Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Attitude of civil servants and politicians

Corruption in Bangladesh: 

Abstract
Corruption  is  a  broad  term  covering  a  wide  range  of  misuse  of  entrusted  funds  and power  for  private  gain:  bribery,  theft,  fraud,  nepotism,  abuse  of power is  a  pervasive  and  universal  phenomenon.  It  is  often  argued  that  i etc.Corruption t  reduces  private  and public  sector  efficiency  when  it  enables  people  to  assume  positions  of  power  through patronage  rather  than  ability;  it  distorts  the  financial  and  e conomic  environment;  and at  limit, corruption introduces instability  and  anarchy  into the  political  process. In  the  context  of  Bangladesh  c challenge. orruption  is  the  most  formidable The  vast  majority  of  the  people  are  victims  of  corruption reality  and  a .  Corruption  by  a limited  number  of  powerful  indivi control  and  prevent  corruption duals  and  failure  of  leadership and  institutions  to should  not  be  considered  as  evidences  to  suggest the  country  or the nation  or  the  people  are  most  corrupt.  The  fundam that ental  problem that  relates  to  corruption  in  Bangladesh  is  the  dominance  of  the  vested  interest, irrespective  of  charge  in the  political  hues in the  power  matrix.
Introduction
Corruption  in  public  offices  is  a  widely  discussed  but  scarcely  deliberated  issue  in Bangladesh  though  we  have  been  unfortunately  reached  at  the  top  of  corrupted countries  and  had  remained  the  same  for  consecutive  five  years. is  the  n Therefore,  corruption umber  one  problem  in  our  country.  In  general,  people  think  that  only  the bureaucrats  are  involved  in  this  unwanted  malpractice.  We  disagree  on  this  point  and we  want  to  figure  out  the  fact  that  corruption  is  taken  place  not  only  by  the bureaucrats  but  also by  the  important  personalities  in  and  outside  of  the  government who  are  directly  or  indirectly  involved  in  politics. There  is  a  concept  throughout  the world that  grabbing public  resources is corruption.
Corruption  has  become  a  way  of  life  in  Bangladesh.  It  is  a  topic  of  discussion in  academic  circles  and  among  media  people,  professionals,  politicians,  government officials,  businessmen,  students,  foreign  investors,  donor  agencies  and  nongovernment  orgaization. Transparency  is  the  demand  of  the  people  at  every  level  of  the  country.  Good governance  and  anticorruption are  now  high priorities in the  development  agenda. The empirical  evidence  suggests  that  even  after  our  independence  in  1971,  we  could  not make  any  su bstantial  dent  on  combating  corruption.  Rather  we  have  seen  that  we  have failed  to  address  the  issue  in  particular.  All  the  governments  since  independence  had committed  to  establish  good  governance  and  eliminate  corruption,  but  there  have  so far  been  littl e  efforts  to  address  the  issue  of  improving  governance,  strengthening accountability  and ensuring  transparency.
Corru 1990) . ption  in  Bangladesh  is  not  identifiable  as  a  single,  separate,  independent entity  which  can  be  isolated  and  destroyed.  Corruption  is  a  complex  set  of  processes involving  human  behaviour  and  many  other  variables,  some  of  which  are  difficult  to recognize  or measure.  Even  though  corruption  manifests  itself  as  a  force  on  its  own and  often  generates  its  own  momentum,  it  is  linked  to  many  other  factors,  and  it  is  by understanding  these  factors  that  we  can  hope  to  understand  corruption  ( Haque , Almas  and 2010)  One  can  cheat  and  earn  money  by  using  private  resources.  For  instance, most  people  in  our  country  do  not  try  to  understand  whether  adulteration  of  products is  a  corruption.  This  is  obviously  a  corruption  because  the  sellers  are  not  giving  his  or her consumers  the  right  quality  products;  no  matter  it  is  a  food  item  or  construction material.
Basic  Types  of  Corruption:
Three  basic  types  of  corruption  characteristic  for  contemporary  societies  are: additional  payment to  a  public  servant  for  realizing  of  a  right  which  by  law  is available  to  an  individual,  then bribery  for  the  purpose  of  acquisit which  according  to  law  or  subion  of  a  right law  act  one  does  not  have,  and  finally, readjusting  of  a  law  of  subbribery  for law  regulation  (different  bylaws  and  regulations)  in  line with  interests of  the  corruptor . Corruption  is  everywhere  in  the  society  of  Bangladesh.
 There  are  some  other major  types  of  corruption  prevailed  in  our  society.  They  areor  Pursuing, Bakshis etc. Ghoosh Ghoosh or  Bribe, Tadbir or  bribe  is  one  kind  of  visible  corruption  which takes  place in  economic  exchanges  such  as  the  process  of  rentseeking  which (regulatory  requirements by)  public  servants impose  on players in the  market. But tadbir may  be  visible  and  invisible  in  a  host  of  activities  which  range  from outright  bribery  to  more  subtle  fo rms  of  patronage  or  persuasion.  Another  type  of corruption  takes  place  through  underhand  deals  involving  vast  sums  of  money  at  the national  and  international  levels,  to  petty,  everyday baksheesh a  bureaucrat's  office  extracts  in  order which  the  doorman  at to  perform  his  normal  duties. another  form  of  corruptionis  part  of Gift negotiating  and  relationship  buildinggiving , .  The  other forms  are expenses contact  steering and , kickback abuse  of  portable  assets , misuse  of  public  assets etc.
Where  Corruption  thrives
 Corruption  can  be  found  in  all  countries  but  particularly  widespread  in  societieswhere the  legal  system,  mass  media  and  the  public  administration  are  weak  and undeveloped.
1. Temptation coexists with permissiveness.
2. Institutional  checks on power  are  missing.
3. Decision making  remains  obscure.
4. Civil  society  is thin on the  ground.
5. Great  inequalities in the  distribution of  wealth condemn people  to live  in poverty.
6. Concepts like  public  procurement  procedures are  ignored.
Most  Frequent  Forms  /  Patterns  of  Corruption:
Corruption  is,  therefore,  perceived  as  the  adequate  response  by  individuals  to  the faults  of  that  system  a  way and  an  attempt  to  bypass  or  change  norms  that  do  not enable  the  appropriate  protection  and  realization  of  rights.  Although  corruption  is generally  condemned,  majority  of  the  respondents  has  a  tendency  to justify  its  use, under  certain  circumstances :  when i t  contributes to the  realization of  rights  guaranteed by  law,  and which in a  way  prescribed by  the  law  cannot  be  realized.
Modernization  and  Corruption:
It  is  tempting  to  interpret  the  existence  of  corruption  on  a  widesprea d  scale  in  the developing  world  as  the  result  of  cultural  traits  or  traditional  ways  of  existence. Indeed,  one  reason  corruption  appears  as  a  'problem'  in  developing  countries  is because  it  is associated with certain socalled innate, cultural  and traditio nal  traits. The  rationale  for  this  line  of  thinking  began  with  a  school  of  thought  in  social science  described  as  the  'modernization'  school.  According  to  this  school  of  thought, civilization  essentially  means  the  movement  of  people  from  a  'backward'  to  a n 'advanced'  state  of  existence,  the  aim  of  the  movement  being,  ultimately,  to  achieve  a level  of  'modernity',  which  signals  the  end  of  the  journey.  The  theory  holds  that  the developed  world  has  already  moved  from  a  'backward'  to  an  'advanced'  level  of org anization,  but  that  the  developing  world  is  in  a  process  of  transition 'primitive'  to the  'advanced'  stage.
Corruption  and  Development
To  unders tand  corruption,  it  is  important  to  reexamine  the  contemporary  context  of corruption  as  an  issue  for  development  administration.  It  is  crucial  to  do  so  with  an exploratory  aim  in  mind.  This  implies,  that  first,  we  must  acknowledge  the  historical context  i n  which  the  discourse  of  development  has  been  founded.  The  term 'underdeveloped'  had  been  in  use  for  several  years,  but  it  was  in  a  famous  inaugural address  on  January  20,  1949,  that  US  President  Truman  launched  a  term  and  an  era,  at the  same  time  (Estevo, 1992).  The  term  was  'underdevelopment'  and  the  era  came  to be  known  as  the  'era  of  development'.  It  was  the  beginning,  in  formal  terminology,  of the  terms  of  reference  for  a  body  of  practical  and  theoretical  knowledge  which  came to  be  known  as  development administration.  President  Truman's  words  speak  for themselves:
We  must  embark  on  a  bold  new  programme  for  making  the  benefits  of  our  scientific advances  and  industrial  progress  available  for  the  improvement  and  growth  of underdeveloped  areas.  The  old  impe rialismexploitation  for  foreign  profithas  no place  in  our  plans.  What  we  envisage  is  a  programme  of  development  based  on  the concepts of  democratic  fair dealing. (Esteva, 1992 p. 6)
C orruption,  too,  has  remained  a  key  factor  in  the  development  agenda,  perhaps even  more  key  than  before,  because  in  a  climate  of  increasing  economic  strain,  the proportion  of  assistance  to  the  third  world  has  come  under  some  constraints  and  this has  added  a greater  sense  of  urgency  to  the  need  to  achieve  tangible  results.  The efficient  application  of  development  programmers  have  been  regarded  as  necessary  in any  case,  but  with  repeated  failures  to  contend  with,  development  administration  is becoming  more  and more  frustrated.  The  result  is,  there  are  increasing  pressures  on third  world  countries  like  Bangladesh  to  accept  the  terms  of  reference  set  by  the developed world.
Scenario  of  Corruption  in  Bangladesh:
Corruption during Bangladesh era goes unchallenged and the flaws arebasically institutional. The fundamental problem that relates to corruption inBangladesh is the dominance of the vested interest, irrespective of charge in thepolitical hues in the power matrix. The remedies to improve transparency and reducecorruption should not have been impossible. But those who are to do the jobs are inno mood to appreciate the fact that bold governance reforms are good politics thatearns the electorate’s support in an unalloyed manner. To effectively deal withcorruption ensuring accountability at all level is now a major demand in Bangladesh.Corruption is a complex multi-faceted social phenomenon with innumerablemanifestations. It takes place in Bangladesh as an outcome of deficiencies in theexisting public administration apparatuses and systemsas well as cultural, economic,political and social factors.
According  to  the  opinion  of  the  different social scientist  both  the  sectors  (public  and private)  are prominent  in everywher corruption . As  a  social  process,  therefore,  corruption  is e  in  Bangladesh  (Rahman:2005). political  patronage,  and/or  the  socioIt  is present, for  instance, in the  proce ss  of political  institutional  arrangement  called  a patronclient  relationship,  through  which  public  resources  are  appropriated  by  a  select group  of  people,  usually  described  as  elites;  it  is  visible  in  economic  exchang es  such as the process of rent-seeking which (regulatory requirements by) public servantsimpose on players in the market: also known asghooshor bribe. It is visible andinvisible in a host of activities which range from outright bribery to more subtle formsof patronage or persuasion such astadbir, from underhand deals involving vast sumsof money at the national and international levels, to petty, everydaybaksheeshwhichthe doorman at a bureaucrat's office extracts in order to perform his normal duties. According to the CPI 2008 of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB),Bangladesh has been ranked in the tenth position from below while in 2007 it was 7thand in 2006 it was ranked third and during 2001-2005 at the bottom. With score lessthan 3Bangladesh continues to be a country where corruption is perceived to be highand widespread.


The Concept of Corruption by the Civil Servants & the Politicians
A general impression conveyed by the politicians and the civil servants thatcorruption is viewed quite clearly as 'a way of life'.According to them some commontypes of corruptions of Bangladesh are-Ghooshor Bribe,Tadbiror Pursuing,Bakshisetc.Ghooshor bribe.Gift-giving,another form of corruptionis part ofnegotiatingandrelationship building. The other forms arecontact steering,kickback,misuse of public assets,abuse of travel expensesandabuse of portable assets.
The  Causes  of  Corruption  in  Bangladesh
The  prime  cause  of  corruption  in  Bangladesh  is  the  abuse  of  power  (News  Network: 2003).  When  we  discuss  corruption  in Bangladesh,  we  are  referring  to  destruction  of integrity , the  exchange,  activity,  process  or  behaviour  which  occurs  when  the  public domain comes into contact  with the  private  domain.
1. Lack  of  patriotism,  the  overall  crises  of  ethics,  degradation  of  morality  of the  society,  social  tension  and  economic  insecuritywhich  is  on growing  division in the  society.
2. Lack  of  the  rule  of  law.  Lack  of  institutional  capacity.  The  formation  of corruption  is  mostly  influenced  by  the  nature  of  the  political  and  economic system,  the  weakness  of  the  system  which  means  absence of  rule  of  law,  inefficiency  of  the  judiciary  system, bad legislation, etc.
3. Poor  payment,  lack  of  opportunities  in  the  service  (reward,  regular promotion etc.), illegal  pressure  and more  volume  of  works.
4. Personal  interest,  greed rather  than nationa l  interest/  last  for  money.
5. The  growing  poverty  of  the  society/  need.
6. Lack of  education of  the  density  of  population.
7. Free  market  economy or economic liberalization leads  to  corruption.  State patronized  privatization.  As  a  result,  their  involvement  is  seen  as  more  than facilitating.
8. Needs  a  knowledgebased,  skilled,  high  performing  civil  service  and committed politicians to  implement  it.
9. No/  very  limited access for  citizens to government  information.
10.  Less  emphasis on moral  values in school  teaching and religious community do not  take  real  steps in promoting  moral  values in everyday  life.
11. Ineffective anticorruption measures to fight  against  corruption in real  sense.
12. Opposition parties, parliamentary  committee  and  civil  society  do not  act  as  a "watchdog"  of  government  activities.
Consequences  of  Corruption  in  Bangladesh
The  experience  of  civil  servants  and  politicians  regarding  the  practice  of  corruption includes  a  certain  pressure  from  state  employees  to  have  bribes  offered,  or  pressure exerted on  state  employees  to  accept  a  bribe.  Findings  demonstrate  that,  in  general, the  corruption  pressure  between  people  and  public  servants  /  politicians  is  moderate and  more  often  implied  than  direct.  Judging  from  answers  of  the  respondents  only  in  a small  n umber  of  cases  public  servants  overtly  sought  from  them  cash,  gifts,  or  favors, but  in  a  greater  number  of  cases  they  demonstrated  that  they  expect  something  like that.  Corruption  being  performed  by  civil  servants  /  politicians,  therefore,  is  not  so much  a result  of  overt  imposition,  but  of  willing  acceptance,  motivated  by  an understanding  that  this  is  the  most  efficient  way  for  accomplishing  of  their  interests and needs.

Corruption inversely  affects  the  service  delivery  as  only  who  can  afford  to  pay (bribes)  gets  services.  Corruption  increases  cost  of  investment  affects  that  adversely decreases  businessperson’s  confidents.  It  also  increase  gap/  mistrust  between  Govt. and  people.  In  t he  opinion  of  TIB  on  an  average  loss  incurred  by  the  Govt.  for corruption  is  about  2.53%  GDP.  On  the  other  hand,  private  sector’s  unofficial payments for  getting  things doneare  an average  2.10%  of  total  sales.
Effective  Ways  to  Combat  Corruption
1. Increase  commitment  by  political  and business leaders and civil  servants to fight  corruption and fraud. Form  new  policy  to build a knowledge based, skilled, high performing  civil  service  and by  implementing  it.
2. Increase  salaries of  government  employees.
3. An independent  AntiCorruption Commission  (ACC)  to address corruption .
4. Greater  access for  citizens and news media  to √ government  information √ (including  budgets).
5. Religious community  placing  greater  emphasis on  promoting  moral  values in everyday  life.
6. Greater  transparency  and  accountability  of  over  all  government procedures.
7. A single  independent  anti corruption hotline  dedicated to fight  against corruption.
8. Disclosure  by  top civil  servants and politicians of  all  financial  interests.
9. A media  campaign to raise  public  awareness of  the  extent  and costs of corruption.
Role  of  the  Civil  Servants  and  the  Politicians  in  Combating Corruption:
Corruption,  especially  political  and  administrative  corruption,  has  become  a  way  to echelons  of  power. The  Civil  Servants  and  the  Politicians  are  the  most  significant groups  to  address  the  number  one  problem,  corruption,  in  Bangladesh.  Most  of  the senior  and  experienced  politicians  and  civil  servants  have  said  that  if  the  political  will can set  against  corr uption, it  is obvious that  the  problem  will  be  automatically  solved. Some  of  the  respondents  have  said  that  as  the  bearers  and  implementers  of public  offices  they  are  involved  in  doing  all  sorts  of  state  activities.  If  the  heads remain  corruption  free,  t hen  they  are  followed  by  all  their  adherents  in  government offices  as  well  as  in  politics.  Some  respondents  believe  that  there  are  civil  servants who  consider  themselves  as  service  providers  to  the  people.  They  follow  the  rules  of business  and  do  their  dut ies  for  the  people  of  the  country.  If  all  the  civil  servants fallow  them, there  will  be  no corruption in the  public  offices. Some  of  them  have  viewed  that  a  democratic  political  party  rather  than  a government  can  address  corruption  effectively.  Because  on ce  a  particular  party  (based on  ethics,  norms  and  values)  is  committed  to  fight  corruption,  they  can  make  some bright  examples.  If  this  committed  political  party  takes  power,  they  can  play  very important  role  to fight  against  corruption in the  context  of  B angladesh. There  is  no  doubt  that  the  civil  servants  and  the  politicians,  as  the  most powerful  and  dominating  social  elite  of  Bangladesh,  are  known  as  the  sources  of corruption  and  only  they  can  play  the  vital  role  in  combating  corruption  more consideratel y  and efficiently.
Conclusion
Perhaps   here  is  no  society  beyond  corruption  from  the  beginning  of  the  human socitey. It  has  grown  parallel  with  the  increase  of  social  and  political  power,  growth of  bureaucracy  and  the  meddling  of  the  state  in  market  transactions. of  corruption  in  Bangladesh  is  the  abuse  of  power. corruption,  ac cording  to  the  experience  of The  prime  cause The  most  outspread  kind  of civil  servants  and  politicians acquisition  of  a  building  location,  then  during  acquisition  of  import, is  in  the export  licenses, etc . F acquiring  of  government  contracts,  and  acquisition  of  telephone  and  electric  power services ighting  corruption  is  not  just  law  enforcement.  Rather  it  is  a  reappraisal of  the  way  we  think  and  the  way  we  act.  No  anticorruption  drive  can  succeed  or survive  without  active  support  or  participation of  the  people.