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Corruption- A Major Social Problem

Objective: To find out the effects of corruption in society and the roles played by national and international

organizations to solve such problems.

Introduction:

Corruption is a severe social crime in which the authority holders are involved in illegal ways of earning money and misuse their authority. This leads to weak governance and the state mechanism becomes baseless. People are forced to retaliate to such activities and there are always conflicts, tensions and hatred which create backwardness.

Every year, Transparency International publishes the corruption perception index in the world. According to the report of 2013 A.D., Finland, New Zealand and Denmark are considered to be the least corrupted countries whereas Somalia is on top of the list. In the current situation of corruption, Nepal holds the 116th position among the corrupted countries in the world.

Lack of transparency, lack of sense of responsibility, low salary, centralized power, a powerful group of corrupted people, negligence of law and absence of strict laws against corruption and their execution are the major causes of corruption in Nepal.

According to the national survey of 2004 A.D., corruption is the first problem and the second one is unemployment.

Nepal is the Federal Democratic Republic in which power is decentralized. The people today want a corrupt-free society which the government officials, private sectors, as well as all authorities, should realize and make Nepal truly a new Nepal.

Condition of corruption in some countries

Rank Countries Corruption Perception Index (CPI) score Rank Countries Corruption Perception Index (CPI) score
1 Denmark 91 91 Sri-Lanka 37
1 New Zealand 91 94 India 94
3 Finland 89 127 Pakistan 28
3 Sweden 89 116 Nepal 31
5 Norway 86 136 Bangladesh 27
5 Singapore 86 163 Equatorial Guinea 19
7 Switzerland 85 163 Guinea Bissau 19
8 Netherlands 83 163 Haiti 19
9 Australia 81 167 Yemen 18
9 Canada 81 168 Syria 17
11 Luxembourg 80 168 Turkmenistan 17
12 Germany 78 168 Uzbekistan 17
12 Iceland 78 171 Iraq 16
14 United Kingdom 76 172 Libya 15
15 Barbados 75 173 South Sudan 14
15 Belgium 75 174 Sudan 11
15 Hong Kong 75 175 Afghanistan 8
18 Japan 74 175 North Korea 8
31 Bhutan 63 175 Somalia 8

Source: Transparency International 2013

In the above-mentioned statistics of corruption, the range is 0 to 100 and 50 is the median. Countries that score more than 50 are regarded as less corrupted countries. But the countries with less than 50 scores must consider corruption as a major problem and take strong steps to control it. In South Asia, Bhutan is the least corrupted country whereas Afghanistan is the most.

Causes of Corruption:

  1. Lack of transparency
  2. Lack of rule of law
  3. Less salary
  4. Lack of feeling of responsibility and nationality
  5. Political instability
  6. Monopoly in power
  7. Lack of strict laws and punishment
  8. A strong group of corrupted people

Preventive measures/Solutions:

  1. Transparency
  2. Media war on corruption
  3. Quit luxurious lifestyle
  4. Good governance and political commitment
  5. Social boycott to corrupted people
  6. A proper mechanism in CIAA (Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority) to check and investigate the cases of corruption
  7. Change the social pattern of earning money for generations