I came across a neat quotation the other day: “Corruption is nature’s way of restoring our faith in democracy.” That sounds snappy and amusing but it made me think about what it really means, especially as the scourge of corruption is mentioned frequently in the media and is one of the main demands of people on the street in the Middle East, including in Jordan. It means that democratic processes should root out and expose corruption. It means that no country can afford the social, economic and political costs of corruption. And it means that under public pressure, the effect of corruption on economic development and its corrosive effect on political stability has become increasingly obvious.
We saw this in action in Britain where a number of Members of Parliament were convicted of fiddling their expenses and have been sentenced to jail. We have also seen it blight the world of international football where accusations of bribery have diverted attention from the beautiful game. It also threatens the prosperity of people throughout the world where development is held back: corruption stifles innovation and kills entrepreneurship. International trade in particular is damaged by backhanders and pay-offs. It is estimated that corruption adds up to 10% to the total cost of doing business globally and up 25% of the cost of government purchasing in developing countries. It could involve up to 1 trillion US dollars each year, as much as 3% of global GDP.
So what’s to be done? In the United Kingdom a new Bribery Act came into force on 1 July. It introduces two new general offences of giving bribes and receiving bribes. These were of course illegal already, but the difference is that it now becomes an offence for a British businessman to bribe a foreign official for business reasons. It also makes it an offence for companies to fail to prevent bribery on their behalf.
By taking this robust stance, the British government is supporting a lead taken by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Many countries have brought in tough laws designed to stop bribery cheating people and trapping them into poverty. And many countries have set up systems and bodies to investigate and pursue accusations of corruption. So laws in themselves are not enough. Implementation and enforcement are even more important. And this means having the systems, technology and forensic ability to pursue, investigate and put together cases against those who have had their hands in other people’s pockets. Countries can’t solve the problems of corruption by themselves. It needs international co-operation, sharing information, technology and best practice.
Ultimately the quotation about corruption and democracy means that the theft of government money by corrupt officials matters to all of us. And action like the new UK Bribery law is one of many steps that governments need to take to tackle it.