Corruption In Arab Countries Still Pervasive
It is widely believe that institutional corruption in any country stems from poor management and planning, and not from a lack of natural resources and other key ingredients that countries abound with. Corruption results from abuse by individuals in government and private institutions for their personal interests, and the misuse of their administrative authority to achieve their ends, particularly if supervisory controls are absent or weak.
Today, many government departments in the Arab world suffer from poor planning and corruption, according to the data of Transparency International in Berlin. Most Arab countries did not record any improvement in their perceptions of corruption. Many countries fell in the 2022 rankings, while there are several Arab countries at the bottom of the ranking.
Some experts believe that as a result of attracting cadres who are not well-qualified in their responsibilities and work, they work in any way to maintain their status, which helps the spread of nepotism in administrative and financial issues. Thus those departments flounder in the process of planning and decision-making.
Everyone is aware that corruption is a multifaceted criminal phenomenon with negative effects on moral values, political life, and economic and social aspects. Transparency International believes that corruption is the abuse of power for private benefit, while other organizations describe corruption as the misuse of a position for private gain. Corruption is considered one of the most dangerous negative phenomena in any institution if adequate measures are not taken to deter it. It has implications for people’s daily lives and interests, and has a strong impact on official centers and institutions in vital areas such as education, health, construction, production, and others.
This calls for civil society organizations, regulatory departments, and institutions tasked with protecting public funds to highlight these issues in order to mitigate corruption and strengthen oversight. Suitable laws should be enacted to hold accountable anyone who has misused public money. It is also imperative that financial and administrative audit and regulatory departments in the Arab world should ensure that only individuals of integrity and probity should be in the leadership and senior administrative positions of such public institutions.
Over the past years, the phenomenon of corruption has attracted the attention of many researchers and workers in civil society institutions and the media. Many opinions have been put forward to limit this phenomenon and punish the corrupt. Workers in the fields of economics, security, law, political science and sociology were also keen to follow up the issues resulting from the phenomenon of corruption and how to reduce it due to its bad effects on human societies.conduct – or, as Daphna Renan puts it, the “president’s two bodies.” A prosecution for action that in any way resembles traditional domains of executive privilege or a policy directive would immediately succumb to the fires of modern polarization – such was the fate of the first impeachment of Donald Trump. In policing corruption, scrutiny must focus on the individual in an isolated sense, not encroaching upon the political office that must remain contested terrain. In other words: attacking misbehavior as a matter of individual transgression, not as a matter of political misdirection.
Using the criminal law to respond to acts of governance, no matter how outrageous, risks fueling political mistrust and angry polarization. Not letting elections lie is the hallmark of autocracies, not democracies.
conduct – or, as Daphna Renan puts it, the “president’s two bodies.” A prosecution for action that in any way resembles traditional domains of executive privilege or a policy directive would immediately succumb to the fires of modern polarization – such was the fate of the first impeachment of Donald Trump. In policing corruption, scrutiny must focus on the individual in an isolated sense, not encroaching upon the political office that must remain contested terrain. In other words: attacking misbehavior as a matter of individual transgression, not as a matter of political misdirection.
Stronger Drive Vs Corruption
If most Filipinos believe the national government should exert greater efforts to fight corruption, will our leaders and policy makers heed their sentiment?
The latest Pulse Asia survey found 84 percent of 1,200 respondents agreed with this statement: “Pursuant to the Philippines’ concurrence with international agreements, the power of national agencies, laws, and mechanisms to fight corruption should be strengthened.”
A total 36 percent said they “strongly agree” while 48 percent said they “somewhat agree” with the statement.
What’s interesting is that most of those who agreed the government should do more to curb corruption come from Mindanao (92 percent) and Visayas (89 percent), where poverty levels are higher as compared to NCR (82 percent) and Balance Luzon (80 percent).
The result of the survey, from June 19 to 23 and commissioned by Stratbase ADR Institute, indicates nearly all Filipinos consider corruption as an enormous challenge that should compel government to take firm steps to solve.
According to Pulse Asia President Dr. Ronald Holmes, “virtually no one” disagrees with the strengthening of the agencies, laws, and mechanisms to fight corruption.
He observed the usual proposal in the past was for the government to establish a single, well-resourced anti-corruption agency which has fiscal autonomy and is insulated from partisanship and political interference.
What’s starkly clear is past administrations simply ignored the recommendation, leading to what the World Bank claimed has been the loss of about one-fourth of the total annual national budget to inveterate crooks in government.
The survey also yielded various answers to what the respondents felt were the negative effects of corruption in Philippine society.
Respondents said corruption erodes trust in government services and public officials; creates a normalized attitude towards corrupt practices; results in inefficient delivery of basic social services as health and education; leads to less public funds devoted to fighting poverty; and produces substandard infrastructure.
Given this range of the negative consequences of corruption in our public life, the question that needs to be answered now is whether this government is willing to take the road less traveled and embark on an honest-to-goodness anti-corruption drive that will spare no one, from the big fish to the small fry.
It has five more years to prove that it really listens to what Filipinos are saying.
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