Corruption Is Not Another Sensation

“Corruption, improper and usually unlawful conduct intended to secure a benefit for oneself or another its forms include bribery, extortion, and the misuse of inside information. It exists where there is community indifference or a lack of enforcement policies.”(Encyclopedia Britannica). Today political Corruption in all forms exists in every country in the world. In some countries it is more prominent then in others, but no matter where you go it still occurs. Recently in mid 2013 some political corruption was brought to light in New York. “Since 2007, state senators have been more likely to be arrested then to lose their seats in a general election,” (New York Public Interest Research group). In April of 2013 New York State

Political corruption is a major problem in the US today. It involves almost all levels of government and affects people from all walks of life. Public office is a noble post and citizens put their trust in government officials to carry out their constitutional duties for the benefit of the citizenry. The problem comes in where both elected and unelected officials perform their duties with the goal of personal gain in full view of the law. The ethical and moral wrongs of corruption are unjustifiable in any context.

It would be convenient to start this research paper by stating that corruption is a challenge mainly for businesses in developing countries and that it is unrelated to the current affliction of the economy in the United States. It would also be convenient to claim corruption has declined in America as a result of awareness raising campaigns and the numerous anti-corruption laws. But none of those aforementioned statements would be true. Corruption is not the exception, but rather the rule in today’s business practices. In 2004, Daniel Kaufmann, a senior fellow at Brookings Institution and former director at the World Bank, calculated an index of "legally corrupt" manifestations which is defined as the extent of undue influence

Political corruption has existed throughout the ages. It believed to be most prominent in positions of power, because of the role money plays in getting people power. However, over the centuries, corruption has changed so much so as to not match a particular definition of corruption, perpetually growing deceptively harder to find (Ebbe).

Corruption is not new, existing from the beginning of time, affecting not only public officials, but all human interaction in many different forms (Choi et.al. 2010). It is believed that developing countries are at a higher risk for corruption which ultimately limit investment and growth, leading government to face major challenges in financing its day to day operation (Rose-Ackerman, 1999). However, corruption is not only found in developing countries, democracies such as the USA, France, Germany and Japan have also seen several corruption scandals over the past decades and had also fought against changes that could eliminate or reduce the perception of corruption, for example, over 70 elected members of Chicago local government have been charged and imprisoned on corruption charges . In 2016 New York airwave exploded when three high ranking NYPD police officers were arrested and charged for corruption and the mayor currently under investigation (Cohen et.al 2016). Many argued that campaign funding had led many politicians to become corrupt, therefore to reduce this power, more transparency is need. However, when this reform was introduced in the USA Senate through a campaign reform bill, the US senate voted against it (Beckel, 2010). This demonstrate that politicians around the world (develop and developing countries) are unwilling to reform legislation therefore ensuring they are in a position of power even if this is gain through favours.

In Bangladesh, rampant public sector corruption and inefficiency provides ground for the public to see the performance of the

Corruption is a complex political, social, and economic anomaly that negatively affects developing and developed countries. It weakens democratic institutions, holds economic development, widening the rich-poor gap and certainly leads to governmental instability. The World Bank definition of corruption states that “…the abuse of public office for private gain”.

Corruption refers to the use of public goods or power for the benefit of an individual or a group of people. Referring to what the definition says, a corruption situation could occur in an organization that is actively handling money, and the people who are responsible of managing it within the institution take advantage of it for personal purposes. Corruption is a problem that occurs worldwide but it is more common in some countries than in others. It is more likely to happen in poorer countries.

Many have attempted to define corruption. Nye describes corruption as “behavior which deviates from the formal duties of a public role because of private-regarding (personal, close family, private clique) pecuniary or status gains; or violates rules against the exercise of certain types of private regarding influence. This includes such behavior as bribery (use of a reward to pervert the judgment of a person in a position of trust); nepotism (bestowal of patronage by reason of ascriptive relationship rather than merit); and misappropriation (illegal appropriation of public resources for private-regarding uses).” (Nye, 1967)

Corruption is a treacherous plague that has a wide range of volatile effects on societies; it undermines democracy and the rule of law, which leads to violations of human rights, distortion of markets, and it erodes the quality of life allowing for organized crime, terrorism, and other threats to human security. Corruption is universal, as it is found in all countries, yet it does the most damage to the developing world. Corruption hurts the poor disproportionately by diverting funds intended for development, undermining a government’s ability to provide basic services, feeding inequality and injustice and discouraging foreign aid and investment. Corruption is rampant in India, as it has taken a prevalent role of Indian politics and bureaucracy. Corruption in India has been one of the most interesting and discussed problems in modern political history. Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International ranks the national perception of corruption in India to be 85th in the world out of 175 positions, indicating that India’s governance is corrupt and isn’t accountable to its citizens.

This paper is critically assess the settlement of the laws related to the corruption. Corruption at this context simply means misuse of public office for private gain.

Corruption as a norm has always existed in different forms, and is not determined by politics or geography. It exists in the rich and poor countries alike, it genuinely involves both individual States and international organizations and its costs are borne by its citizens. It affects the proper running of governments, distorts the correct functioning of economic and political institutions and hampers transparency; it exploits the human person for selfish interests, renders respect for rules obsolete and is a manifestation of structural sin. In our own locality in Kenya, citizens will complain about corruption in the high offices but will comfortably cheat each other in the market place. Public transport hikes rates at will without regard to the consequences on the most vulnerable. Big decisions affecting the citizenry are made at coffee tables in hotel lounges where “lobbying” means financial and political inducement. For every special interest bill that makes its way into parliament, members of Parliament seek to be sensitized in terribly expensive seaside resorts.

need of entitlement; their sense of privilege becomes private. Even honest individuals unquestionably accept their position and consequent of power without realizing its impact on their role. Their intelligence, diligence, strategic planning and hard work to reach the higher ends of their organization may propel them to believe that their position and privilege are well deserved. Such feelings may result in double standards and consequent corruption. Corruption should not allow to run continuously. Though the remedy of corruption is not an easy task, it is a crying need to stop for the greater interest of society. To make countries free from corruption, citizens of all classes should be responsible, accountable, dutiful and considerate. Nepotism, favoritism, etc. should be dealt with up most seriousness. To lead in peace in the society it is essential to stop it. This curse should not be allowed to continue. Anti-corruption commission must be given more freedom to take place. Public awareness must be raised to stop corruption. The mass media can play a significant role in this regard to stop corruption from the society. There are so many reasons for corruption and so many solutions. But, none of the solutions are welcomed by others as to do so. Every type of corruption has reached new heights in the world today. As a result, the places, and their people, suffer greatly while some thrive from evil. Before solving a problem, the first step to solving it is admitting there is

The World Bank defines corruption as ‘the abuse of public office for private gain’. The World Bank’s definition asserts only public corruption, leaving out private corruption. This I see as a drawback as it is a recognized factor that private sector corruption enables public corruption to thrive. Ian Bannon argues that ‘this definition is not original, but it was chosen because it is concise and broad enough to include most forms of corruption that the Bank encounters, as well as being widely used in the literature’. For Humphrey Asobie, the definition by the World Bank ‘creates the impression that corruption is a malady that primarily or even solely afflicts those in the public service, especially state authority, whereas those in the private sector and civil society may be equally culpable’. Daniel Kaufmann saw the public office centered approach towards the definition of corruption as deficient asserting that ‘… we challenged this definition of corruption as placing too much emphasis on public office...we presented empirical evidence of the extent to which many powerful private firms engage in undue influence, to shape state policies, laws and regulations, for their own benefit’. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) defines corruption as ‘the abuse of

Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power and elected authority for private profit. Complaints are often heard about politicians and public officials who accept bribes and enrich themselves privately at the expense of the common citizen. This may be at the expense of the employee or the employer, consumer and the producer, the renter and the tenant, the one applying for a permit or asking exemption from an obligation to pay or to deliver a product or service. All the cases might be considered to be abuse of power authority for one’s own benefit.