After an inordinate delay Qamar Zaman Chaudhry has been appointed the NAB Chairman. A credible bureaucrat with an impeccable record, he has the right CV. The unfortunate controversy about his appointment could have been avoided by bringing Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI), the third largest party in the National Assembly (NA), into the consultations. The delay underscores the fact that accountability, on top of the agenda in public aspirations, is not really a priority for our politicians, and for good reason. Why should they blow a police whistle on themselves? No wonder politicians elected to Parliament in country after country have cut down the budget of their accountability entities in a vain attempt to curb their potential.
Our resolve to root out corruption at the highest reaches of government and society has been weak. Like inflation, corruption has force-multiplied to become an inescapable part of our daily lives. Just talking and/or planning to take deterrent action does not solve the problem, the systems must evolve so that, except for the extreme necessities of national security, everything is open for detailed public scrutiny. The pursuit of accountability is a zero-sum game, unfortunately political nuances and self-interest compromise its implementation. In many third world countries the guilty use “democracy” as a camouflage for their crimes.
The moral obligation to the downtrodden and poverty stricken masses makes it incumbent for those in power to face upto their moral and ethical responsibilities. What use is a Constitution that does not prevent the unscrupulous from looting the till, it is a meaningless piece of paper to a man whose children remain hungry, sick and uneducated as a result. Without the courage to do their fundamental duty as per the authority vested in them, they are as much culpable as those involved in the corruption they try to absolve themselves of it. Most leaders of the so-called “free world” during the cold war were civilian and military dictators/absolute monarchs who not only looted their country blind but revelled in it. Very much frowned upon in the west, money laundering, evasion of taxes, flight of capital, etc were conveniently ignored in the 1950s and 1960s to support tyrants in the name of “democracy” and “freedom” in the fight against communism. The lack of accountability in a totalitarian rule contributed to creating an ideal breeding ground for corruption.
The apathy of the west in the face of well-known cases of known corruption is a sad reflection on the process of democracy. The US$ 60 million supposedly in Zardari’s name in Swiss banks will probably never be recovered, being legally time-barred by judicial filibustering. Such corrupt people could not have survived politically in the west, unfortunately it makes no difference to their acceptability and lifestyle, the cocktail circuit in expensive apartments in a square mile around Hyde Park in London is full of known white collar thieves in the form of former dictators, bank defaulters, tax evaders, money-launderers, etc. A free media and wide-ranging literacy can contribute to check and balance in governance but what happens if the media is itself corrupted? With the authority of the State compromised, the capacity for malfeasance is force-multiplied many times over. Why do western democracies allow corrupt leaders to bankrupt their fledgling nations (and move their ill-gotten gains to their countries) when they themselves do not tolerate similar behaviour in their environment?
Being personally involved in the cutting edge of the struggle against terrorism for over two decades, one’s over-riding concern is that corruption morphs easily into “Organized Crime”, described by the United Nations (UN) as being “large-scale and complex criminal activity carried on by groups of persons, however loosely or tightly organized, for the enrichment of those participating and at the expense of the community and its members through ruthless disregard of any law, including offences against the person, and frequently in connection with political corruption”. Organized crime and terrorism have developed a symbiotic relationship, the nexus resulting from ineffective governance.
Once embarked on his (or her) ghastly mission, a suicide bomber will cause collateral damage, both human and material, the quantum depending upon whether he (or she) reaches the designated objective or detonates his (or her) lethal cargo carried in a public place short of the objective. There are very little defence against such acts, the only way is to eliminate the nexus between terrorism, corruption and organized crime. Each evil being fought individually, corruption must be first targeted to starve organised crime and terrorism of money.
Terrorist organizations can include or are supported by common criminals with special skills or access to networks or criminal opportunities. Where does one get the money laundered from, the ability to purchase explosives, have valid identification documents, etc and the logistics for travel and accommodation? With increased criminal activity replacing ideology, profit and greed are the main motivating drivers for operations of some terrorist groups.
Globalization has made it all the more necessary to develop a cohesive modus operandi of cooperating in real-time on a fast-track and coordinated basis using all the means and resources available directed to rooting out the menace of corruption. The World Economic Forum (WEF) set up the “Partnering Against Corruption Initiative” (PACI) in 2004 as a global, multi-industry, multi-stakeholder anti-corruption initiative. PACI was meant to raise business standards and contribute to a competitive, transparent, accountable and ethical business society. To quote the PACI website, “Corruption is widely recognized as a major obstacle to the stability, growth and competitiveness of economies. Business has a unique opportunity to join forces with governments and other stakeholders to find lasting solutions to problems of corruption and to create a level playing field for today’s globalized markets. Taking a leadership role is not only a matter of ensuring organizational compliance. It is a strategic imperative for every CEO”, unquote.
To quote from an Anti-corruption Workshop conducted by PACI in India, “lack of enforcement of the legal and regulating framework for addressing corruption is often cited as a major impediment to promoting real change, especially in the business environment. Moreover, lack of coordination and conflicting mandates between the different actors – business, government, civil society – reduce the effectiveness of anti-corruption and transparency measures.” Helping to foster a high-level dialogue between business and governments. PACI asks business leaders to sign a set of Principles, committing (1) to a zero tolerance policy towards bribery and corruption and (2) agreeing to establish an internal anti-corruption programme.
The global anti-corruption agenda has been helped by PACI to successfully set a strategic policy level, to drive change in key markets through targeted initiatives and partnerships. There is heightened public, media and business interest surrounding corruption-related issues. The PACI Principles are the same that should be the touchstone for public sector accountability entities like NAB, a globally recognized benchmark to track and encourage compliance efforts by multi-national companies that face bribery and extortion in many countries.
For third world entities attempting to root out corruption, association with private sector entities like PACI, being multi-national, multi-dimensional and multi-stakeholder, would be multi-beneficial (first of two articles based on a recent WEF Conference in Geneva on “Partnering Against Corruption Initiative” (PACI) on 14 -15 Oct 2013).
Courtesy: The News
