In whatever little groups we find ourselves in, there will be leaders and followers, people who make decisions and those who will be affected by those decisions.
There will also always be talking, acting and finding ways to solve challenges and problems and that affect the group and planning for the future.
While the organisation strives forward, there will always be some who will try to make the journey bumpy or last longer.
They will always be some people who are corrupt.
Corruption has been around since time began.
In the biblical heaven, corruption started when the angel Lucifer made a wrong decision in his mind.
He tried to covet the position of the most high.
That went against the perfect order that existed among supernatural beings.
He did not stop there!
He corrupted the minds of one third of the heavenly angels and convinced them to rebel against God and turn their backs on what was right.
The sinful angels were convicted by the principles and laws that govern heaven and as a result they were thrown out of their heavenly home.
Today, corruption is rife and can be found almost anywhere – schools, churches, sporting associations, professional groups, unions, businesses, clubs, political parties, communities, universities, right up to government institutions.
Transparency International defines the term as “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain”.
This means that this act involves disruptive actions and can be used to influence others. It can occur in a huge variety of places in society.
These include private businesses, public institutions, judiciaries, civil societies and governments. Corruption need not be financial only.
Like a disease it can take up many forms.
Fraud, bribery, nepotism, cronyism, and extortion are common examples of petty corruption.
Grand corruption normally occurs in the higher echelons of governance.
It is corruption that has reached a level where it becomes the normal way of doing things, and as a result it has far reaching effects on people – the vulnerable and the poor being the worst affected.
Abuse of one’s position, power or privilege is also a form of misconduct that is common like corruption.
At national level, corruption weakens institutions – government and non-government, it causes authorities to express blatant disregard for official procedures, it may siphon off resources needed for building a rural crossing and can cause the selection of officials without due regard to merit.
There are a number of factors that cause corruption to flourish.
One is the absence of two closely related words discussed below.
For any institution or body to be accountable, people that are governed under it, or the followers, must be able to clearly see and fully understand what is going on.
This is referred to transparency.
Transparency means the media is able to access information and divulge them responsibly to citizens. Any attempt to disrupt this process goes against the concept of transparency.
Democratic institutions and officials that work for them are also expected to practice transparency.
When the means of accessing public information is week, corrupt practices are encouraged.
So when government departments and civil servants work in secrecy and don’t make their activities available for people to see and understand, they deny them their right to know about public affairs.
In means the media won’t get the truth and may report on speculation when informing people.
Like transparency, accountability or the lack of it, is also relative to corruption.
It happens when a person or organisation allows its work to be examined, questioned and corrected.
Citizens and civil society can hold their leaders accountable by asking elected representatives to take up their concerns if they feel authorities are neglecting their duties to the people.
Through forums such as public hearings, standing committees of Parliament and petitions the Parliament, through our elected reps, gives people the opportunity to question government.
The legislature, the courts and civil service have the task of holding each other accountable.
This system of checks and balances ensures none of the three arms hold too much power.
The media also holds the three accountable.
Within each arm too are accountability and oversight systems.
Generally, organisations and institutions are accountable to those that their decisions or actions will affect.
At the community and local level – local clubs, churches, advisory councils, village committees and school boards – should also be accountable to the people they are mandated to serve, even if a few hundred dollars are concerned.
Transparent and accountable leadership are part of good governance, which in turn is part of democratic governance and the principles that allow democracy, its institutions and the people they serve to prosper and grow.
At various governance levels and circles of acquaintances we may be in, we must demand for transparency and accountability as a means of preventing corruption, abuse of power and misconduct.
We must make it part of the way we do things in church, at work, in school, in business, in the settlement and in our community.
Bringing it down another level, we must ensure being transparent and accountable too in the home by allowing children, spouses and other family members to question decisions and help in correcting actions.
In the past few weeks we have heard, seen and read in the media issues related to governance, leadership, transparency, accountability and corruption/misconduct with the suspended Social Democratic Liberal Party and the University of the South Pacific.
Transparency and accountability are key principles that must be institutionalised by these two organisations.
One institution teaches about them in their courses, the other- through its politicians, talk about it all the time.
Preaching must stop. It is high time they are practiced.
Until next week, stay blessed, stay healthy and stay safe!
