The unpleasant arithmetic of corruption

The LGRD minister's ris de coeur against the TIB ranking of his ministry at the top is a healthy sign. He should raise the issue with the TIB, and he did, but in an unprofessional and raucous manner with rabble-rousing accusations. The perception of some politicians that TIB is out to denigrate the image of the country is utterly nonsensical. Inadvertent inaccuracies may remain in the report, and the TIB must re-examine the analyses when questioned by the aggrieved parties.

However, Bhuiyan's roaring attack on the TIB is seen as a flash-back of communication minister Nazmul Huda's flare-up in 2004 although Nazmul was tranquillised and subdued by a subsequent parliamentary standing committee's charges of corruption (January 7, 2004) against him on import of CNG-run auto-rickshaws and allocation of land for CNG filling stations.

Unfortunately, the parliamentary committee report never surfaced to see daylight. Why would it? Otherwise, the proverbial saying: "birds of a feather flock together" would cease to exist. Would it make a difference whether GOB scored number one or number ten in the ranking? Countries with a ranking in this range are all corrupt to the same degree. It is a perception and that is why the measure is called corruption perception index (CPI). But the magnitude of the CPI number has far reaching economic implications for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), and for the national image.

Economists estimate that a country with a CPI score of 7 is 10 times more likely to attract a dollar of FDI per capita than a country with a CPI score of 6. For example, India with a CPI score of 2.8 is nearly 12 times more likely to succeed in attracting a dollar of FDI per capita than Bangladesh (with a CPI score of 1.7); Malaysia or Tunisia with a CPI score of 5.1, are nearly 34 times more likely than Bangladesh to attract a dollar of FDI per capita.

Being already so corrupt, the corrupt politicians of Bangladesh and their victims, the people, would probably wonder how corrupt do we have to be to score the number one ranking if the CPI score and implied ranking were lower than number one. Now that the country has been stigmatised for five years, Bangladesh has only two recourses: (a) keep changing ministers and lawmakers as frequently as possible until they all become millionaires, or (b) develop anti-corruption measures to score higher CPI number.

But who would develop those measures? The answer is: the parliament, the media, TIB, and the ACC. All these institutions must work in concert to catch the corrupt and hang them high.

Make no mistake; it will be a prickly route to escape from the corruption trap the country has been locked into. Whenever the CPI numbers are published, governments everywhere, except the GOB, examine the report with a positive outlook, however unpleasant they may feel. If the GOB resolves to rectify things in some areas, given that other governments are not sitting idle, the relative ranking of Bangladesh won't change much.

The GOB may still be ranked number one in corruption, although with an improved CPI number. Because there will always be a first and a last. For example, from 2004 to 2005, GOB's CPI score increased from 1.5 to 1.7 yet neither the ranking, nor the stemming of corruption, showed improvement. However, a larger CPI number, such as 3.5 or 4.5, would reflect a vast improvement and would attract more FDI, as economists predict, and restore national honour and image.

But it is highly improbable that the corruption-addicted politicians would do what it takes to cleanse their sullied souls. This is evident from the ineptitude, or unwillingness, of the parliamentary committee on the communication ministry to probe TIB's 2004 corruption ranking of the country's communication sector. The inaction against Nazmul Huda, and company, is the reason the ministry has been netted in another corruption scandal as reported by The Daily Star (July 20).

"To siphon off huge development funds, the communications ministry inflated a Taka 192cr road construction project to Taka 349cr by manipulating all components of the scheme," revealed a government investigation. It is incredible that the ministry would hire 429 contractors for the earth-filling work of the 61 km road construction project, allocating only 140 meters land to each contractor to fill.

After reviewing the report at a meeting of the National Economic Council, Finance Minister Saifur Rahman recommended that the case should be forwarded to the ACC for action. Unfortunately, the scandal will, in all likelihood, be shelved, like all other grand thefts committed under this ruling cartel.

If the new government, after the ensuing national election, is other than the Khaleda-Nizami cartel, we would like to see some reforms along the following lines:

-- A powerful parliament committee on corruption (not for any individual ministry) should be formed with lawmakers of unblemished record. Lawmakers from any party who were accused, or suspected, of corruption, like Nazmul Huda, Salah Uddin Ahmed and the like, must be barred from the committee if they get re-elected.

-- Reform the ACC to be a truly constitutionally independent institution with the power to charge anyone, at any time, with proper evidence. The current ACC is a "farce." The World Bank Vice-President Praful C Patel has discredited it recently because of its impotency.

-- The media should be rewarded for investigative reports on corruption, and must be allowed access to official records relating to development and procurements projects, if they so request.

-- TIB must be protected from harm so that it does not become the prey of corrupt politicians. The officials must be encouraged and honoured for their unblemished data collection, analysis and reporting.

-- Politicians, and bureaucrats, convicted of corruption must be given wide publicity so as to expose them to maximum humiliation and dishonour. All illegally amassed wealth must be confiscated.

-- All corruption cases must be tried as high crimes expeditiously.

In order to achieve these reforms the leadership of the two major parties may have to be replaced with new visionaries.

A country where the parliamentary committee on corruption evades responsibilities, the anti-corruption commission is created only to appease the donor institutions, the prime minister, the cabinet, and the politicians are perceived as "corrupt millionaires" who reward mediocrity through politicisation of bureaucracy, may remain assured of the number one corruption ranking for another five years if the current cartel is voted to power again. Given our history, however, there is no guarantee that Awami League would change the environment if it comes back to power in the ensuing national election.

Dr. Abdullah Dewan is Professor of Economics at Eastern Michigan University, Dr Aminur Rahman is Professor of Development Studies at University of Fort Hare, South Africa, and Dr. M. Badruddoja is a surgeon in Chicago.