In a report released by ONE, an
anti-poverty organization, it is estimated that corruption causes
3.6 million unnecessary deaths and costs poor countries $1 trillion each year
as at September 2014. Using three different methodologies to calculate the cost
of corruption, all three measures indicated that the loss was either $1
trillion or $2 trillion. In what is called a “trillion dollar scandal,” corrupt
business practices, “anonymous shell companies, money laundering and illegal
tax evasion” all serve to severely reduce the effectiveness of poverty
relief efforts. While extreme poverty has been reduced to half its original
level over the past 20 years and has the potential to be completely eradicated
by 2030, corruption is putting much of that progress at risk. While corruption
is damaging in almost all countries, it is especially dangerous in poorer and
developing countries and mostly affects children. It is estimated that millions
of deaths could be avoided if corruption was combated and recovered funds were
reinvested in essential fields.
Furthermore, the money that is siphoned out of poor
countries is not from international development aid, which has helped make a
considerable improvement, but rather directly from businesses in these
countries. The money is generated by domestic businesses and illegally
extracted out of the country. The largest source of financial drain is the
illegal manipulation of cross-border trade. The organization found that even
recovering a small amount of the money lost to corruption could dramatically
affect development. In Sub-Saharan Africa, a small amount of
recovered funds could provide an education to an additional 10 million
children each year; pay for an additional 500,000 primary school teachers;
provide antiretroviral drugs for more 11 million people with HIV/AIDS and buy
nearly 165 million vaccines.
The report stresses action that serves to end the secrecy
that allows corruption to thrive. If specific policies were implemented that
increased transparency and combated corruption in the four areas of “natural
resource deals, the use of phantom firms, tax evasion and money
laundering,” developing countries could considerably stem the financial drain. Natural
resources in particular can provide a vital source of funds that could greatly
increase economic growth in many developing countries. Corruption concerning
natural resources is particularly bad, with approximately 20 countries in
Sub-Saharan Africa rich in natural resources but receiving few benefits from
these reserves.
Specifically, One calls for mandatory reporting laws for
the natural resource sectors and publish open data so citizens are able to
track where travels from and to, ensuring that the funds are not lost to
corruption. Published in anticipation of the G20 meeting in Brisbane, Australia
in November, the organization stresses the importance for the G20 nations to
address the issue. Now that the cost of corruption has been defined in real
terms, the fight against corruption can become more directed and effective.
Author is William Ying; The original article is Here
No comments:
Post a Comment