Eliminating corruption particularly in the public sector, the root cause of economic stagnation in the country, by any means must be done if the country is to be out of the woods, said a public policy advocate and scientist.
“Given that we’re looking at a fiscal deficit of over Rs 1 trillion this year, and given the IMF’s restrictions on new borrowing, there’s very little the Government can do to stimulate the economy: no new infrastructure, new capital investment, and so on. But still, there’s a lot that can actually be done even without money,” said a bio-diversity scientist, author and public policy advocate, Rohan Pethiyagoda.
First off, he said the Government must address corruption. Although the cabinet itself is squeaky clean, corruption is thriving in the public service. Every five-star hotel buffet is crowded with public servants and their friends and families living it up and paying their bills with bundles of cash. Because the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) tracks property and vehicle purchases now, bribe cash is spent out of sight of the IRD, on entertainment, foreign travel, jewellery and house renovation.
A suggestion is eliminate cash. The Government can introduce legislation to make any payment that is over Rs 10,000 illegal unless made through a credit or debit card. Even Samurdhi and Aswesuma recipients can be paid electronically and issued debit cards. This will make bribe-taking really difficult, but it will work, Pethiyagoda said adding that bribe-money or not, money will necessarily be channeled through banks, opening it to scrutiny by the IRD.
In one fell swoop, the Government could slash corruption and at the same time boost tax revenue. Second, it costs nothing to make the Government service efficient. Many officials deliberately delay services to get bribes “to expedite matters”, he said.
Presidential sermons are not enough. Every state institution that serves the public should be given compulsory service targets. Three days to clear a container through the port; 15 minutes for the last bag from an arriving flight to get on the belt; 20 minutes to obtain a certified birth, death or marriage certificate; one day for a passport, NIC, or export permit; 30 minutes in the OPD queue to be seen by a doctor, and so on. These targets must be transparently advertised and independently monitored, and heads of non-conforming departments penalised (a ban of foreign travel is sufficient).
In his address at the ‘Economic Summit’ recently, the President said there are 11 institutions involved, and the process takes close to 269 days for environmental approvals alone.
Pethiyagod also suggested that by making it compulsory for every traffic policeman to wear a body cam the standard Rs 1,000 bribe can be eliminated and it would also boost the Police Department’s reputation. Body cams cost around Rs 60,000 each. They will probably increase state revenue from traffic fines by that much in the first month.
By cutting corruption through such means, the Government can greatly increase the level of service we get from our public institutions. “The traditional approach has been to catch bribe-takers and prosecute them. This simply has not worked. The very day after the High Court sentenced three former Customs officers to 35 years rigorous imprisonment finding them guilty of accepting a bribe of Rs 125 million, their colleagues in the Port were said to be happily soliciting bribes. Policing is simply not enough. We need to eliminate the sources of sleaze, not just prosecute cases of corruption when we find them,” he said.
