Corruption: plague or a human habit [Archives:2002/40/Focus]

BY MOHAMMED AHMED NASSER
From time to time news reports come up with stories from third world countries and even from advanced nations on officials holding public jobs or senior posts at private companies being dismissed from their posts and deprived of some of their rights to be turned over to the law enforcement departments in their own respective countries to face legal action and subsequently be punished. This takes place in countries where respect and implementation of the law is above everybody.
Some analysts attribute this phenomenon to human weakness whilst others ascribe it to certain countries living standards where the individual’s earning does not match his essential needs, thus the flaw appears, which drives the human-being to accept or collect what is termed as grace money or “Ikramiah” or in plain words a bribe for performing a task for someone which is part of his paid up duty by his employer.
Many ranks of our society intellectuals have spelled out their opinions in writing articles in our local newspapers each expressing his viewpoints on how to tackle this habit which permeated spheres of our daily life and suggesting ways to eliminating it.
Our Islamic religion forbids taking any under the counter money for any reason whatsoever to the extent that both participants would face punishment on the doomsday. A foreign investor once alluded to the fact that a country progress is measured by its being free form this plague.
To weed-out this malady from the society, tougher measures and accountability are required to attract foreign investors as well as Arab investors to revive the economy further for the country’s sake and the creation of more job opportunities for our youth generation.
In summation corruption is a combination of human habit that turns to a plague if it is allowed to continue unchecked.

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