Third World Corruption: A Brief Survey of the Issues

Abstract

The author examines the problem of which is widespread in most Third World countries, and finds that although it facilitates effective action in some cases it generally imposes a severe restriction on economic development which is particularly harmful when political leaders transfer the financial resources they have stolen to other countries rather than investing them in commercial or industrial enterprises within their own country. The theft of funds and resources provided by international donors is a common form of corruption, and private enterprise and efficiency at all levels is customarily vitiated by at any level. While poverty is commonly blamed for corruption, any successful efforts to combat the economic effects of this debilitating disease require not only a determined and sustained anti-corruption campaign and the cooperation of donor nations and international organizations. Key Words: Third World, Nigeria, Pakistan, Zaire, Transparency International, The problem of within or across nations is not a recent phenomenon, nor is it exclusively a Third-World concern. The English historian Edward Gibbon called corruption the most infallible symptom of constitutional liberty. Further, James Madison and the Founding Fathers took for granted the of by business, and business by government (McDougal, 1). The Berlin-based Transparency International annual develops a global Corruption Perception Index, and in 1998, based on a scale of zero to 10 (zero being highly and 10 being highly clean), Cameroon was ranked the most corrupt, but USA tied with Austria for 17th place, Denmark being the cleanest (Washington Times, 9/23/98). Thus, depending upon definitions and interpretations, plagues almost every nation, though there is variation in degree and intensity. Further, while it may prevail in any sector of the economy, public-sector corruption, especially in the Third-World nations, has received considerable attention in recent years; there is a plethora of recent literature (see bibliography). Corrupt public officials, from low-level bureaucrats to national leaders, can have negative economic, social and political effects on a country's process of modernization and development. It is a major problem in countries where due to weak institutions and enforcement, often accountability is low but where national development needs and aspirations are intense and resource scarcity is acute. There are many different forms of corruption, as well as several different groups who may engage in corrupt behavior. Third-world has been receiving close scrutiny at various public and private forums, with calls for rapid ameliorative steps, for the resultant negative effects serve as a huge drain on national/international efforts to promote development. There are already grassroots campaigns, from Nigeria to Thailand, gaining strength in fighting corruption. The developing countries, in conjunction with developed countries, international agencies and various non-governmental organizations, are increasingly focusing on this corrosive issue. When President Mobutu Sese-Seko of Zaire left office in 1996, he had a vast personal fortune virtually stolen from the nation that he had ruled for about 30 years. It was reported that he diverted between $50 million and $70 million a year from the Bank of Zaire to personal accounts in Europe; estimates of his personal fortune run over $6 billion (Wedeman, 463). These types of stories are not uncommon in various nations of Africa, Latin America and Asia. The former prime-minister of Pakistan, Mohammed Nawaz, overthrown by a military coup in October 1999 and already sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of hijacking of a commercial airliner that carried his military chief and 200 other passengers, has recently been indicted on charges of mass (Infotimes, Pakistanjournal@egroups. …