(d) Opportunities to be corrupt should be minimized by liberalizing
and deregulating the economy. Red tape should be minimized,
licensing abolished, international trade freed, capital controls
eliminated, competition introduced, monopolies broken, transparent
public tendering be made mandatory, freedom of information
enshrined, the media should be directly supported by the
international community, and so on. Deregulation should be a
developmental target integral to every program of international aid,
investment, or credit provision.
(e) Corruption is a symptom of systemic institutional failure.
Corruption guarantees efficiency and favourable outcomes. The
strengthening of institutions is of critical importance. The police,
the customs, the courts, the government, its agencies, the tax
authorities, the state owned media - all must be subjected to a
massive overhaul. Such a process may require foreign management and
supervision for a limited period of time. It most probably would
entail the replacement of most of the current - irredeemably corrupt
- personnel. It would need to be open to public scrutiny.
(f) Corruption is a symptom of an all-pervasive sense of
helplessness. The citizen (or investor, or firm) feels dwarfed by
the overwhelming and capricious powers of the state. It is through
corruption and venality that the balance is restored. To minimize
this imbalance, potential participants in corrupt dealings must be
made to feel that they are real and effective stakeholders in their
societies. A process of public debate coupled with transparency and
the establishment of just distributive mechanisms will go a long way
towards rendering corruption obsolete.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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