A Corrupt Chicken And A Broken Egg

Corruption is a risk wherever there are people vying for positions of power; that is to say, it is a problem in every corner of this Earth.

According to Transparency International, a watch-dog dedicated to reporting on corrupt practices, 99 countries do a better job at fighting corruption than does Mozambique.

That's not great. It's not even good. But it's not surprising given that the organization argues that there is a strong correlation between poverty and corruption.

There is a positive spin to the story: if corruption and poverty are positively correlated, then Mozambique is less corrupt than its poverty ranking implies it ought to be. By comparison, the UN's Human Development Index ranks 168 countries ahead of Mozambique.

Many people assume that, if poverty and corruption are positively correlated, then one must cause the other: that corruption causes poverty, or perhaps poverty causes corruption.

There are consequences to either interpretation.

To suggest that corruption causes poverty implies a moral flaw in the people of poor countries. They are inherently corrupt, and because of it they suffer poverty. This is dangerously close to arguing that the poor deserve to be poor; that their poverty is their own doing.

The converse is that people in poverty feel that they have little choice but to be corrupt in order to feed themselves and their families. But this interpretation allows people to shirk responsibility for their corrupt acts. We'll stop being corrupt when we stop being poor.

The government of Mozambique opposes this latter interpretation, but to others it is compelling. Not that people ought to have their corrupt acts excused because of their poverty, but that the civil society institutions that serve to uncover corruption require some degree of social infrastructure more readily available in wealthy countries in order to be effective guardians of society. A base level of education for all citizens, for example, would empower the citizenry to realize the social and economic harm that corruption causes, and stand up against it.

* * * * *

The stereotypical image of corruption involves a government bureaucrat accepting a briefcase full of cash in exchange for some favourable act. And sometimes this is true. Mozambique has certainly experienced some lavish examples of alleged corruption and cover-up.

In reality, a lot of bribery is more subtle. It can even sneak up on the unwitting participant, and it's not always easy to stand up against.

I was recently riding in a car with a colleague when he was pulled over by a police officer standing on the road's shoulder. After having been detained at the side of the road for 30 minutes, it was becoming increasingly clear that the police officer would not let us go without paying her 500 meticais ($20) on the spot. When my colleague rightfully protested, asking instead for her to write a ticket that he could later pay at the police station, the officer delayed further.

He eventually capitulated and paid the officer the 500 meticais that she demanded, which almost certainly constituted a bribe. We can't be sure she pocketed the money, but the scenario clearly fails the sniff-test of petty corruption.

I felt badly for hours afterwards, not because the driver had complied with the demands of the officer, but because we had done so in the presence of Mario, a Mozambican colleague. We modeled complacency -- even acceptance -- of corruption in a country trying to fight itself free of the grip of this scourge.

The next day, Mario expressed feeling guilty for having participated in a corrupt act.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter whether poverty necessitates corruption, or corruption leads to poverty. In reality, both are probably causally linked to some broader complex system.

Whatever the cause, poverty and corruption are inextricably linked. If more people were like Mario, a poor Mozambican with a heart to improve his country, Mozambique would quickly rise up the ranks of Transparency International's scale and rid itself of corruption.