Thomas
Jefferson — ‘When the people fear the government there is tyranny, when the
government fears the people there is liberty”.
Ludwig
von Mises – “There is no more dangerous menace to civilization than a
government of incompetent, corrupt, or vile men.”
Definition
of Corruption:
“Corruption
is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It can be classified as
grand, petty and political, depending on the amounts of money lost and the
sector where it occurs.”
“Corruption:
dishonest or illegal behavior especially by powerful people (such as government
officials or police officers): the act of corrupting someone or something.”
“The
Corruption Perceptions Index: ranks countries and territories based on how
corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. A country or territory’s score
indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0
(highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean)”
Corruption
is one of the most dangerous social ills of any society. This is because
corruption, like a deadly virus, attacks the important sectors that make for
the society’s progressive functioning. This is particularly true for developing
countries, such as The Gambia. Funds that are initially earmarked for
industries, hospitals, schools, and other infrastructures are either out
rightly embezzled, misappropriated, or otherwise severely depleted through
kickbacks and over-invoicing by agents of government.
The Gambia is the 145 least corrupt nation out
of 175 countries, according to the 2016 Corruption Perceptions Index reported
by Transparency International, which means that The Gambia is considered as a
corrupt state.
Corruption
is, in its simplest term, the abuse of power, most often for personal gain, or
for the benefit of a group to which one owes allegiance. It can be motivated by
greed, by the desire to retain or increase one’s power. Corruption has become
the one main social evils of the 21st century. Corruption is rampant in every
aspect of our social lives. The main cause of corruption or the practice of
corruption is through “bribery”. In other words, bribery is the lethal weapon
that individuals and firms use to practice corruption.
The
state is the first institution that repressed its own citizens through
corruption. The high ranking officials take advantage of their positions in the
government to enrich themselves. This is one of the main characteristics of
corruption in developing countries such as The Gambia. The lower-earning
employees may also take advantage of their power and insist on bribes. This
could be due to the fact that most of these lower-level officials are not well
paid by their governments.
Thus,
bribery and corruption become a way to “earn” more money. Bribery is practiced
by every sector of the economy.
Today,
we can notice this evil practice of corruption in the terminals of seaports and
airports where the employees accept brides from businessmen and travelers. The
businessmen bride the officers in order to evade taxes, customs duties or
regulations. Corruption is also common along the frontiers and borders.
Corruption
is also rampant in the judicial system. Powerful government officials and rich
businessmen influence the judiciary by giving huge sum of money to judges and
lawyers to drop their cases, and even set them free when they commit horrendous
crimes. The businessmen also make payments to government officials to obtain
major contracts. These may include payments of bribes to obtain import and export
licenses, foreign exchange permits, and investment and production licenses. The
biggest loser from corruption is society, as a whole. Corruption distorts
economic incentives, discourages entrepreneurship, and slows economic growth.
Nepotism,
tribalism and favoritism are also evil practices that facilitate or pave the
way for corruption in the modern-day society. “The price of nepotism causes a
complete failure of a country, or an organization to develop.” The government
officials especially the presidents and ministers employ their close relatives
and confidents in various sectors of economy in order to serve their interests
through corruption. In Africa, a president may “hijack” the whole government
and institutions of the country by giving important positions to his clan
members and friends. They get all the major contracts of the economy. In most
developing countries, the governments have become private ownership of ruling
family and its entourage. Massive corruption is done, without any law to stop the
families from emptying banks of their foreign currencies and gold reserves.
Another
cause of corruption is brides that buy political influence or votes. It is
important to distinguish between political and bureaucratic corruption. While
the latter involves efforts by civil servants to enrich themselves through
illegal means, the former is used by political coalitions to capture the
apparatus of the state or maintain a monopoly on power. Political corruption
usually includes activities such as vote rigging, registration of unqualified,
dead, or non-existent voters, purchase and sale of votes, and the falsification
of election results. The politicians and their political parties influence the
electoral system by giving money and incentives to the voters in order to
determine the outcome of the elections. It is a common practice that destroys
the rules of democracy, good governance, accountability and transparency in the
world.
Furthermore,
corruption is not only about stealing funds from government coffers, and
bribery. It is also about appointing unqualified and unskilled people in key
positions. These people usually don’t have the zeal, sincerity and
professionalism to perform the job.
“Corruption
is worse than murder. It kills more than warfare, it takes land and moneys to
build a hospital and buys a private jet, and condemning thousands of people
over multiply generations to die of curable diseases.” Corruption is crippling
the development of African countries. In the African government office, it is
common to find a department full of village friends. Many of these employees
don’t have the qualifications to do the job other than being clan members.
A
leader should not be the richest man in the country, where he can use his
leadership to get even more wealth. For example, African leaders have caused
the continent to lose more than $1.4 trillion from 1980 to 2010.
In
conclusion, I will advise The New Government of The Gambia to pay great
attention to corruption. The Gambia is already ranked as one of the most
corrupt countries in the world. The government has to create strong
institutions that will combat corruption. Politicians need to know that the
interest of their constituents and the country come first and foremost.
One
should not enter politics for personal gain. Nepotism, tribalism, and
favoritism have to be completely eliminated from our society. Corruption
corrodes the fabric of society. It undermines people’s trust in political and
economic systems, institutions and leaders.
It
can cost people their freedom, health, money and sometimes their lives. In sum,
corruption has no place in any society, especially The Gambia which has
inherited “empty coffers” from a dictatorship.
Dead
to Corruption
Dead
to Bribery
Dead
to Injustice
No
to Dishonest Politicians
Stop
Corruption before It is late!
I
am incorruptible. I rather die poor than be corrupted. Dishonesty has no place
in my heart.
Be
A Honest Gambian
Long
live The Gambia
Author: Musa Manneh, New Jersey, USA
