Corruption in world history
Humanity has been facing and fighting the evil of corruption since ages. But it’s also the humanity which has been critical in making this battle tougher for many centuries. If you go into the history books, you will see a number of records of corruptions during the reign of almost every dynasty. Either you will find a direct involvement of contemporary emperors in corruption or their courtiers in such crimes.
When most of the nations are run by democracy nowadays, there are still many countries depending on monarchy or autocracy. In many such countries, people fed up with reigns of royal families, dynastic politics, dictatorship, are desperately seeking freedom. But these shrewd monarch or dictators are yet not ready to give power in the hands of public. These power-hungry minds continue to dominate and harass the countrymen, same as their ancestors did in past centuries.
Corruption is old evil, new toy
The corruption situation is not good even in democratic countries. People of developing and third world countries are paying the biggest cost of this evil. They have to face corruption from bottom to top in politics, government, administration and their enterprises. For having even simple and most normal things that they should have as birthright, they have to pay bucks under the table. People pay bribes to officials and peons because they don’t want to wait for seeing their files moving from table to table for years.
These human necessities, needs, wants and desires give boost to more and more corruption in almost every country of the world. No such evil can stay for a long time without a human support. After all, who is in politics, government, administration and enterprises? They are people selected or recruited from us only. So, corruption starts from the bottom before it goes to the top in any system. We, the people, are solely responsible for corruption prevailing in our society and nation.
Corruption in world history
Despite witnessing a revolution in information technology and assuming lots of transparency in data, we have not been able to get rid of corruption in all these decades. Now, in times of coronavirus when people have to face new vulnerabilities, menas of corruption is more prominent. Coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown measures taken to contain it have left a number of people losing their livelihood. Governments in many countries are taking aids from international agencies for people’s benefits, and using it in their own luxury.
In other nations, governments are offering aids to people to in names of big financial packages. These confused packages are not going to go into people’s pockets. The machinery, responsible to provide food, ration, shelter and heath facilities to needy people, remains in hands of corrupt mechanics. The United Nations has also expressed concerns over the world corruption level going upward. The international body referred to corruption as criminal and immoral activity, also an ultimate betrayal of public trust.
More damages during corona
When the world is facing Covid 19 pandemic, corruption is making more damages, said UN General Secretary António Guterres. Citing weak oversight and inadequate transparency, he said, this critical time has created new opportunities for corrupt minds to divert funds away from the people who need it. Many times, governments may be hurrying to act upon the virus impact, and are not verifying suppliers or not determining fair prices, Guterres alerts.
Crooked merchants may supply faulty products like defective ventilators, poorly manufactured tests or counterfeit medicines, he cautions. Further, he called upon support and empowerment for whistle-blowers and anti-corruption bodies. Also, he asked public to be alert and hold leaders to account, and business people to act responsibly. He also stressed on the need of vibrant civic space and open access to information. Technological advances are key in getting increased transparency and better monitor procurement of medical supplies, he said.
Well, we will have to work from our own selves first to get rid of the evil of corruption from the world. In times, when the world is battling with pandemic, a fight with corruption becomes more critical. And this needs high vigilance, transparency and collaboration in all the sides of any system.
