Corruption: some timely tales

When I began Daily Juice, with promises to provide daily updates on corruption around the globe, I feared suffering from a lack of stories. No need to fear, as it turned out.
There are at least a dozen fresh stories every day, to add to significant updates on existing issues. Rather than a drought it has been a flood.
The part I’m enjoying, with both serious and cynical eye, are the ‘good news’ bites on anti corruption efforts.
Today, in Daily Juice, is a story from Bangladesh, where the anti corruption agency is publishing contact info for the public to snitch on corrupt officials. It is a problematic approach, but still a positive one in that part of the world.
Another charmer was the news that a moderate Islamist party looks set to come to power in Morocco next year. Good news on two fronts; first the lesson that Islam has a socially responsible side, which it undoubtedly has. The second, is that parties determination to address rampant corruption in the country. That story appears under our ‘Election Watch’ section.

Other stories tend to give rise to wry amusement, not by intent (I hope) but more in the vein of inanity. One such is out of Zambia, where the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) chairperson Nellie Mutti claimed: Prevention is Best Way to Curb Corruption.
I don’t doubt the lady, just the fact that simple aphorisms rarely reflect deeper truths. But let’s go beyond the headline and see if there is some merit to the teaser.
Speaking to a group of trainee journalists, Mutti says:
"It is very difficult to detect corruption which is not reported, that is why we want to work on preventing it. We can only reduce corruption and not wiping it completely. Prevention is better than cure."
"Awareness on its own will not be adequate that is why we are working with children in schools.”
“…corruption is a criminal offence and it was not justified to steal from others.”
"Freedom of information law is important for the media to be able to discharge their function freely without interference. No documents should be treated as secrets to journalists. Access to information should not only be for journalists but also for the people to criticise and make informed decisions."
"You won't be objective if you accept that money. Poor working conditions and remuneration of journalists if not addressed would impede the work of journalists in being effective partners in the combat of corruption."
"Exposure of the people and institutions in the media for corruption acts as a deterrent and restricts the possibilities of corruption.”
Well those are some of the gems of wisdom from Chairman Mutti. I doubt many people could really argue with anyone of the points made, which is perhaps where her problem lies.
There are issues touched on which call for expansion. “…working with children in schools,” is one long term approach which must be examined more closely. Advocates of early childhood development will argue that much of and adult’s behaviour is set at an early age. But isolating social imperatives from family influences is problematic and the process is very long term.
For the rest, the value of words in the corruption debate can only be measured by the level of counter attack. Provocation is not the aim of the game, but if words and actions don’t threaten sufficiently to expose and pull down the corrupt elements; to invite some kind of fight back, then they are just empty gestures.
All power to Mutti and all those anti-corruption fighters around the world; but please, don’t just fill the world with more noise when real action is needed.