Concerns
about corruption have intensified globally in recent years. Calls for
greater efficiency, transparency and integrity in public institutions
are driven by a number of factors:
- the increasing realisation that the achievement of
economic, political and social objectives in many countries is only
possible by improving governance and preventing corruption;
- the observation that public sector corruption and
maladministration act to reinforce the unequal distribution of
opportunities and thus serve to undermine basic human rights; and
- the fact that corruption threatens economic growth,
social development, the consolidation of democracy, and the national
morale.
Recognising
these threats, countries all over the world, including South Africa,
are trying to create effective anti-corruption measures for both the
public and the private sectors. Currently, a number of developments to
address both perceived and actual corruption are under way in South
Africa. In particular, the government has launched an anti-corruption
initiative that has as its main objectives:
- to improve the investigation and prosecution of corruption;
- to rationalise the agencies combating corruption;
- to review legislation;
- to improve management systems and discipline at all levels of government; and
- to protect whistle-blowers and witnesses.
The
importance of independent, comparative, applied policy research to
underpin these proposed policy initiatives cannot be underestimated. In
the light of increasing attention being paid to the threat of corruption
to good governance in South Africa and the reality of limited state
capacity to undertake critical research in these areas, a dedicated
programme at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) to research and
monitor these issues was established in October 1998. The Corruption and
Governance Programme, currently funded by the European Union and the
Open Society Foundation, has the following mission:
"to understand the nature, extent and impact of corruption
and commercial crime in South Africa, and drawing on international "best
practice", to conduct research with the view to propose
context-specific control measures to address corruption and commercial
crime and to enhance good governance in both the public and private
sector."
This
is the first in a series of monographs to be published by the
Corruption and Governance Programme at the ISS. Dealing with the complex
relationship between corruption and development, this important piece
of research by Chris Heymans and Barbara Lipietz is a timely
contribution to the ongoing anti-corruption debate in South Africa.
Following
a brief introduction and a section that conceptualises both corruption
and development, the core of the monograph examines the complex dynamics
that characterise the impact of corruption on development. Corruption
has the following negative impacts: it distorts public spending,
undermines efficiency, discourages investment and growth, undermines the
quality of governance and places participants at risk of castigation by
the international community.
The
authors consolidate recent legislative and policy steps that have been
taken to control corruption. Concrete areas for reform are pointed out
and the importance of political will to effect these reforms is
convincingly stated. Since corruption undermines good governance and
negatively impacts the capacity of the state and other actors to deliver
services in an efficient and equitable way, ways in which to control
corruption in order to promote the development objectives of the state
are crucial. This volume makes a significant contribution to the
achievement of this objective.
September 1999
