Graft pushes up cost of doing business

Perhaps more harmful to society is to accept graft as a usual matter than corruption itself. Bangladesh is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, ranking top at one time. The situation has now marginally improved but the country has remained among the first ten.
Every time international organisations like the Transparency International (TI) publishes corruption index for Bangladesh, the policymakers, particularly the politicians, who hold the reins of power, start protesting such a finding. But people by and large think the protesters are the leaders of corruption and protesting is simply their routine work.
As the issue of corruption has become an old one, almost everyone in society now thinks that it is there to stay and the situation will aggravate in the coming days. More painful is that after losing all hopes in curbing corruption, the ordinary people are now resigned to accept corruption. Who perpetuate corruption? Those who have power? Those who hold positions, especially under the government? But other people are also corrupt as they grow powerful monetarily and maintain close contacts with the government.
In Bangladesh, corruption thrives mainly through government patronisation. There is also indirect government encouragement as when corruption takes place it looks the other way. As linkage with the government provides a clout for perpetuating corruption, almost everyone in society, who is 'somebody', maintains a close relation with the government. There were honest businessmen in the past, but their number has fallen over time. Now, the businessmen think honest business has become impossible as honesty will only invite more scanning by the government agencies. Bribery was there in the past but that was done stealthy and bribe-takers were always ashamed of what they were doing.
But now shame has become a thing of the past and bribe-takers apparently feel proud of what they do. In the past, corruption was confined to a few officials, but now it has spread all over - from high officials to low ones, from the departments which were prone to corruption to departments which people perceived to be incorruptible. People's perception now is that everyone in a government office is corrupt. Even the bricks of the government offices are hungry for money. But the very few honest people who are still there refuse to budge.
To the honest people, corruption is not only crime, but also a sin. They believe in the life hereafter and exercise a self-imposed embargo against corruption. But unfortunately, society no longer show due respect to them. To many in society, the honest people are 'failed persons' and to many others, these are the people who did not have opportunity to make money through corrupt means. There are people who otherwise condemn corruption but once they get to important positions, they show their real colour.
In the past, we did not hear about corruption in the private sector, but times have changed. Otherwise, how could the private commercial banks be looted by the same officials who are employed to guard and earn money for those institutions? There are people who otherwise seem to be religious, but in corrupt practices, their 'religion' does not stand as a bar.
What is corruption? The simple definition is: benefiting oneself illegally. The other connotation of corruption is to have riches without giving taxes. Money gotten through illegal trade and business is also corrupt money. Bangladesh is a very fertile country for becoming rich very quickly. Normal rate of return on investment cannot make the rich people so rich so soon. The price of corruption is being paid by the ordinary people of the country. Money has become determinant in social power no matter how that money is amassed. As a result, moneyed men now run the government and money and power have become intertwined.
The Anti-Corruption Commission was set up with a high hope, but at times it seems the Commission has become powerless to nab the corrupt people.
Where graft is glorified in one way or the other, corruption cannot be stopped merely by a commission no matter what power is given to it under the law.
Graft pushes up cost of doing business. Bangladesh has not done much to reduce corruption. But countries like Nigeria and Indonesia are successfully fighting corruption. The saddest thing here in Bangladesh is that people have apparently given up the hope of seeing corruption at a reduced level.
The writer is a Professor of Economics, University of Dhaka.
 abuahmedecon@yahoo.com