The many dimensions of corruption

While this is generally true, not all politicians and bureaucrats are greedy and greedy, they are also honest and ethical. It is not only the government or public service that is infested with corruption, but also the private sector is not immune from it. Government bodies carry out large-scale financial transactions and are managed, controlled and regulated by national servants. In this case, the public servant can misuse the accumulated fund and take bribe from the service recipient. The truth is that the private sector or companies are ready to bribe national servants to do their work. It is ironic that a

should be taken or given not only for illegal work but also for genuine and lawful work. Financial probity or honesty is an essential part of integrity. Every national servant takes an oath of integrity. The basic quality that every national servant should have is integrity. The client expects that every national servant has integrity. Corruption is the use of public office or resources for personal gain. The essence of good governance is corruption-free delivery of public services. It is difficult to find a single cause for corruption.

The tendency to use power arbitrarily is the first factor of corruption. Corruption slows down the pace of economic development. Power in our society is concentrated in the hands of a few. The economy is centralized. The state has a subsidy policy. The state buys goods and services worth billions of rupees annually. A large part of the revenue depends on the customs duty levied at the point of import of goods, the determination of duty is not objective. Most income tax assessments are discretionary. Some have discretion to allocate resources and deliver beneficiary-oriented development programs. Deliberate decision making adversely affects economic development. Due to the lack of participation and sharing in the use and distribution of public resources and means, the general public is not informed, interested and concerned. Generally, government affairs are kept secret or favorable information is leaked and unfavorable information is hidden. Competition and transparency reduce corruption. Decentralization and 'devolution' divides state power among more than one person or entity and reduces corruption.

Because the social pressure against corruption is low, the corrupt continue to do so. They view corruption as a low-risk, high-reward activity. If the corrupt were to be severely punished, the people who were doing such misdeeds or intending to do so would stay away from it. Corruption is not the exception, it has become the norm. A national servant has no qualms about displaying his earnings in a way that is out of character with his earnings. There are legal and administrative structures such as constitution, laws, rules/guidelines, procedures, strategic plans, national action plans to reduce corruption and maintain good governance. There are constitutional and national vigilance centers such as Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, Auditor General, Attorney General to implement it.

There is no dearth of agencies that monitor legal corruption, such as the National Information Commission, the Department of Revenue and the Money Laundering Investigation Department. Nepal is a party to the Convention against Corruption adopted by the United Nations in 2003 and implemented since 2005. Anti-corruption civil organizations, including the international non-governmental organization Transparency International Nepal, are trying to educate, raise awareness and agitate the general public about corruption. Visible upon entering every government office are anti-corruption stickers, banners and promises of good governance. When politicians or high-ranking officials have to speak in public meetings, conferences, it is common practice to enter the topic only after speaking about the importance of good governance and anti-corruption for the first ten minutes. Despite all this, corruption has not decreased, Nepal ranks 110th out of 180 countries in the international index of corruption.

is the first of the most prevalent ways of corrupting our system without giving away money. No matter whether the work is legal or illegal, the work done only by approving the specific file is not 'submitted' unless a certain amount is given to the concerned employee. With this type of complaint, the file reaches the various authorities quickly and after completing the process, it is 'submitted'. This can be called 'speed money' and everyone involved in the file 'benefits' from it. The file action is not taken until the customer is forced to pay the money and even if it is done, the staff keep saying that this paper or this process has not been completed. Another form of corruption is the collection of regular commissions in which a certain amount of each payment or allocated budget must be shared among the higher-ups. This is considered as a regular practice in public service. It is very popular and it is claimed that it does not affect the efficiency performance of law enforcement administrators. Generalizing the

commission is just an exercise in self-delusion. Commission extortion weakens superiors' moral authority, adversely affects performance, and demotivates them to take action against corrupt subordinates. In another way, the concerned official does not ask for anything, does his work as long as he is competent and strong, but receives an expensive object or monetary gift from the concerned as a token of thanks for his diligent work. The contract process for any construction work is legal but the set standards for construction are ignored. Zero tolerance for all forms of corruption is essential.

In our system we have to spend a lot of money to get elected, which is not accounted for. Attempting to earn more than the expenditure incurred while elected leads to undue interference in government affairs and corruption. On the other hand, laws are formulated, interpreted and implemented in a way that is easy for employees. There is a practice of making the national servant accountable on the basis that he has committed an equivalent amount of corruption, only if the revenue is lost as a result of the acts done or not by the national servant. However, there is a lack of law that holds the public or the state responsible for the damage caused due to the failure to carry out the responsibilities set by the law efficiently. Therefore, in the formula 'Monopoly + self-discipline - accountability. Corruption is reduced by increasing competition, reducing discretion and implementing accountability.

– Adhikari is a judge of District Court Jhapa.