Corruption. The Concept, Forms, Causes and Effects

Corruption involves individuals or companies paying government officials to provide them with favours of some kind. It can also be defined as use of a position of trust for dishonest gain.

Forms of corruption:

• Bribery involves offering a government official a gift of money or goods in return for a favour. It includes paying a traffic officer not to give you charges when you are caught for a traffic offence.
• Cronyism involves government officials doing favours for their friends.
• Nepotism involves government officials appointing their relatives in government posts, even when they do not have the necessary qualifications or experience.
• Abuse and theft of government resources occurs when government officials use resources such as cars, computers, and stationery supplied to them as part of their official duties to run private businesses. Such abuse and theft are also called form of corruption.

Causes of corruption

1. Poverty: some government officials are paid salaries that they find it hard to provide for their families’ basic needs. This makes them vulnerable to bribery.
2. Greed: for some officials greed rather than need may be a more important cause of corruption than poverty. There are official who are paid highly and cannot claim poverty as the reason.
3. Complex laws and procedures: getting approval from the government often requires individuals and companies to meet complex legal requirements and follow lengthy and time consuming procedures. Some people and companies may get frustrated and then try to bribe government official to get the official documents or approval they need.
4. Scarcity of goods and services: governments in developing countries find it difficult to meet the needs of all its citizens for services such as housing, electricity and medical services. Corrupt officials may offer to “help” may help people get access to such services more quickly in exchange for a bribe.
5. Competition for government positions: government positions can provide individuals with secure employment. In a country like Zambia where a lot of people are unemployed, this could lead to people attempting to bribe government officials to get a government job.

Effects of corruption

Poverty

It leads to government revenue ending up in the pockets of corrupt officials and companies, instead of being available to spend on the development of the country. Less money is available for social services to the people in need.

Poor leadership

Corrupt leaders and government officials are more intent on enriching themselves than on ensuring effective management of government services.

3. Compromised standards

• Compromised standards mean that corrupt officials accept tenders for goods or services of poor quality from companies in which they have a financial interest or which paid them bribes.

Role of community in fighting corruption

Citizens need to do the following:

1. Saying no to corruption: Communities need to commit themselves to saying no to corrupt practices
in the following ways:

• Increase your understanding by reading newspapers articles and radio programmes that provide more information on nature and effects of corruption.
• Talk about the damage caused by corruption with your family, neighbours and friends.
• Encourage the culture of honesty in your community.
• Remove corrupt political leaders by voting against them in elections.

2. Reporting corruption

• Be alert and report any suspected cases of corruption to law enforcement agencies such as the Police or the ACC.
• You can report suspected cases of corruption anonymously. You do not need to give your name if you are afraid that people involved in the corruption may harm you.

Institutions and organizations fighting against corruption in Zambia

Institutions

1. Parliament: as the legislative branch of government, the parliament formulates and enacts the laws used by other government institutions in the fight against corruption.

2. Ant-corruption commission (ACC): it’s the agency mandated by law to lead the fight against corruption in Zambia. It was established in 1980 under the Corrupt Practices Act No.14.

The ACC leads the fight against corruption by:

• Investigation and prosecuting suspected offenders.
• Setting up systems for preventing corruption
• Running community education programmes to inform and encourage citizens to join the fight against corruption.

3. Zambia Police Service: the police are responsible for enforcing the laws of the country. They investigate cases of corruption and provide evidence for the persecution of such cases by the justice system.

• If members of the public suspect police officers of corruption, they can report such cases to an independent body, the Police Public Complain Authority.

4. Courts: the courts from the judicial branch of government and are responsible for administering the legal processes to enforce the countries laws.

Corruption cases are usually heard in the High court. If a person is found guilty of corruption if not satisfied may appeal to have the case reviewed by the Supreme Court.

Organisations

Various civil society organizations work with government institutions to fight corruption

• Transparency International (TIZ): the Zambian branch of this worldwide organization aims to stop corrupt practices by helping government institutions in ensuring that corrupt officials are prosecuted and their properties seized
• Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP): it was established to promote human rights in Zambia through civic education. Their main role is to monitor elections and lobby for better management of elections.
• The media: Newspapers, radio, television news programmes and social media on the internet, play a vital role in exposing corrupt practices in the country and how to fight it.