Tackling Corruption II
I always remember a conversation I had some 25 years ago with a friend of mine in the Tax Office in Sana’a, Yemen. When I asked him who he was voting for in the upcoming election, he immediately responded, “Ali Abdullah Saleh, of course.” When I asked him why he was voting for someone so obviously corrupt, he shrugged and said, “Because we think that Saleh has now stolen enough; another person coming in would steal even more.” This cynical response of the ‘devil you know being better than the devil you don’t know’ combined with obvious acceptance of the pervasive corruption in the system with no effective mechanisms or institutions to halt corruption has long stayed with me.
Saleh went on to win the election (with over 96% of the vote as such leaders often do), but it all ended badly for him, and he was assassinated in 2017 by his former allies, the Houthis. In 2012, the UN estimated Saleh’s personal wealth at somewhere between $32 and $60 billion, hidden in over twenty countries – a truly staggering amount stolen from one of the poorest countries in the world.
He clearly went on to steal far more than my friend could ever have anticipated. In last week’s post I argued that corruption is an existential threat to the state and that political leaders who engage in corrupt practices are ultimately undermining their own legitimacy. It follows that the political leadership, the elite, if you will, must come to understand that their actions have consequences beyond their immediate gain.
So, what might the political leadership do to effectively tackle corruption, if they are so minded? The beginnings of the answer to this question lie in the establishment of transparent governance structures that prioritize accountability.
Establish an Independent Anti-Corruption Commission:
An early first step would be to establish an independent and robust Anti-Corruption Commission with teeth. This means that the Anti-Corruption Commission cannot be a window dressing institution designed to fool the populace into thinking that something is being done. The Anti-Corruption Commission must have real investigative and prosecutorial powers covering all government sectors, including the tax and customs administrations.
Strengthen Oversight:
Parliamentary oversight committees must be established to properly scrutinize government spending and implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy.
Further Professionalize the tax and customs administrations and the public services:
The state needs to invest heavily in comprehensive training and capacity building on ethics, corruption prevention, and service delivery in the key government institutions, especially in the revenue collection agencies.
Review and Reform Legislation:
Review and address all laws that could possibly enable corruption or hinder formalization of the economy, promoting transparency and establishing clear rules.
Once again, it can be seen that these suggestions require strong political will and the determination to tackle corruption. Absent the strong and determined political support none of this will succeed.
In my final piece next week, I will provide detail of the key strategic activities that should be prioritized to create a robust framework for combating corruption effectively.
