It must be dismaying to have to read of the country going from bad to worse, on virtually all important indicators of state performance, first thing in the morning, every single day. It does not look Nepalis will get any respite from this trend soon. A recent study by Transparency International (TI), the global anti-corruption watchdog, covering 1,000 households across all 58 municipalities in the country, suggests the level of corruption in Nepal is steadily going up. Most troublingly, on the eve of the November CA polls, most of those surveyed believe political parties are the most corrupt entities in Nepal. Seventy percent of respondents consider political parties the most corrupt of the lot, followed by public service and bureaucracy (66 percent), police (58 percent), legislative (51 percent), judiciary (51 percent) and private sector (30 percent). [break]
According to TI’s Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) 2013, 57 percent of those surveyed in Nepal believe cases of corruption have increased in the last two years. Likewise, 69 percent believe corruption is a serious problem in public sector; 42 percent feel personal contact is important to access public services; while 67 see government anti-graft measures as ineffective. The technocratic government of Khil Raj Regmi that came into office four months ago has certainly not done anything to inspire confidence. If anything, by colluding with the High Level Political Committee in the appointment of a highly controversial figure like Lokman Singh Karki, implicated in multiple corruption charges, as the country’s anti-corruption czar, it has added to people’s suspicion that it is no more than HLPC’s stooge. People have also been given ample reasons to suspect political parties are unprepared to enact strong anti-corruption measures fearing they could get entangled in the dragnet themselves. Last one year also saw the fall from grace of Baburam Bhattarai, who had built an image of a clean and principled politician—before his entry into Singaburbar. If someone like Bhattarai would be ready to compromise on governance for political expedience, people thought, little could be expected of other political leaders with more established legacy of corruption in high places.
There are other troubling indicators in the GCB. Around 43 percent of respondents said they were not aware of any institution for filing complaints; another 39 percent said they were not optimistic about any action even if complaints were lodged. These findings suggest people’s belief in state institutions is eroding. Indeed, if nearly everyone in government and bureaucracy is corrupt, who will hear their complaints? Another contradictory finding is that while 86 percent of responders held that citizens had a significant role in corruption control, only 28 percent refused to give a bribe when asked. If there was a clean and effective mechanism to hear of and address people’s complaints, the proportion of people who refuse to bribe officials would surely go up. It is the perception that nothing ever gets done without bribing public officials that makes people willing palm greasers. But the logic is applicable the other way around as well. If people started refusing to hand over their hard-earned money so easily, the momentum would build and it would in time create a strong precedent. If only people were as willing to take on graft as they are fond of complaining of it!
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