Conversation Club notes in English 10 April 2009: Corruption

Report of Conversation Club, Friday 11th April 2009

THEME - Corruption

Introduction
This week’s theme of corruption was chosen after discussing the elections and government in the previous week. The discussion was kicked off with information about a recent poll which had asked Senegalese citizens which groups are most distrusted by the public. The authority thought to be most corrupt was the police, followed by political parties and then customs officials.

Corruption…why?
There was a lot of discussion about how there is more corruption and bribery in poorer societies. The implication of this was that poorer people are more desperate and are therefore more likely to behave in an immoral way as a ‘survival tactic’. It was suggested that it is easy to make a value judgement about people who ask for bribes, but that it is perhaps something that we would all do given the same situation or opportunity. People want to have expensive clothes, cars and other trappings because others accord them status as a result of this. Chasing this status is more important to many people than making a moral stand.

One participant said corruption and bribery is simply a way of life in Senegal and always had been and that wasn’t going to change because people accept it and don’t feel like they can make a difference. Senegal is in the top 25 of corrupt countries in the world. Cameroon and Nigeria are amongst the most corrupt. Another participant disagreed and suggested that this wasn’t the case as it is a matter of personal choice and every individual can decide whether to engage in the system of corruption or not. Cultural change could only happen if individuals made a stand. It was also stated that corruption impacts on foreign investment in Senegal because investors are less likely to want to invest when they know that there is a greater risk because the government is corrupt.

One non-Senegalese participant admitted to having bought perfume in the street at a cheap price which she realized was probably stolen. She said that it was difficult to know where to draw the line in terms of personal involvement.

Corruption and the police force
A common view was held that traffic police often stop people purely for bribes, not to enforce the law or to change people’s behaviour. It was thought that it is easy for the police to make money this way as the clandos are illegal and even taxis often have something wrong with the car or not all the right papers.

One participant suggested that the traffic police tap people for bribes because they are so badly paid. The response was that the police had received a pay increase when President Wade came into power, and anyway, everyone is poorly paid so it wasn’t an entirely valid argument.
Another participant suggested that there are different branches of the police and that some are more corrupt than others. She suggested that the clando drivers and the traffic police, for example, know each other well and the system of bribery actually keeps the system flowing and this is generally recognized.

Corruption in other authorities
Someone suggested that the police force is the most obviously corrupt authority as everyone can see the stopping and bribe-paying every day in the street, but that in fact the police force is no more corrupt than other agencies. An example was given of trying to get official paperwork. There is often no official charge to get documents, but if you don’t pay something the officials will make it difficult for you to get your papers quickly. It should take months to get a passport, but many people have a contact and pay to get it within days or weeks.

One of the participants said that they had worked at the airport for a long time and had often seen police officers being paid off by people arriving into the country without a visa. She said that even with the new immigration police, there are networks of people who take bribes, both to let people into the country and allow people to leave without the necessary documentation. Someone suggested that this was particularly irresponsible as these immigration police would be well aware that what would happen to the people without proper papers at the other end.
The tax office was also seen as being corrupt as they take kick-backs from companies in return for helping them to cheat on their tax returns. These civil servants are paid well, which demonstrates that poverty alone is not the cause of corruption.

Ministers are also often seen as being corrupt. An example was given of a bank account that was blocked for three years by the government after someone died because he had been in the forces. Finally a letter to the President was required to have it unblocked. Another example was of Ministers whose departments have lost lots of money or overspent, but who are simply moved to another department rather than being fired. The President and the government are not seen as good role models for anti-corruption as there is no transparency and corruption in terms of paying for votes. The example of ANOCI was stated once again; where Karim Wade was responsible for 300 billion CFA to build the necessary infrastructure, but no-one knows how much has been spent, or on what. When the President of the National Assembly asked, he was stood down by the President.

A further example was given that there is no transparency around the President and Ministers’ salaries. No-one knows how much the President is paid and it was generally thought that Ministers lie on their tax returns. Equally, no-one knows how much tax payers or aid money is spent on government events, even though this money is meant to belong to ‘the people’.

A key issue was seen to be that the justice system in Senegal is corrupt and therefore there is no system to enforce anti-corruption. It was suggested that if you were innocent but poor, you are likely to be found guilty if you are being prosecuted by someone who had money. Equally if you are guilty and are put in prison, it was generally considered that you pay your way out of prison quite easily. Therefore there is no confidence in the system. A lot more could be done at an institutional level to give a clear message that corruption is not acceptable.

Corruption in other countries
A UK participant said that she thought that the airports and docks in the UK were also places where you could probably find networks of people taking back-handers, but that bribing policemen was very rare in the UK as people are scared of the system. The media is also very powerful in the UK and is responsible for keeping people ‘straight’ as they are scared of being exposed and losing their livelihoods. Ministers and civil servants who work for the government are at risk of being fired or having to resign if the media uncover any scent of corruption.
The US is also known for having a high level of corruption, but this is much less in the form of bribery and much more in the form of fraud and moral corruption. Examples were given of Enron and AIG where documents had been falsified and many people were made bankrupt through the lies of the organizations. A participant said that in the UK and US a significant percentage of people in prison are those who are well educated who have carried out white collar crimes.

A question was raised about the point at which not doing a job properly is corruption, for example financial system regulators who have allowed situations to occur where massive corruption has taken place.

A participant asked whether the lobby groups in the US (and other countries) which pay money to support political campaigns in exchange for influence for their special interests is not also a type of bribery or corruption. It was agreed that this is part of institutionalized corruption. Drug cartels and the US involvement in the South American drug trade was also touched upon.
In the US, the justice system is powerful and the rule of law is generally respected. An example was given that a parking ticket can be appealed with the policeman present. Individuals who work within the system are accountable and there are checks and balances. In Senegal the police are much more powerful and there is no clear system of accountability.

Corporates and corruption
A non-Senegalese participant commented that it seems that bribery is often thought of first as evidence of corruption in Senegal, but in the UK and US corruption is more often associated with large/global organizations that behave in a morally corrupt way; for example, not allowing unionization, paying complainants off and taking advantage of poor people. 

Pharmaceutical companies, Nestlé, McDonalds and Coca-Cola are all organizations which many people in these countries avoid buying from in protest at their policies. 

A Senegalese participant said that she had used to like the brand Nike until she found out that they use child labour in China to make their goods. The book ‘No Logo’ by Naomi Klein was introduced as a source of information about global corporate.

Phillip Morris, the company which makes cigarettes, including the Malboro brand has established a factory in Pikine. There were demonstrations as cigarette factories cause a lot of pollution and this is an extremely highly populated area, but the job creation and the 13 billion CFA being brought in in investment were more attractive to the authorities. Also, the low levels of literacy/education of the local people impacted on their understanding of the issues which made it harder to mobilize effectively against the factory. Globally there is the issue that money counts more than values or even public health and safety.

A further example of a decision being taken based purely on generating income was that of the Senegalese government selling off shares in Sonatel to France Telecom, generating 200 billion CFA, but giving away its controlling share to overseas interests.

Active and passive bribery
A question was raised about active bribery and the cultural traditions which demand payment in a more passive way, but which could be seen as bribery. Examples were given for paying off a bureaucrat to get illegal papers and paying for gifts to the parents of a girl or woman who a man wants to marry.

Similarly, another participant suggested that there are many people in a chain and that, for example, you could be paid to do something, no questions asked because you needed the money, but you actually wouldn’t know what it was you were contributing to.

What can be done?
It was thought that many Senegalese people are passive about corruption because they don’t know their rights, or don’t believe that they can make any real difference. During the election campaign, President Wade had suggested that people who were unhappy with the regime wear a red scrap of material. Some people have taken this route, but many thought that it was dangerous to be actively demonstrating unhappiness with the government as there could be other repercussions. At the same time, it was suggested that it is not just a lack of education that makes Senegalese passive, but a deep cultural attitude – Grawul, inchAllah, la volonté de Dieu.

RADDHO (Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de Homme- www.raddho.org) was raised as one organization that actively works in Senegal to raise human rights issues. Amnesty exists and there is the organization Human Rights Watch, but they were not thought to be very active or powerful in Senegal.

It was agreed that there is no easy solution as there is corruption in every part of society, but that personal values and behaviour were key to affecting change.

Next time
Next time we will be discussing the gender divide. This was decided after the conversation moved to talking about women not having financial independence and the pressure on men to display wealth in order to attract a partner.

Further reading
In English
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption
http://www.transparency.org/news_room/faq/corruption_faq
http://humanscience.wikia.com/wiki/Corruption#HOW_AFRICANS_SEE_CORRUPTION
http://www.hrw.org/en/africa/senegal
http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/senegal
http://www.scribd.com/doc/5597148/Naomi-Klein-No-Logo
http://www.corporatecrimereporter.com/corruptreport.pdf
http://allafrica.com/stories/200809240004.html

In French
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption
http://www.rewmi.com/Corruption-le-Senegal-dans-la-zone-rouge,-selon-le-Forum-civil_a12489.html
http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/200812170389.html
Giorgio Blundo, « La corruption comme mode de gouvernance locale : trois décennies de décentralisation au Sénégal », Politique africaine, 2000, n° 199