Tackling Corruption : Practical Perspectives

Despite various anti-corruption policies in place, the public service provision in most developing countries remains mired in corruption. In this chapter, we argue that a successful fight against corruption requires a thorough understanding of the processes involved in the provision of public services. We outline various processes involved in the delivery of public services and discuss how these processes can be susceptible to corrupt practices. Using a case study that uses information technology (IT), we outline some of the challenges that arise in designing and implementing system changes that modify these processes to reduce their vulnerability to corruption. We contend that simply being aware of the problems faced by the end-users, i.e., beneficiaries is not enough. It is crucial to seek and use feedback from the insiders, i.e., government officials, who possess the best knowledge on how the loopholes in a system can be abused to obviate transparency and avoid accountability. For instance, while officials might make data entry errors, deliberately or not, citizens face the consequences of these errors suffering psychological distress and monetary expenses. The lack of accountability would compromise the ability of the IT-based systems to fight corruption. We conclude with some suggestions