On November 18, this year, six people were killed in Haiti during an anti-corruption demonstration, which saw thousands of protesters marching in the capital Port-au-Prince and other parts of the country. The march was to press demands for an investigation — so far denied — into the allegation that government officials embezzled funds from the nearly US$4 billion Haiti was supposed to have received through PetroCaribe, the Venezuelan oil programme that at one time benefited several Caricom nations, including Guyana.
While no country can afford to, or should lose funds to embezzlement, Haiti is perhaps the worst country for this to take place, if indeed the allegations are true. It is well known that Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world. It is estimated that 80 percent of Haitians live in poverty. Therefore, it is not surprising that even the slightest whisper of corruption or siphoning off of public funds could be cause for anger and uprising among its people. And that is not just true of Haiti alone.
Corruption is like a nagging, non-healing sore on the backside of mankind, hidden, yet ever present and virulent. It is also quite expensive.
On Sunday last, December 9, the world marked International Anti-Corruption Day. In a message circulated as part of the observance UN Secretary-General António Guterres said it was estimated that corruption costs at least US$3.6 trillion annually, said to be more than 5 percent of the global gross domestic product. It is believed US$2.6 trillion are embezzled or stolen and another US$1 trillion paid in bribes every year. In view of that, if corruption were a country it would indeed be quite a wealthy one. But it isn’t.
Instead, corruption can be likened to a wheel that is kept spinning by the many palms outstretched to be constantly greased in every corner, sector and industry in the world. Granted, there are places where it is much more widespread, but it is a rot that continues to exist everywhere, mainly because of greed, a plague on humanity. In fact, it is estimated that 1 in every 4 people in the world has or will have to pay a bribe at some point in their lives.
In addition to all of the money being lost, corruption also takes lives. The situation last month in Haiti aside, every cent that illegally enters someone’s pocket or offshore bank account, means that less money is available for education, clean water, electricity, hospitals and medicines, the result being that sick people can and do die.
Secretary General Guterres referred to it as “an assault on the values of the United Nations.” And that is indeed the case. But it is also truly a strain on the poorest among us, those who have no choice but to rely on the often less-than-adequate services provided by governments for basic necessities like food, water and health care. More likely than not, the service is at whatever bleak level it is because the funds allocated to make it work had to be thinly spread after amounts would have been skimmed off by officials. And then in some instances bribes would have had to be paid to whoever needed to be kept quiet, because corruption is the sort of slimy beast that feeds on itself and grows.
“Corruption begets more corruption, and fosters a corrosive culture of impunity,” Mr Guterres said in his message. It is sad but true that the majority of those involved in this crime never face the punishment they richly deserve. Whistleblowers are rare. While there are many who observe illegal actions, more than three-quarters of them tend to deem themselves not well paid or at least not well enough to suit the lifestyles they are angling after. It is easier for them, therefore, to succumb to the pressure and opportunity of ready, tax-free cash dangled in front of them. They tend to rationalize that if their superiors are doing it then they might as well join them. At the same time, the importance of prevention cannot be stressed enough and an annual observance is clearly not enough. Corruption needs to be stopped before it becomes the rule rather than the exception. It has already been recognized as one of the biggest impediments to nations achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, targeted to be attained in 2030 and expected to advance the whole of humankind. The United Nations Convention Against Corruption fighting this global scourge, through initiatives like the global campaign launched jointly by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). However, these will take time to bear fruit. Citizens of the world, meanwhile, who continue to be fed up at fraudulent conduct that leaves them bereft of basic human needs, like those in Haiti, will act when it seems that they are being denied redress. Like Jamaican singer Bounty Killer sang in “Anytime”, a song he co-wrote in 1999: “Tell them seh anytime the government policies a undermine//poor people plight that a sure sign//corruption and war a guh reach it’s prime… wi tired and wi tired wi tired…”
