Corruption of government

Robert Buddan - POLITICS OF OUR TIME

We often talk about corruption in government. We should also talk about corruption of government. We must talk about those who are outside of government, who corrupt the institutions and processes of government. They often collude with those in government. Sometimes they initiate the acts of corruption. In fact, we should talk about corruption of power (private and public) for the abuse of privileges (private and public) to serve and satisfy interests (private and public) in conflict with the national interest.

The broad concern with the corruption of power also allows us to look beyond the financial gains from corruption. Corruption involves the use of office for private gain. The office is often public office and the gain is sometimes financial. But we should think of corruption as the use of public and private privileges (office, regulations, markets, information, committee votes, security intelligence, money, ) to abuse the power (the constitution, the law, Parliament, company, regulation, rules, codes, ethics) entrusted in them.

Democracy as Safeguard

Democracy, properly understood and adequately institutionalised, offers the best safeguards against corruption. Take the world financial and economic crisis, which the recent G-20 meeting in Canada was still inconclusive about resolving. It is evidence of market corruption and its impact on a global scale. The BP oil disaster in the Gulf is more costly than any public-sector corruption in all of the CARICOM states put together. The implications for the Caribbean Sea are shocking. These crises result from the corrupt abuse of power, like buying out politicians to ensure weak regulatory oversight.

Why did they occur? Former World Bank technocrat and scholar, Daniel Kaufman, and belatedly, Transparency International, would call the problem 'state capture'. State capture occurs when special interests, including criminal interests, exert unethical and unlawful influence over governments through campaign finance, lobbying, bribing, intimidating, or any means, to get special advantages and benefits claimed to be in the national interest. This is true of financial and oil companies.

Karl Marx used to say the capitalist state was an instrument of the ruling (capitalist) class because that is how capitalist 'democracy' worked. Carl Stone posited the inverse, that the ruling class was an instrument of the capitalist state. He was speaking specifically of Jamaica and how the system of clientelism worked. The political state in Jamaica had grown after independence to become stronger than the relatively weak and dependent capitalist class. He believed Jamaica's family and corporate capitalists had become parasitic clients of state policies.

Rowe on Corruption

Two illustrative interviews caught my attention recently. In a CVM interview (of April 24, 2010), Jamaican-born Florida Professor David Rowe, who is regularly consulted on the Coke extradition issue, raised possibilities of the connections between alleged drug kingpin Christopher Coke and the government.

The professor asked: "What is Coke's financial connection to the ruling party? Is his financial role connected to narcotics? Is his financial role related to the sale of guns? Is his financial role related to individuals who seem to be extremely politically committed to his cause?"

Professor Rowe also asked, "Why is this extradition being treated any differently from the 40 or so previous extraditions? Why was this individual awarded a contract after he was indicted by a federal grand jury? Did this individual receive a large financial contract after the grand jury indicted him? Has that contract been the basis of a contribution to any individual in government? What is his relationship with senators and members of parliament in the current government? Has there been any financial commitment, financial fee, financial bribe, any financial payment made to any sitting member of the government associated with this post-indictment contract?"

Professor Rowe went on to say this was an extremely peculiar situation, considering the individual was under indictment for the sale of guns and cocaine to the United States, and when cocaine is said to be used in the sale of crack to children in New York schools. Yet, the government of Jamaica reportedly gave Coke's company a 'huge' contract. Professor Rowe believes this is why the State Department's International Narcotics Strategy Report of March referred to corruption in the Jamaican government.

Christie on Corruption

The other interview was conducted by The Gleaner. It quoted our own contractor general, Greg Christie, on June 22, 2010, who said: "There are telling indications that it (corruption) is operating in a highly efficient but surreptitious manner, as it criminally redistributes the country's wealth from the poor and middle classes to the connected and privileged few. We are barely scratching the surface. There are much bigger fish to fry, many of whom come in suits and in ties and occupy high places in our society. With each passing day, they laugh their way to the bank with taxpayers' dollars, as we make-believe that we are dealing with the problem."

Whether Marx or Stone was right, the conclusion must be the same. The integrity of the state must be so strengthened from Jamaica to America that it is not an instrument of any class or client. It must represent the people and national interest. That must ultimately be the aim of fighting corruption. We must replace political fiefdom with political freedom.

It is in this context that we must pursue a number of reforms, including constitutional reforms, that make the prime minister and public officials impeachable for certain offences. Instead, we are talking about whistleblower legislation while Government has been pursuing a 'Constable Red Herring' for blowing the whistle against an alleged Mr Big who Government had been defending.

Democratic Will

These interviews point to the great danger of state capture, both by legitimate business persons and by criminals. The danger comes from uptown, midtown and downtown. State capture means, for example, that a senior politician could tip off a wanted person about possible arrest if the wanted person is an important client of the state. If Hardley Lewin is right, this might have happened in the Coke matter. If this was so, the captured state could theoretically still be tipping off criminals while involved in a 'fight against crime'. This is why the democratic will must be courageous, uncompromising and unrelenting.

It is not so much the lack of political will as the lack of a democratic commitment that fails us. If politicians are the problem, citizens must be the solution. But we should not attack our political institutions indiscriminately in this fight against crime. And, we should fearlessly face up to those from uptown and midtown, who capture the state. Demonising reformers in the parties defeats the democratic will. It is by forcing ministers to resign, whether prime minister or church ministers who breach democracy or break the law, that we can show true democratic will.

The media and civil society might be better off pursuing answers to the questions Professor Rowe asked, the condition that Christie has diagnosed and the danger that Kaufman warns of.

Robert Buddan lectures in the Department of Government, UWI, Mona. Email: Robert.Buddan@uwimona.edu.jm or columns@gleanerjm.com