from fulfilling constitutional obligation, erodes the legitimacy of our democratic government and subverts the rule of law. It gnaws away at the economic growth. It has a powerful negative effect on foreign investment by destroying investor confidence.
Studies suggest that democratic and transparent politics are correlated with low corruption, with freedom of the press and the rule of the law, having a strong influence on keeping levels corruption down. Studies further suggest that there is maybe a significant association between corruption and income inequalities, with corruption perpetuating and increasing existing inequalities. Corruption may also be a significant contributor to limiting growth, a cause of low income and result in poverty traps. In other words, it must be concluded that corruption is clearly an obstacle to development.
Corruption effects in the case of Afghanistan as a developing country.Burhani (2018) paints a bleak picture about how the “worsening inequalities, criminality and political corruption is keeping ordinary Afghans impoverished while lining the pockets of the state’s cronies”.
The past 17 years has seen the Afghan government failing to deal with economic challenges ravaging the country. Poverty, youth unemployment which according to the author, is standing at 40 percent, compounding the challenge is that a large chunk of the Afghan population is not gainfully employed, while individuals affiliated with patronage networks, politically connected groups, and businesses wielding political clout exercise monopolistic control over development projects and national economic markets, the journal remarked.
This overall bleak situation reflects a paradox of development in post 2001 Afghanistan. Despite more than $100 billion dollars in foreign reconstruction and development assistance poured into the embattled country, foreign aid has done little to affect positive change in the lives of the ordinary Afghans” said the author. The picture painted above clearly shows the extend of corruption on the Afghan society and its economy , this confirms what is contained in the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: Convention Against Corruption(2004) that ” Corruption hurts the poor disproportionately by diverting funds intended for development, undermining a Government’s ability to provide basic services, feeding inequality and injustice and discouraging foreign aid and investment. Corruption is a key element in economic underperformance and a major obstacle to poverty alleviation and development”.
The level of underdevelopment in Nigeria caused by corruptionNigeria is one of the developing countries in the world and is oil rich. It is the most populous country in Africa, however it is characterised by high unemployment and underdevelopment. Nigeria’s economic and political situation is a classic example of how corruption interface with the struggle for development. Nwogu and Ijirshar had the following to say about corruption: “Corruption in Nigeria has deeply entrenched/ingrained in the national ethics, politics, civil society, public and private sector and has been deeply permeated by a pervasive and debilitating culture so much that it is best regarded as been institutionalised until the recent fight against it”.
In 2014, the Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index scored Nigeria at 27 on a scale of 0 = most corrupt to 100=least corrupt thus locating Nigeria at 38th most corrupt country in the world. Corruption in Nigeria has presented itself in a form of:
Rent-seeking, Kickbacks, cronyism, political patronage and bribes
The study laments that Corruption in Nigeria is so entrenched to the extend attempts to root it out have partially succeeded or completely failed. This has contributed to increased poverty levels, poor public infrastructure thereby negatively affecting economic and business performance. This is despite huge natural (oil) and human resources. The study concluded that “The long-time reign of corruption in the country has impacted negatively on economic growth in Nigeria. It has also decayed or deteriorated the country’s cultural values”
Corrective measure suggested”Developing countries must share some powerful common drivers of corruption that are different from those that affect advanced industrial countries” (Khan, 2006:1). This goes to show that developing countries are more prone to corruption, however I am of the view that developing countries are still struggling to correct their “institutional morality” and until they figure out and stabilise what is morally correct and what is not morally correct for the growth of their economy, the numerous push and pull factors left by pre-democratic laws puts strains within the states. While those common drivers of corruption might assist in curbing corruption they still would not be able to completely eradicate it, due to the forever political and economic landscape.
SummaryCorruption is the enemy of development and has a huge negative impact on the livelihood of the citizen. Corruption knows no colour or creed, it is there in small countries and large countries, however it strives where there are no or weak checks and balance in terms of policy implementation, where there is political manipulation of the citizens and serious lack of accountability in the economic and political environment. It creates a huge gap between the citizens and the government, and the unmanageable miscommunication between the two lowers the quality of services delivered. Corruption further erodes the moral fibre of the citizens and becomes institutionalised if allowed to continue
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