The lead story in our last issue (July 15) had expressed concern over corruption creeping gradually into our economy. Although the areas in which graft practices had occurred during the past year are not known, there is reason to believe that it would involve a government (local or central) agency. About 3% of the people surveyed by Transparency International New Zealand (TI-NZ) had reported that they had parted with their money to obtain a service.
The organisation had warned earlier that as ministries and Government agencies increase their dealings with countries which are perceived corrupt (China and India are good examples), New Zealand would become more susceptible to graft. We could well be at the ‘giving end of the equation,’ but our status as the least corrupt country (as per Corruption Perception Index) would be threatened.
Public servants in China and India are underpaid and overworked, which, according to a KPMG Fraud Survey, makes them more vulnerable to corruption. According to some analysts, corruption is pervasive in many areas of Chinese and Indian corporate life. A Chinese expert who investigates wrongdoing in business insists that the level of corruption has gone up in recent years, as fraud schemes have become tighter, smarter and bolder.
Multinationals that have put local managers in charge of their operations in these countries are often the most vulnerable to jiggery-pokery. While sales are booming, the top brass at headquarters are happy to give local managers a free hand. Sometimes they may suspect murky dealings, but are reluctant to appear ignorant of cultural traditions in China and India. As a result, they are failing to mind the store.
Transparency International (TI), an NGO that tracks corruption trends, ranks China 80th out of 176 countries in its latest corruption-perceptions index. That middling ranking, which reflects how outsiders perceive levels of corruption, is bad enough. But to get a true sense of how bad things are, it is better to ask locals, as TI also does in many countries. However, when it tried to persuade Chinese market-research groups to conduct surveys, none would accept the job. The researchers deemed the very questions too “sensitive” to ask.
It is the same story in India, where charges of corruption have consumed the career of a number of federal government ministers, top-ranking officials and some senior politicians. India had declared war on corruption and corrupt practices many years ago. But no one other than those perpetrating bribery seem to be winning.
This could become a major issue as India goes to polls in 2014.
As for China, the Government appears to be taking appropriate steps to stop the menace. And put in place a zero-tolerant, corruption-free regime.
New Zealand must exercise care in dealing with countries with a poor record of administrative cleanliness and protect its global image as a graft-free economy.
