THE ROT AT THE TOP
Pakistan has the dubious distinction of being the world´s second-most corrupt nation, after Nigeria, according to the findings of the Berlin-based non¬governmental organisation Transparency International (TI). TI´s findings are based on a survey of business executives of multinationals in 54 countries dealing with politicians and bureaucrats "who enrich themselves in transactions with companies".
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto promptly dismissed the survey as rubbish, but no one in Pakistan appeared particularly surprised at its findings. There seems to be a general consensus that although corruption exists everywhere in varying degrees, in Pakistan it is particularly widespread, Bhutto´s disclaimers notwithstanding. The TI report may have dealt a blow to Pakistan´s image abroad, and the situation certainly needs to be tackled internally and immediately.
Hard on the heels of the TI report came the news item in the London-based The Sunday Express, which reported on a secret purchase of a 355-acre mansion at a cost of 2.5 million pounds in Surrey, England, by the prime minister and her spouse, Asif Ali Zardari. The government´s denials and threats to sue the Sunday Express were weak, to say the least, particularly since the paper´s management stood by its story and expressed readiness to face legal charges.
A gleeful opposition capitalised fully on ´Surreygate´ as the affair has been dubbed, and brought a reference against Bhutto and Zardari, seeking their disqualification as National Assembly members on charges of concealing the purchase and not making known their source of income for it. This is the first time that such a scandal has hit the powers-that-be in Pakistan. Previous rumours of commissions, kickbacks, and misappropriation of public funds for private use have rarely been proved.
To be fair to politicians (and bureaucrats), at least some of these rumours that do the rounds may be exaggerated, or even unfounded. But the very fact that general perception takes them to be true is something which needs to be dealt with. The way to do so is not through a "corruption commission" as Opposition Leader Nawaz Sharif has demanded. That in any case is seen by most observers as the political move it basically is—an attempt to embarrass Ms Bhutto´s government further, and hardly a solution.
Tackling the problem of corruption, or even of perceptions of corruption, is not to deny that it exists, but to tackle it by offering accountability and openness in the system. So far, newspaper investigations into embezzlements and other corruption activities have generally come to naught—no arrests, no convictions, no resignations—even when backed with documents and other proof.
Accountability must begin at the apex, with those in power initiating the process of laying themselves open to scrutiny. There must be laws that allow questioning and freedom of information, as frequently demanded by journalists and non-governmental organisations. And these laws must be enforced. If a customs officer suspended while under investigation for charges of corruption can be reinstated with a stroke of the pen by the country´s top government functionaries on the request of a leading personality, how can there be any question of accountability?
The ´rot´ starts at the ´top´ and finds its way to the ´bottom1. When the common man sees powerful ministers spending lakhs of rupees on their children´s weddings, or misappropriating public property for private use, or importing luxury cars duty free (with approval from the assemblies), who can blame him for wanting a piece of the pie? And when this is supplemented by the ever-increasing cost of living, and the unrealistic salaries paid to many government functionaries and low-ranking civil servants, many find it even easier to justify ´bending the rules´ a little.
So you have low-and middle-class families paying a little extra to the metre-reader so that their electricity bill is manageable; an autorickshaw-walla refusing to run his vehicle on the metre and charging three times the official rate per kilometre; a traffic policeman looking the other way in the case of a red-light breaker or a polluting vehicle, in return for a little something for 'chai-pani'.
The little people are the ones who sometimes get caught. The big fish, those who take kickbacks and commissions worth millions of rupees go scot-free, and are seen to go scot-free. Parliamentarians and ministers use their powers to increase their own perks and privileges, like importing duty-free luxury cars, at one third the cost of the local market and then selling them for lakhs of profit in the market.
The situation in Pakistan may seem hopeless, but there exists widespread disillusionment which is fertile ground for a pathbreaking judge or courageous politician to take the cue. In the meantime, if the South Asian chapters of Transparency International are serious about tackling corruption, they would do well to look at realistic innovations and advances within South Asia rather than fawn over idealised corruptionless societies of the West.
If it is true that the most corrupt are those at the top, then in India at least, an awakened judiciary is actively directing affairs against arrogant leaders who have cheated the public without a second thought. The pursuit of high-profile cases against the mighty of the land is a process that hopefully will transfer by osmosis to the neighbouring countries, including Pakistan. And speaking of underpaid civil servants who take to corruption, Bhutan shows the way with its tiny but well-paid bureaucracy which, at the very least, we are told, does not bother with petty corruption.