“The first gold star a child gets in school for the mere performance of a needful task is its first lesson in graft”— (Philip Wylie, Generation of Vipers, 1942)
Has there been a period in the history of mankind when man has not placed self over everything else? From survival to self-aggrandisement, the nucleus of his activity has been his ego. If he has offered prayers or made sacrifices to a deity it has been either with the ulterior motive of seeking divine protection against disease, disaster and death, or with the designed intention to establish his piety through exhibitionism to gain success in achieving his objectives in worldly affairs.
This dominance of self in matters worldly or unworldly is an inherent characteristic of human nature, which if left unbridled can ultimately cause incalculable cancerous casualties, the most epidemical and malignant of which is corruption. It is epidemical because “like the jaundiced eye, (it) transfers the colour of itself to the object it looks upon and sees everything stained and impure” (Thomas Paine, The American Crises). It is malignant because “no notice is taken of a little evil, but when it increases, it strikes the eye” (Aristotle, Politics) and then it defies even the latest chemotherapy.
As corruption has coexisted with man at every stage, primitive or developed, it has acquired a very wide definition which relates it to its influence over almost every field of human activity. The Encyclopaedia Americana defines it as “Disguised payment in the form of gift, legal fees, employment favours to relatives, social influence or any relationship that sacrifices the public interest and welfare with or without the implied payment of money.”
According to the latest World Bank Report, “Corruption is the abuse of public office for private gain, involving the seeking or exacting of a promise or receipt of a gift or any other advantage by public servant in consideration for the performance or omission of an act in violation of the duties required of the office.” (Dawn Internet Edition, August 24, 2000).
All these sweeping definitions imply that corruption has been and will continue to be the most abhorrent trait of human character worldwide. Its causes, degree, modus operandi and effects may differ, but it has never been abolished despite the condemnation by all world religions and denouncement of morality preachers. A brief overview of its prevalence in different periods of history will elucidate the point.
In Rome, as early as 50 B.C., it was so rampant that the governor of a province would acquire money from farmers to purchase consulship — a coveted status. At the time of rivalry, the competition for its attainment was so acute that it cost the contender a hefty sum to bribe the jury for convicting a rival on some flimsy charge. So deep-rooted was the evil that different type of punishments — fine, disqualification, confiscation and even exile proved futile. Though ancient Greek history shows a purer state of affairs, yet in Carthage the most important offices, including the throne and the command of the forces, were ‘purchasable’. Not only this, payment was made to public functionaries and jurists to procure verdicts against all authentic evidences.
In England it was possible to ‘purchase’ commission in the British Army. Even as late as 1812, 5,000 was paid for a seat in Parliament. As for America, J. Bryce writes, “Venality occurs chiefly in connection with private legislation” (The American Commonwealth, 1888). The notorious remark of President Andrew Jackson “to the victors belong the spoils” made almost every office and institution ranging from foreign mission to Army and Navy contracts spoils of the victor. According to Henry Miller, “The American way is to seduce a man by bribery and make a prostitute of him; or else ignore him, starve him into submission and make a hack of him” (The Air-conditioned Nightmare, 1945). In the subcontinent, as one source put it, it is always the people who bribe; it is always the officials who are bribed. Another source states that corruption in East assumes the “terrible” form of being directed from below upward.
This history of corruption is not a matter of solace for corruption rich Pakistan. It is not a matter of solace that Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of Transparency International of Berlin in its August 2002 report has placed us at 23 of the most corrupt 102 countries — a reduction from 2.3 in 2001 to 2.6 in 2002. It is not a matter of consolation that according to the IMF, we conducted 154 inquires against politicians, 290 against bureaucrats, 38 against businessmen and seven against officials of the Armed Forces, because after a recent survey of South Asian Countries, including Pakistan, Transparency International identifies seven basic public services where corruption prevails, namely land administration, taxation, health, education, judiciary, electricity, with police topping the list. Not only this, the head of the World Bank in Pakistan, John Wall, says that CBR, Wapda and KESC are the most corrupt organizations in Pakistan.
If this is the state of affairs despite the numerous, half-heatedly implemented anti-corruption laws; the unaccountable intelligence agencies including the FIA; the defunct and existing bureaus like Etheshab, NAB, NRB as watchdogs over the corrupt, it only behoves that we look for the causes of corruption elsewhere which may be latent in some economic or social factors like inequality of income, poverty, or immorality.
In Pakistan, as the percentage of population below the poverty line is nearly the same as it was about 35 years ago, the situation is even more explosive. This has been realized both by the government as well as the IMF, which is releasing trenches for Poverty Reduction and Growth facility over a three-year period. The bail out can only be achieved through good governance, which according to Meiko Nishimizu, Vice President of World Bank, is a Herculean task.
