Transparency and accountability are also good for business

May 29, 2011 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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The following is a hypothetical example to illustrate a real problem. One day two main breaking stories reach the desk of an editor. The first is about a fire at a shack in a squatting area. The second is about an inflated government contract. Hypothetical, you ask?
In the first case, the fire is believed to have been caused by an illegal electrical connection. In the second case, a contract for an inflated sum has been corruptly awarded.
Which story should be the main feature in the newspaper? News editors often face this dilemma of deciding on their main story when faced with two competing news items.
The first story is about a human tragedy in which someone lost their home and all their belongings. The first story will sell more news copies since it is closer to the human side than the second.
The corruption story is what the people would refer to as being about “politics”, outside of their reach or control, and nothing new so to speak. The powerful and the corrupt control the rules of the game. The poor have little say and can do nothing about favoritism in the awarding of government contracts. The fire is closer to their general experience. They can better identify and relate to the human tragedy.
It is therefore understandable that an editor would choose the story of the human tragedy over that of the news about public corruption. The two stories are however linked, and it is the corruption story that ought to take precedence.
Corruption is a cancer that eats away at society. While corruption was not the cause of the fire, or should become an excuse for some poor person engaging in an unlawful act, there is a relationship.
Corruption takes resources away from the poor. The more corruption there is, the greater are the social costs, and these costs push public services outside of the reach of the poor, thereby leading to the temptation to engage in their own private acts of corruption, such as the stealing of electricity.
For a poor country like Guyana which suffered from corruption in the past, the continuing acts of public corruption will deprive many of the opportunities they need to improve their lot.
But obviously also, the very victims contribute to their own dilemma. When someone steals electricity, they are also making it more difficult for themselves because they are increasng the cost of public services.
It was recently reported that the rate of electricity theft in Berbice alone was about 30%. This means that most consumers in that area would have been paying 30% more than they ought to be paying each month. But it is difficult to convince the poor that they should discourage the theft of electricity by their fellow poor. In most cases, people simply turn a blind eye to this malpractice.
At the moral level also, the poor will argue that if the “big ones” are stealing from the public kitty and stealing in a big way too, then why condemn a “ little” electricity theft. The answer of course is that any theft is corruption. It has a wide effect and acts as a cancer on the society. And public corruption on a larger scale has a greater effect on the poor.
Therefore the exposure of public corruption should, despite being less sensational and commercially attractive, take precedence over other stories, except of course when we are dealing with a major human tragedy.
Kaieteur News over the past few years has acquired a reputation in revealing malpractices and suspicious transactions within the government. It has won a great deal of praise as well as attracted the ire of the government for its reporting about public corruption.
This sustained reporting owes a great deal to Glenn Lall who believes deep in his heart that Guyana is not going to go forward unless the people get value for money. Glenn Lall has been singular in this respect and he has laid naked the rampant misuse of public funds within the society.
But why is the issue of public corruption not also of great concern to the private sector which has made major investments in the country over the years and ought to know that corruption will hurt the economy, and by extension the business climate?
The business community recognizes the importance of stability. They know fully well that Guyana will not survive another period such as 1997-2006 when political instability caused major losses for the economy. They know that unless there is political stability, the business community will take their investments elsewhere, and there are lots of more attractive places to take their money.
Many businesses already have one foot in Guyana and one foot outside. Many rich businessmen have investments and properties outside of Guyana. Many of them have built comfortable lives for themselves and families on the proceeds of profits made off the backs of the poor in Guyana. Those investments are not going to be repatriated to Guyana unless there is political stability after this year’s elections.
So these businessmen have signaled already that in their view, elections are the only means for the formation of a government. This is a self-serving view by the propertied class, which recognizes that unless there is stability, investments cannot be attracted to sustain growth in the country.
But in the same way that political stability is good for business, so too is the need for improved accountability. The business community should also speak out forcibly on public corruption, because this corruption affects them just as much as political instability. When the poor are deprived of resources it depresses economic activity, which ultimately hurts businesses.
They should be just as concerned about public corruption, because just like political instability, it affects their bottom line, except of course …if they are benefiting from the corruption.

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