Is a low wage worker forced to resort to bribery and corruption?
Two views about the reasons for Sri Lankans resorting to corruption emerged at an interesting discussion this week in Colombo: One was that low wages led to people demand bribes (to make ends meet) while the contrary view was that even highly paid workers resort to corruption.
Both views are valid, authorities on the issue told the Business Times. For example, public servants in the Singapore Government are well-paid aimed at ensuring they have a comfortable, bribe-free, lifestyle. On the other hand, public servants and politicians who have acquired wealth through ill-gotten means continue to increase their wealth (three to five cars for example) through bribery and corruption.
John Keells Group Finance Director Ronnie Peiris spoke on the need to lift salary scales if corruption is to be eliminated which he believed was due to a low-wage scale environment. Lawyer and civil society activist J.C. Weliamuna, said however that a low wage worker was not the reason for corruption because workers with means also resort to bribery.
These comments were made at a “No to Corruption” discussion organised by the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) at the Cinnamon Lakeside hotel on Tuesday. EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, David Daly sharing his views from a European perspective said that corruption was a problem to many countries with the European Commission estimating that corruption cost the region’s economy around 120 billion Euros for a year or was 1 per cent of its GDP.
During surveys, some 80 per cent of Europeans said that they have witnessed or confronted corruption during the past 12 months. He said corruption is a deterrent to foreign direct investment. However many European countries have fared well in the Transparency International watch list. He said it is smaller companies that encounter more corruption and nepotism. “We cannot afford to have our resources wasted due to corruption,” he said adding that there is a growing discussion among European nations on ways of tackling a very complex issue. Mr. Weliamuna said corruption has many globally accepted definitions. But the most used definition was “the abuse of entrusted powers for personal gain”. Whoever who has power like that of a director of a board of a company, or a Director General of a Public Authority, or a minister abuses that power for personal gain, which amounts to corruption.
“If we are to fight corruption we have to go beyond the law. There is petty corruption and grand corruption. Petty corruption is like offering a bribe to a traffic policeman but grand corruption is something bigger that affects the national economy and its policy as a whole. However where petty corruption was concerned the frequency was higher than grand corruption but it was tolerated to a certain degree. However grand corruption goes beyond borders of a country with several networks operating. Both forms of corruption is despicable as it doesn’t show any gain to a country’s economy. Corruption also corrodes boardroom ethics,” he said.
Mr. Peiris said although there were laws to stamp out corruption it was enforced depending on the status and connection of a person concerned. The private sector should get together with other agencies to prevent the spread of corruption.
Dr. Anila Dias Bandaranaike, a former Assistant Governor of the Central Bank, said that corrective action was needed by different agencies to stamp out corruption. Huge amounts of revenue are lost to a country due to corruption. Collective decisions too have to be taken to avoid corruption.
As a matter of fact many media reports today are based on gossip rather than delving and highlighting issues of a problem, she said. Prof. Rohan Samarajiva was the moderator of the panel.