USA Africa Dialogue Series - What we can learn from India's war on corruption?

It appears that honesty comes at a cost that no one wants to bear. Corporations shy away from transparency, as many believe it may hurt their interests. Everyone wants the other one to be honest first.

Governments, politicians and business leaders can’t stop talking about it. But few want to start doing something about it. Besides, according to the corruption barometer, government agencies and private corporations are perceived to be the most corrupt.

So what can be done to convert talk into action? What can be done to prod organizations, leaders and institutions to draw their swords on corruption?

Naming and shaming, for one. Governments and industry bodies should start publicly identifying organizations and individuals who are caught in bribery cases.

Often, industry links anti-corruption activity with investor sentiment. If governments act tough, industry says, investments will fall. Instead of bringing best practices to new markets, global companies are being accused of undermining laws. Leaders and officials in Mongolia say privately that multinational corporations are deploying a worrying combination of muscle, charm and bribery to get lucrative contracts.

Industry leaders have to give up this attitude. They must come together and ensure that companies do not focus on competitive corruption. Those who are out of line should be exposed. From crooked cartels, we need to build clean coalitions.

But it’s not down to the private sector alone: governments should create policies that reduce the scope of corruption. When India auctioned 2G spectrum in an opaque manner in 2008, it resulted in a multibillion-dollar scandal that scalped a minister and senior officials. Many telecom companies lost their licences to operate. Quick to learn from the fiasco, the 3G spectrum allocation, which earned billions for government, was held through an open online auction. There was not a whisper of corruption.