Corruption may not easily be defined because several people understand it in different ways. Those who are in power look at their behavior as the best and as their duty and right to perform while their subordinates understand those actions as morally wrong.
Corruption may be defined as an act by a public or private officer that is contrary to society’s norms. It is a situation where one uses public office for material gain such as diverting workers’ salaries to personal capital. Actually the money that is supposed to do government work ends up serving personal welfare to a large extent.
It is regrettable that Uganda was at one time ranked by Transparency International as one of the most corrupt countries in the whole world. This portrays the loss of moral fibre among those people concerned with government funds. The following are the main features of corruption:
- Bribery- the act of giving out some money in order to receive a service from a public officer.
- Extortion- the act of obtaining money from somebody through false means.
- Payment for goods not supplied or services not rendered (“Air supply”)
- Undercharging of taxes and duties on exports and imports involving false classifications.
- Nepotism and patronage, sometimes called tribalism or sectarianism
- Neglect or negligence of duty is a form of corruption since one is paid for work not done.
- Misuse of office: Turning an office or a place of work for a wrong purpose such as a centre for personal business instead of doing government work.
- Over-invoicing and under-invoicing in order to earn a difference; purchases of goods and services at inflated prices.
- Illegal use of public assets for private gain.
- Payment of salaries and wages to non-existent workers who are nicknamed “Ghost workers”
- The removal of documents from case files or even disappearance of whole files.
- Blackmailing-the act of demanding money from somebody in return for not revealing secret or unpleasant information about them.
- Embezzlement of public funds
- The ten percent commissions
- Sexual harassment especially to female workers who are forced into sexual acts in order to retain their jobs. In some instances men are also harassed but they do not complain.
The most corrupt in Africa
Mobutu Sese Seko -$5bn
In his 32 years as dictator of Zaire (the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Sese Seko's energies were chiefly directed at increasing his personal fortune, which in 1984 was estimated to be nearly US$5bn, most of it in Swiss banks. This sum was almost equivalent to the country's foreign debt at the time. Sese Seko owned a fleet of Mercedes vehicles which he used to travel between his numerous palaces while many of his people starved.
General Sani Abacha - $3bn
Corrupt Kenyan politicians - $3bn - $4bn
Kenya was ranked among the top five of the world's most corrupt countries in 2002. So far, more than US$ 1bn looted during the rule of President Daniel Arap Moi has been found in recoverable assets and cash, some of it stashed in foreign bank accounts by big-name politicians and civil servants. This is only part of the estimated US$3bn to US$4bn worth of illegal gains made by politicians and public officials that have been uncovered recently. The director of Kenyan affairs at Transparency International claimed that Moi had "entrenched a system of patronage". Donors say corruption may have cost Kenya up to 2 billion dollars since 2002, nearly a fifth of the country's budget.[1]
Nguema, who came to power in Equatorial Guinea when he overthrew and executed his uncle, is rumoured to surpass even Sani Abacha for graft. His personal offshore bank accounts exploded with activity since his tiny country began selling 300,000 barrels of oil a day in 1995, earning more than $5.5bn a year. With a population 500,000 the country’s, per capita, one of the richest countries in the world but very little reaches the people. Most of the citizens still survive on about $1 a day, and three out of four suffer malnutrition. Nguema has proclaimed oil revenues a "state secret".
Don’t get surprised to find out that all these vehicles are for one corrupt government officer. So how many do you have my friend?
1. Moral decay: Some people lack the acceptable standards of behaviour in society. They are not good in character and do not follow what is expected of them. The main cause is bad up bringing and personal indiscipline.
2. Irresponsible leadership: When administrators who are supposed give a good example to their people are carelessly involved in wrong acts. Their surbodinates easily follow the acts of their bosses.
3. Low payment to workers usually widens the income-expenditure gap leading to low standard of living. According to the Circular Standing Instruction No. 12 of 2000, the lowest paid civil servant earned 60,000 (40$) which was far below the living wage. The extremely low salaries make it impossible for majority of workers to meet their basic needs. This has for a long time a major contributory factor to corruption.
4. High cost of living: Inflation is a major factor which causes a high cost of living. Because of this people ask for bribes in order to feed, pay fees for children, rent and medical care.
5. Poverty: In the process of coming out of poverty, some people end up practising corruption
6. Complex and cumbersome bureaucracy: Unnecessarily cumbersome, complicated and often unwritten procedures result in long delays in rendering what would normally be a straight forward service. This is commonly experienced in renewing drivers’ licenses, registration of vehicles, approval of bank loans and clearance of imports. Members of the public are forced to give “chai” (tea) in order to reduce delays.
7. Personal greed: Some public officials have endless desire to get rich quickly by fair or foul means. Such grabbers will never be satisfied with what they earn and therefore plan to steal all the time.
8. Hostile environment: There are regulations which are so inconvenient and unreasonable that they force people to resort to corruption. Examples are high taxes payable before one can make a profit, high fees required to get a land title, a bank loan as well as a passport.
9. Insecure tenure of office: Quite often people in top positions, whether politicians or public servants, feel insecure and threatened by the possibility that they could be removed from their “eating” or profitable offices any time. Such officials feel insecure because they either lack basic qualifications or they got jobs in wrong ways such as political patronage or sectarian tendencies. Uncertainty of jobs that one can be sacked any time causes corruption.
10. Too much greed for wealth/ the desire to become rich quickly due to low life expectancy.
11. Absence of role models in African states.
12. Peer influence i.e. everybody else is embezzling state funds, why not me?
13. Absence of strong laws and punishments to handle corrupt officials.
14. Dictatorship and overstay in power.
15. Decline in religious and cultural values and hence lack of a sense of shame.
16. Delayed payments.
17. Other cause are:
18. Lack of patriotism
19. Lack of strong government monitoring system.
20. Political instability that one expects the system to collapse.
21. High rate of unemployment
22. Shortage of goods and services
23. The practice of monopoly.
24. The extended family system
25. The Weak judicial system and the laws.
Steps being taken by Government to address Corruption
· The 1995 constitution has a full chapter, which condemns corruption.
· Government has established institutions serving as watchdogs against corruption.
· The office of the inspector General of Government continues to inspect on arrest the corrupt.
· There is the office of the Auditor General that monitors the corrupt.
· The leadership code on the conduct of leaders has emphasized declaration of property by some leaders.
· The policy of privatization has made formerly government owned parastatals to be in hands effective and efficient administrators
· Ghost workers have been eliminated from the government payroll.
· People have been encouraged to report corrupt officers using a hotline.
· The parliamentary sectoral committees have been established to check on the performance of government institutions.
· Commissions of inquiry have been established to prove cases of corruption.
· The independence of the Judiciary is another step.
· Increasing pay as a living wage has made some people a bit satisfied with their income.
· Addressing moral decay through the ministry of ethics and integrity.
· Designing multi media ethics information including theatrical performances, radio programmes, popular competitions, and so on.
· The following suggestions if implemented by government can also help to reduce and later wipe out corruption in Uganda.
· Setting up a special court to deal with corruption cases.
· Delegating Director of Public Prosecution’s (DPP) powers to Inspector General of government (IGG) staff to prosecute corrupt officers.
· Establishing a mechanism for random checking to ensure compliance with existing ethical codes.
· Freezing, seizing and confiscating proceeds of corruption and fraud
Corruption adversely affects society and the nation politically, administratively, and socio-culturally. But in a serious way, corruption affects more of developing countries than developed ones.
1. Politically, corruption increases public cynicism towards the prevailing political system. People doubt the seriousness of government and do not support it.
2. Many governments fall due to corruption.
3. Coupled with outright economic and political mismanagement, corruption has led to bad roads
4. poor medical services
5. poor schools, and falling educational standards.
6. It is responsible for the disappearance of whole projects which have been funded;
7. the delayed completion of projects;
8. the disappearance of foreign aid;
9. an insufficient amount of imported goods paid for;
10. the reduction or ruin of public assets;
11. a reduction in production capacity in industry, agriculture, services and so on;
12. the incomplete repair of buildings, buildings, roads that were not paid for;
13. the undelivered goods and services which have been paid for so many times.
14. The sum total of all these accumulated losses in every area of public expenditure is colossal economic destruction. The majority of the population is adversely affected by corruption.
15. It leads to the creation of unequal social classes
16. It contributes to political instability as one group struggles to share the national cake
17. It leads to underdevelopment.
18. It leads to provision of substandard social services.
19. It contributes to privatisation of public enterprises.
20. Leads to retrenchment of some workers.
21. Leads to the bankruptcy of the government treasury.
22. It renders the government incompetent and inefficient-
23. It leads to loss of respect for authority.
24. It leads to the setting up of commissions of inquiry.
REFERENCES
1. Nabudere, D.W. "Imperialism and Revolution in Uganda," London, Onyx Press Ltd.(1980); Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Publishing House (1980).
2. Nnoli, O. (1986): Introduction to Politics,
3. Nzongola-Ntalaja, "National Question and the Crisis of Instablity in Africa," in Alternatives: A Journal of World Policy, Volume 10 No. 4 1985 pages 533-563.
4. Mazrui, A.A., The African Condition (The Reich Lectures), Heinemann, London. 1980.
5. Rupesinghe k, Conflicct Resolution in Uganda .Ohio university press.
6. Rwehururu M, From the Cross to the gun, Monitor publications, Kampala.
7. Santhymurthy, T.V., "The Political Development of Uganda: 1900-1986,"Aldershot, Hants, England: Gowers Publishing Company, 1986.
8. Shamuyarira. N., Crisis in Rhodesia, Deutsch. London, 1965.
9. Short, P., Banda, a Biography, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1973.
10. Wiseman, H., and Taylor, A. U., From Rhodesia to Zimbabwe, 'Peegamon Press, Oxford, 1981.
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