Government Corruption - Dishonesty at the Highest Levels

Government corruption is the acceptance of any form of bribe by a government official for various reasons, often, for the betterment of the person offering the bribe. Government corruption goes beyond the usual handing over of a 'sealed envolope'. Find out what constitutes this crime today.

Government or political corruption is any form of abuse of public position for illegitimate personal gain. This comes in various forms like extortion, embezzlement, bribery, cronyism or nepotism. Abuse of governmental powers for the repression of political foes or police brutality, however,  are not considered forms of government corruption. Below are some common forms and their definitions:

• Extortion – using one’s position in a public office to get something of value from another person, usually using pressure to do so.
• Embezzlement – Converting government resources into personal property.
• Bribery – paying or giving something of value to government official or employee in exchange for a task he is already paid to do. This particular form requires two actors – the one giving the bribe and the one receiving it and it involves the intent to influence or be influenced by it.
• Nepotism – causing close relatives of politicians to be favored in government deals
• Cronyism – favoring some individuals in government deals because they are close friends and associates of politicians
• Graft – gaining anything of value from somebody even if there is no intent on the part of the giver to influence the recipient. Merely accepting a gift can constitute graft. In the US for example, any gift higher that $200 in amount, is considered a gift to the Office of the President and not the incumbent himself. If the incumbent leaves the office and wants to take that particular gift, he will have to pay for it.
• Kickbacks – collecting a certain percentage from government deals which are often with corporations or groups involved in illegal bidding.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) website, government corruption is one of its investigative priorities, next only to terrorism, espionage and cybercrimes. This is because a clean and honest government operation is necessary to achieve efficiency in service delivery to the people. This crime can undermine even the strongest and best-run governments and corrode people’s confidence in their leaders and public servants.

Conditions favoring corruption are varied. A weak political system and rule of law makes it very conducive for it to thrive. When freedom of speech is not respected and upheld, or when civil society groups who can also be watchdogs, are not very active, corruption may go unnoticed and unchecked. Conversely, when there is lack of transparency in government affairs, corruption is most likely to be present.

When government workers are underpaid, they may also see a lot of opportunities to illegally augment their income while in the government’s employ.  

Accepting donations for political campaigns from private individuals or corporations is not bad in itself. It is when donations are given in exchange for some favors from the politicians that it becomes corruption. Usually, costly elections campaigns spawn opportunities for this form of corruption to proliferate.

This crime rears its ugly head in all parts of government, everywhere in the world. However, the degree and frequency vary from place to place. The United States is the 17^th least corrupt country in the world. The top ten countries are (in descending order): Iceland, Finland, New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway and Australia.

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