The recent lectures on corruption organized by Occuppy Ghana have brought to the forefront unanswered questions that have nagged me for some time now: Why is it most Ghanaians seem religious yet corruption is so pervasive? Is corruption inevitable? If not, what can we do about it? There are those who believe in the “top down” approach to tackling corruption, an approach requiring the President to have the “balls” to remove, prosecute and jail corrupt politicians, civil and public servants and pretty much anyone on the state’s payroll found thieving. This is the approach being taken by Paul Kagame of Rwanda and it seems to be paying dividends. Then there are those who favor the “bottom-up” approach of tackling corruption. They maintain that if only those speaking against corruption will ACT against it individually, and report to the appropriate authorities when the policeman or civil/public servant demands bribes from them, then we can succeed in curtailing the endemic. I would argue that choosing corruption over honesty is the ideal choice for most people because if the benefits of corruption outweigh those of honesty, one will likely choose the former. Consider a parent who wants to send his child to KNUST but knows he must choose between paying a bribe to the admissions officer and having his child sent home. The parent contemplating such a corrupt act versus an ethical one, most often than not weigh the possible costs and benefits of his actions. This is a very important point to keep in mind since the individual considers only his costs and benefits, not those of society. I believe there is a third alternative for tackling corruption based on compelling ideas and practical results that requires little political will and uses existing capacities in Ghana. Unfortunately very few people are talking about this option. The answer lies in the “middle level”, an approach being experimented by Patrick Awuah and the good people at Ashesi University, something called “Honor Code”. Here the focus is integrating integrity and community service into the educational curriculum of our future public leaders, professionals and corporate executives while they are in universities learning their crafts. The university accreditation board must require that all university students in Ghana learn about what it takes to work and live with integrity, how to manage organizations ethically, and how to do business without resorting to bribery. Within a decade, Ghana could develop a critical mass of new leaders with integrity and ethics that could carry the fight against corruption into every major profession, every public sector and every region. Like leadership, integrity can be taught in the classrooms. However, this work has a long gestation period and the results are only felt years down the road. As an instrument for reform, integrity education can be an attractive option as few people oppose education programs and integrity training. While we’re at it, we must find ways to hold our politicians, civil and public officials accountable to strengthen our systems and institutions, since that’s the only sure way to eliminate corruption. It is only when systems function efficiently can corruption be minimized. Its worth noting that folks in the west are not more ethical than us, the difference though is that their systems work hence there is no need to resort to bribery. So yes... let’s fight corruption top-down, bottom-up and also middle-level. We have to figure it out somehow, lest we forget there are real victims for our actions and inactions… My two cents!!
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 17:46:51 +0000