This is a commentary on the real state of our psyche, which takes corruption and dishonesty as a normal phenomenon, quite happy to live with those who are involved in it. Let us get one thing clear before moving any further. Corruption is dishonesty of the mind as well as of material. And it involves many things that are within the spheres of ones existence.

Corruption is not unique to Bangladesh. It occurs in most countries, both developed and developing. With us, it has swelled over the years till it has become a way of life. And it has snowballed primarily because of the culture of impunity, where the causal link of dishonesty goes right up to the top in the hierarchy of the ruling elite.

In Bangladesh, so long it has been a low-risk high-gain enterprise, with nothing to lose but everything to gain from it. Things will change in future, one would hope, with the ACC's on going anti-corruption drive that must be a continuous feature of its work.

In this equation there are two factors, the man and the system. As for the man, corruption can be both need-driven and greed-driven. What we must ask ourselves is that while many people with low income barely manage to survive but stay above corruption, why is it that the major incidences of corruption occur in high places, in persons earning high salaries.

And social scientists see, too, a difference in the consequences of corruption at lower levels and that in the higher echelons of the government and bureaucracy. It is in high places that decisions and policies relating to national issues and national interest are made, that can be derailed by the craving for self-aggrandizement; and those driven by greed can hardly differentiate between self and the nation. This has been exposed through the many corruption cases that are now under investigation.

The question is, is it the system, or the people who run it, that we ought to go after to start with. The system exists with its shortcomings, and those who are adept in misusing it often get away with it, not for long though. We are very good in blaming the system and appear more bent on trying to fix it, instead of really going into the causes of the malaise. What really happens is that we end up with a damaged system, but with the malady intact.

With the astounding cases of corruption coming to light, that involve civil servants to ex-ministers to CBA leaders, and even 'kanungos,' the premise correlating poverty and corruption and the social position of a person has been thrown overboard. The common feature is the lust for money which is the root of all evils, a gospel truth that finds veracity in Bangladesh.

An interesting fact brought out in a finding of a research organisation is that the level of pay has no correlation with one's aspiration for more money. In fact, if anything, lust for wealth is directly proportional to one's position.

We ask how it was possible for a chief conservator of forests to stash away crores of taka in cash, at home, without anyone up or down the chain ever coming to know of it. How come that khas land was allegedly given away to a minister's son at a most ludicrous price? How can public universities employ manpower much beyond that authorized, causing loss of crores to the state? Was there not a system of oversight in place, and people put there to prevent such irregularities? Where did we go wrong? Was it in establishing a proper system, or in operating the system properly?

Let us briefly go into the factors that breed corruption, of which there are many, but some are germane to the society and the country.

Notwithstanding the prevalence of a cost benefit equation that is involved in such transgressions, whether it is intellectual, monetary or in any other form, and that the motive force is primarily a human being's proclivity for wealth, there is also the demand and supply aspect of corruption in which there is a need to get things done, but that cannot be possible without greasing the palms of the official. It occurs more acutely in cases where illegal things can be done with more ease by bribing the relevant person or persons. Like tango, corruption needs two to happen.

As for the system, let us see what needs to be in place to fight the malaise. Here, one is really looking at basically three things -- accountability, transparency and, while there should be oversight arrangements in all departments, a watch-dog institution to exercise oversight at national level.

We actually have all these in the system, but they are observed only in their disregard by those who run the system. Can there be accountability when everyone in the chain gets a slice of the salami? Where government acquisitions are apparently no secret, manipulation of the system by modifying bid documents to suit a particular seller is a practice not uncommon in the organizations.

Take also the case of the parliamentary standing committees, which, had they performed their oversight task with sincerity, could have prevented many financial irregularities and cases of corruption in the ministries. The CNG scam case is a case in point, where the inquiry could not be completed because of alleged intransigence of the minister and, reportedly, of the uncooperative attitude of the ministry.

Thus, even if we have had most of the provisions required to prevent corruption, the system was either made dysfunctional, or exploited, by those that indulged in it. What we must, therefore, emphasise upon is a psychological drive that must start at the school level, and upon the necessity to ensure that the minimum needs of the public servants are met. But there is also the need to mete out the most stringent of punishments to those that corrupt the system or circumvent it.

As King Solomon had said thousands of years ago: "Because sentence against a bad work has not been executed speedily, that is why the heart of the sons of men has become fully set in them to do bad." The propensity to do bad has not decreased, nor has the punishment been heavy or timely, even after so many years of the utterance of the wise words.

The author is Editor, Defence & Strategic Affairs, The Daily Star.