24 Jul 07
Originally posted by Rajk999I fully agree. Though I see that as a solution to many more things than just corruption.
So lets concentrate on WHY ? and HOW it can be dealt with.
I say the solution lies partly in :
- widespread education (should automatically lead to population reduction)
- foreign investment to provide jobs for locals
Not the only way to provide jobs but it is one of them. A better one would be free trade (including removing farm subsidies and other subsidies in 1st world nations). In fact I dont think foreign investment is always a good thing. If there is money to be made why not let the locals make it? The problem is making investment opportunities.
For example in Zambia, foreign supermarket chains were encouraged by government. They do not benefit the people as they are essentially taking profits (that used to stay within the country) abroad. They also prefer to employ less people and import more goods (rather than buying locally) than the shops they have replaced. If it is a new industry especially an exporting industry then I fully support foreign investment but when it is merely a replacement I don't.
- creating institutions run by donor countries to manage and monitor funds and grants so that money does not go directly to govt coffers.
These already exist but they are often as corrupt as the people they are trying to deal with. They can also be very costly effectively siphoning off more than (in my opinion) 50% of all donor funding.