August 29, 2024
Author: George Lmangeyan
country: Kenya
Source: The Great Gen Z Uprising: Kenya’s Youth Take a Stand Against Corruption and Incompetence. https://medium.com/@reaganempire01/the-great-gen-z-uprising-kenyas-youth-take-a-stand-against-corruption-and-incompetence-72600072a3b7
SUMMARY
Corruption and incompetency are intertwined phenomena that significantly hinder progress in the developing world. In developing countries, corruption and incompetency are driven by a complex interplay of internal and external factors. Their effects are systemic and far-reaching as they perpetuate cycles of inefficiency and inequality, stymieing economic growth and undermining efforts to achieve sustainable development.
This article provides insight into the causes, effects, and reforms aimed at enhancing effective governance to foster a more equitable and prosperous future.
BACKGROUND
INTRODUCTION
The Global South, covering Latin America, Africa, and Asia as well the Oceanic region of Oceania suffer from all sorts of challenges in their journey towards socioeconomic development. In this setting corruption and incompetency become two stumbling blocks to development, stifling progress and aggravating injustices. Recognizing these concepts and their consequences would be crucial to getting around the pernicious effects that they have on those areas.
In general terms, corruption is described as the misuse of authority or power for personal profit using bribery or embezzlement usually in a governmental environment. It undermines institutional trust, distorts resource allocation, and restricts economic development. Corruption wields its pernicious influence in the Global South—through ways like illicit financial flows, where resources that should be used for public good are siphoned off to enrich private elites; and patronage systems which entrench political authority and threaten democratic processes.
Incompetence on the other hand is failing to have ability and skills or being unable to perform required tasks or duties. Incompetency, as such may mean public policies being badly thought out or poorly executed to lackadaisical service levels in the management of those services. As a result, the people end up with poor infrastructure, substandard healthcare, and education systems all of which prevent society from properly dealing with pressing socio-economic challenges.
In the Global South, corruption and incompetency are intertwined in a complex manner with one leading to another. Corruption is not only robbing resources from deserving quarters of the public but also generating a culture where accountability and improvement are difficult to create. This, in turn further cements incompetency as officials may not have the incentive or will to perform well when incentivized and rewarded by a system that rewards corruption practices rather than competence and merit circles.
Incompetency and corruption contribute to inefficient governance and policy-making. Bad infrastructural projects and wasting of public resources can slow down economic growth. It is a cycle of inefficiency as well as corruption and acts in the way to always keep living standards low, never allowing society to raise its standards high to meet sustainable development goals.
Solving these problems demands holistic answers for example maintenance of transparent mechanisms and the development of infrastructure with good governance.
By addressing corruption and improving the capability of implementation, the Global South can create a route to development that is more equitable and durable to benefit all resulting in a stronger global community.
CAUSES OF CORRUPTION AND INCOMPETENCY.
Corruption and incompetency in developing countries are driven by a complex interplay of internal and external factors that undermine governance and hinder development. External factors often exploit internal factors, creating a vicious cycle that perpetuates corruption and inefficiency, making sustainable development difficult to achieve.
INTERNAL FACTORS
Internal causes of corruption and incompetency in a developing country often stem from a combination of governance issues, socio-economic factors, and cultural norms.
Political Factors
In many developing countries, political leaders rely on patronage systems to maintain power. They reward loyal supporters with government positions, contracts, or other benefits, leading to widespread corruption.
When political parties lack strong ideologies or organizational structures, they may prioritize short-term gains over long-term governance, leading to corruption and incompetency. In some cases, corrupt practices are used to manipulate elections, ensuring that those in power remain unaccountable to the public.
Economic Factors.
Low Public Sector Salaries: Since it is very hard to increase your wage when you are employed in the public sector, employees will be forced to indulge in corrupt practices such as taking bribes.
High Poverty Levels: During this paper when analyzing the different causes of corruption, emphasis was given to widespread poverty as one of the main reasons people are forced to engage in corrupt activities because they need to feed their families. For example, a public official may give out a bribe since they cannot find other legitimate ways of getting income to use for their needs.
Income Inequality: inequality presents multiple opportunities that make it easier for persons or certain groups to engage in corrupt practices to savor more wealth.
Culture and Social Belief Systems.
Acceptance of Corruption as a Norm: In some societies, corruption may be perceived as something ‘normal’, which means that some people may engage in corrupt practices acting under the ideas including ‘so does everyone else’.
Family and Tribal Loyalties: Ethnic endogamy that is the marriage to a family and tribe or ethnic group increases the tendency of nepotism, favoritism, and preference of relatives or fellows in public appointments and decisions.
Weak Governance and Institutional Frameworks
Lack of Rule of Law: That is why if laws are not strictly enforced, people will start behaving like animals, in this case, corrupting themselves. This means that there is no check and balance so that, for example, a corrupt judge can go scot-free, and the same for the policemen who are involved in corrupt practices.
Centralization of Power: Political power in most of the developing nations is organized in a polarized manner with power vested in a few superior beings or an oligarchy. This centralization leads to a reduction of checks and balances and therefore corruption tends to happen.
Inefficient Bureaucracy: A bureaucratic system can negatively work when there are delays when it comes to service delivery, due to corruption individuals may offer bribes to facilitate their delivery of services.
Educational and Professional weaknesses.
Sometimes public officials do not have the skills and knowledge to perform their duties effectively which leads to incompetency. Poor service delivery and mismanagement can arise when the training is not enough.
Poor Civic Education: When a citizenry does not know what their rights are, they might be less likely to hold governments accountable for corruption.
Resource Mismanagement.
Inefficient management of public resources, often deepened by corruption, leads to underfunding in crucial sectors like education, health, and infrastructure, ultimately hampering government institutions' competencies.
Rent-seeking: is an economic concept where individuals or entities attempt to gain wealth without creating new wealth or value, often through manipulation of the political or economic environment. Rent-seekers try to increase their share of existing wealth by lobbying for favorable regulations, securing monopolies, or obtaining subsidies, often at the expense of broader societal welfare.
Weak Civil Society and Media.
Civil Society and Media Restrictions on Civil Society Engagement: Civil societies can also be challenged by their role in countries with weak or repressed civil, which would mean that there are fewer organizations and movements to the transparency phenomenon.
Media Censorship or Control leads to the absence of free media and reduces accountability, pressuring officials to act responsibly in their positions.
Lack of Accountability and Transparency.
Limited Oversight Mechanisms: Corruption is on the rise because those institutions have weak internal control structures and monitoring systems in place. Without checking mechanisms and policing, corrupt techniques will thrive.
Decision-Making: Public decisions such as procurement or budgeting that do not have clear procedures for implementation offer the ground for corruption.
EXTERNAL FACTORS
Global forces and extra country influences and activities that give rise to corruption and incompetency in a developing country are the results of the world economy and politics, cooperation with other countries, and multinational firms, governments, and organizations. Here are some key external causes:
Geopolitical Influences.
Foreign Interference: Greater nations’ hegemonic interests cause them to meddle with the internal affairs of the lesser-developed nations. Backing of authoritarianism or interference in the democratic processes of the nations may prolong the rule of corrupt and incompetent presidents.
Proxy Conflicts: Sometimes the third world countries are used as a stage on which the powers decide to stage a conflict, which leads to the deterioration of political conditions in those countries, deterioration of governance in those countries, and promotion of conditions that allow corrupt and incompetent individuals or groups to thrive.
Influence of Multinational Corporations.
Bribery and Corruption: Business entities and multinational companies for instance can embezzle local officials to be awarded contracts or permits or even have certain favorable regulations passed on their behalf. This can be counterproductive and lead to the deterioration of the governance and the promotion of corrupt practices within the host country.
Exploitation of Weak Regulations: Due to higher expertise, MNCs may take advantage of existing legal systems, manipulate the tax systems, or avoid adhering to environmental and employee rights consequently leading to incompetency in governance in weaker countries.
Foreign Aid and Assistance.
Mismanagement of Aid: Thus foreign aid meant for development will only lead to sustained corruption if well handled. At other times, the aid money is embezzled by the corrupted civil servants or utilized for preserving the clientele instead of reaching the targeted groups.
Lack of Oversight: Since the donor countries and international organizations might not have strict measures of monitoring the recipients, the aid can be embezzled or used inappropriately.
Dependency Culture: This has the effect of facilitating a culture of dependency where local leaders are less compelled to build capable institutions from the ground up due to the influx of donor funds.
Global Financial Flows.
Illicit Financial Flows: Political officers in developing countries may be involved in embezzlement, fraud, or even money laundering and movement of money offshore. This deprives the country the much needed worth and hampers the development of its financial institutions.
Tax Evasion and Avoidance: Business executives and high net worth individuals may indulge in or adopt the avoidance of taxes which is a social evil as it hampers the growth of the affected developing countries besides worsening their economic difficulties.
Weak International Regulatory Frameworks.
Lack of Global Governance: Lack of or contradictory norms in international governance can provide a haven for such malpractices, especially in such linkages as taxation heavens, global trade, and offshore logistics. This is a setback for campaigns against corruption and incompetency that may be instigated around the national societies.
Global Governance Gaps: Global Corrupt organizations may also lack the teeth or the political will to fight transnational corrupt practices, therefore giving corrupt networks free reigns to execute their operations.
Climate Change and Environmental Disasters.
External Environmental Constraints: Changing climate and environmental degradation often take a toll on developing nations. This might stretch resources and governance structures to the limit. Sometimes the need to come out of these situations is so intense that it leads to activities such as the diversion of funds set aside for climactic changes for certain projects.
Exploitation of Natural Resources: The appetite for natural resources from the rest of the world often makes third-world countries an area for resource over-exploitation that is normally supported by corruption. That can bring about adverse impacts on the environment and dilute authorities’ powers to sustainably manage the resources.
Globalization and Cultural Experiences.
Westernization and Consumerism: Westernization in Australian values cultivated by globalization may include the pursuit of wealth and possessions, sometimes at the cost of good governance. This might in turn lead to corruption with individuals pursuing themselves at the detriment of serving the public.
Erosion of Traditional Values: The effects of global culture are at times detrimental to the previously held values and societal expectations that were non-corrupt in approach and more proficient in delivery hence there is an increase in both corruption and incompetency.
Brain Drain.
The emigration of Professionals: The term ‘brain drain’ usually describes the emigration of skilled professionals from a developing country towards a developed country. This phenomenon could have adverse effects on the local societies as it would cause bureaucratic or technical incompetency.
External Incentives: There could be better terms in developed countries for skilled workers which will increase the brain drain hence the developing countries will lack enough talented people to fight the corruption and the ineffectiveness.
RECOMMENDATION.
Strengthen Institutions
Enhance Rule of Law: Be able to uphold legal aspects and sanction individuals found to engage in corrupt practices through well-defined laws and an independent judiciary.
Reform Public Institutions: Enhance the performance of public service organizations through the adoption of appropriate management and administration principles. For instance, processes are simplified and decision-making is done openly.
Enhance Transparency and Accountability
Implement Anti-Corruption Policies: Identify and provide a legitimate and adequate anti-corruption structure and policy. Inclusion of openness in all activities carried out by the government such as project implementation, budgeting, and procurement processes.
Promote Open Data: Enable people to access the information held by the government including reports and processes on its expenditure and making decisions, so that the government becomes responsible to the public and its actions are under the watch of the public.
Foster Civic Engagement
Encourage Public Participation: Ensure that citizens exercise their rights to participate in the governance process by using mechanisms for instance public consultations, participatory budgeting, and feedback. This helps to enhance the satisfaction of the citizens with government programs.
Support Civil Society Organizations: Build and bolster civil society organizations and ‘watchdog functions’ that observe and report social and political changes in society and defend accountability
Enhancement of Educational and Training Mechanisms
Augment Civic Instruction: Engage in the process of enlightening citizens regarding their entitlements and obligations, along with the means to actively participate in the scrutiny of their leadership figures. Advance comprehension of regulations about anti-corruption as well as ethical conduct.
Facilitate Instruction for Public Administrators: Guarantee that public officials are afforded adequate training about ethical practices, administrative skills, and service provision, to diminish incompetence and also amplifying efficacy.
Reformation of Electoral and Political Structures.
Reinforcement of Electoral Mechanisms: Execute modifications to render electoral processes more transparent, equitable, and competitive. This endeavor encompasses the enhancement of the integrity associated with voter registration and tabulation procedures.
Mitigation of Political Patronage: Institute frameworks that curtail the dependence on patronage systems, while simultaneously fostering meritocratic appointments for public roles.
Economic Oversight
Advocacy for Economic Diversification: Diminish reliance on a singular revenue stream, such as petroleum or mineral resources, by pursuing a broader economic diversification strategy. Such measures may assist in ameliorating the detrimental effects of the resource curse and concurrently lessening corruption opportunities.
Enhancement of Public Sector Remuneration: Ascertain that compensation structures in the public sector are competitive, aiming to mitigate the temptation towards bribery and corrupt practices.
Implementation of Robust Anti-Corruption Protocols
Establishment of Autonomous Anti-Corruption Institutions: Formulate and grant authority to independent entities solely focused on the examination and legal action against corruption. These agencies must be allocated sufficient resources and possess the requisite authority to function with efficacy.
Promote International Cooperation.
Engage with International Organizations: Collaborate with international organizations to adopt best practices and receive support for anti-corruption initiatives.
Address Illicit Financial Flows: Work with global partners to combat money laundering, tax evasion, and other forms of illicit financial flows that drain resources from developing countries.
Foster a Culture of Integrity.
Promote Ethical Leadership: Encourage and support leaders who demonstrate integrity and commitment to public service. Set examples of ethical behavior and accountability at all levels of government.
Build a Culture of Integrity: Develop and promote cultural norms that value honesty, transparency, and accountability. Engage in public campaigns to shift attitudes towards corruption and incompetency.
CONCLUSION
Corruption and incompetency present significant challenges to the Global South, undermining development, governance, and public trust. Corruption and incompetency in developing countries are driven by a complex interplay of internal and external factors that undermine governance and hinder development.
External factors often exploit internal factors, creating a vicious cycle that perpetuates corruption and inefficiency, making sustainable development difficult to achieve. The internal causes—such as weak institutions, inadequate accountability, and socio-economic pressures—are often compounded by external influences like foreign aid mismanagement, geopolitical interference, and the exploitative practices of multinational corporations.
Together, these factors create a cycle that perpetuates inefficiency, hinders economic growth, and exacerbates inequality. Addressing these issues requires comprehensive reforms that strengthen institutions, improve transparency, and promote civic engagement.
By fostering ethical leadership, leveraging technology, and enhancing international cooperation, countries in the Global South can work towards breaking the cycle of corruption and incompetency, paving the way for sustainable development and improved governance.
REFERENCES
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