Corruption and Development - pogar

5. Corruption undermines the delivery of
humanitarian and reconstruction assistance
for regions affected by natural disasters, a fact
which has received attention in particular in the
aftermath of the 2004 Asian tsunami. For
example, after the tsunami, over $7 billion was
pledged to aid devastated areas in Indonesia’s
Aceh province, but the anti-corruption group
Gerakan Anti-Korupsi estimates that 30 percent
to 40 percent of tsunami aid money provided
was stolen. Others estimate that a quarter of the
50,000 homes constructed for victims are already
collapsing and will have to be rebuilt because
70 percent of the wood used did not meet
building codes (U4 Anti-Corruption Resource
Centre, 2007).
6. Corruption shares a nexus with organized
crime in its various forms, in many countries.
Organized crime groups often attempt,
through bribery, to co-opt key officials in the
police or other relevant institutions, to create
a cover for their activities. For example, a share
of organized crime profits may be provided to
senior police officers in return for not being
investigated. According to one observer, ‘such
corruption is extremely dangerous, as it involves
large economic benefits and compromises the
ability of state authorities to maintain law and
order’ (Trivunovic, Devine, Mathisen 2007).
Besides being a crime itself, corruption creates
an environment that increases the likelihood of
other crimes such as drug trafficking. The
relationship can be symbiotic: illicit drug
trafficking increases the level of corruption
through actions like bribery and money
laundering. The issue of drug trafficking and its
impact on corruption (and vice versa) is of
particular concern for countries in Latin
America and the Caribbean region.
7. Corruption violates human rights. A corrupt
judiciary prevents access to justice and
undermines the right to equality before the
law and the right to a fair trial. Corruption in
the delivery of public services obstructs human
rights, such as rights to health and education.
It subverts the principle of non-discrimination,
and political rights and free expression —
through, for example, the distortion of election
results.
8. Corruption fosters an anti-democratic
environment characterized by uncertainty,
unpredictability, declining moral and ethical
values and disrespect for constitutional
institutions and authority (UNDP 2004).
Corruption affects state legitimacy by eroding
state institutions and public confidence when
elections are rigged and the will of the public is
ignored. Corruption also undermines efforts to
achieve the MDGs and provide effective service
delivery by weakening institutional foundations
and diluting accountability, transparency and
the integrity of public institutions (UNDP 2004).
An example, discussed earlier, is the diverting to
private pockets of scarce resources needed for
recovery and rebuilding after natural disasters.
The fact that corruption is correlated with poverty,
poor service delivery and other negative phenomena
does not necessarily mean that corruption causes
them. But there is little dispute that corruption and
poverty go hand in hand. Therefore, policies to tackle
poverty and to improve governance and service
delivery cannot afford to ignore corruption.
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