How to tackle corruption

Go back to the drawing board

There are no two opinions about the fact that we are a society completely immersed in corruption, which decidedly is the bane of our socio-economic development and national integration. There is also no doubt about the fact that our rulers both military dictators and politicians are equally responsible for this detestable phenomenon, which due to its trickle-down effect has penetrated into the entire fabric of our society. According to a saying of Saadi Sherazi if a ruler eats one egg through corruption, the subjects will eat the entire flock of hen in a same way. That is the situation we are faced with today. Taking cue from the rulers the people are also engaged in a mad race to accumulate wealth through illegitimate and corrupt practices. Corruption has become an accepted norm in the society.

Law enforcing agencies, judiciary and government departments which are supposed to ensure rule of law, justice, checking corruption and promoting well being of the masses, are themselves afflicted with corruption to the core. And regrettably there seems no end in sight to this process of self-destruction. We keep hearing from the rulers their resolve to eliminate corruption from the echelons of the government and the society as and when it suits their political interests. But the fact is that whatever accountability mechanisms they did put in place, they were meant to target their political opponents rather than an arrangement for across the board accountability. The military dictators who staged military coups citing corruption as the overriding consideration with the promises to put the genie in the bottle, themselves indulged in reckless misuse of power and corruption to prolong their rules, pushing the country further into the crucible of a precipice.

We have also witnessed sporadic movements against corruption, regrettably also designed to settle scores with the political opponents and gaining political mileage instead of a genuine and honest effort to hold accountable all those who have taken this country for a ride and bringing in systemic reforms to curb the culture of graft and entitlement that the present system of governance encourages.

The so-called movement against corruption that the opposition parties including PTI have unfurled in the wake of Panama Leaks is quintessential of the politics of hypocrisy and self-aggrandisement. It is a typical witch-hunt against the Nawaz Sharif and his family. They are desperately trying to make the public believe that if the alleged corruption against Nawaz Sharif is proved and he and his family is held accountable, the country will become free of corruption. That is the most preposterous proposition. If the purpose honestly is accountability and elimination of corruption, then all those whose hands are soiled with corruption, no matter who they are, must be made to face across the board accountability.

A list presented in the senate last week, reveals that politicians belonging to PPP, PTI, PML (N) and QL, ex-generals, Fauji Cement Company and other prominent personalities got the bank loans to the tune of millions of rupees written-off between 2001-9. That is only the tip of the iceberg which only indicates how the people in power misuse their authority to favour their own supporters and cronies with impunity. Echoes of Surrey Palace and money stashed in the Swiss banks still resonate across the country. A brother of a former COAS is under investigation for a fraud to the tune of Rs.400 billion.

Those demanding accountability of Nawaz Sharif on account of Panama Leaks, are also guilty of the same crime if at all owning an off-shore company is a crime. One really wonders at their audacity to hurl allegations of corruption at others while morally and legally speaking they are also standing on the same pedestal. People must not pay heed to this farce, which is only meant to create chaos in the country and possibly destabilise the government. It is quite obvious from their antics, particularly the PTI whose chairman Imran Khan is hell bent to get Nawaz Sharif. One would wish that he would also have campaigned with the same ferocity against corruption done by the Khakis, Judges, all the politicians and reforming the system instead of wasting his energies on an issue which is absolutely inconsequential and not going to serve the national interests.

Imran and those gunning for Nawaz Sharif are well advised to join forces and cooperate with the government in bringing about necessary systemic reforms that discourage misuse of authority by the rulers, nepotism and plugs the avenues of corruption. They must also jointly evolve an accountability arrangement, insulated against political interference, which is capable of ensuring across the board accountability and dealing with corruption in the echelons of the government.

The political parties can make a beginning by having all the written-off bank loans retrieved, which is very much doable, to prove their honesty and anti-corruption credentials. The government and the opposition can easily legislate on the issue. That must be followed by promulgation of a law under which all government functionaries, politicians, generals and judges can be probed and brought to justice. This task must be entrusted to a National Anti-Corruption Commission (a constitutional body) to function on permanent basis.

Another much needed systemic reform is changing the way we elect our representatives. The present single constituency system is the mother of all types of political corruption. Under this system only the rich and influential persons can contest elections eliminating the chances of well educated and enlightened persons belonging to the middle and lower middle class to ever think of making to the legislatures or serving the country in any representative capacity. The result is that in the resultant game of numbers to clinch power, the parties and their heads, invariably prefer giving tickets to the electable persons without ever bothering about their financial and moral integrity or reputation. When they get elected they blackmail the party heads and resist any change that could endanger their vested interests. Further the members who get elected under this system are not necessarily the ones having obtained the maximum numbers of votes registered in that particular constituency. In a constituency where two hundred thousand votes are registered, a person obtaining 40% of votes or even less could get elected due to the distribution votes among several contesting candidates. The winner therefore is not the representative of the majority. Under the single constituency system small regional parties also fail to get due representation. Consequently the assemblies that come into being, though are said to be enjoying franchise of the people but are in no way truly representative bodies. The solution lies in switching over the proportional representative system which suits the genius of the multicultural and multi-lingual society like Pakistan.

The focus of the political parties must be on the issues pointed out in the foregoing paragraphs rather than politics of self-aggrandisement. The country is confronted with egregious challenges that demand complete unity among all the segments of the society, more so the political parties, to ward off the dangers lurking on the horizon. They must revisit their strategies and demonstrate a nationalistic outlook.