Power, wealth and corruption
ANCIENT Indian economist Kautilya wrote: “Just as it is impossible not to taste the honey or the poison that finds itself at the tip of the tongue, so it is impossible for a government servant not to eat up at least a bit of the king's revenue.” Our Finance Minister A.M.A. Muhith broke Kautilya's record in the 2013 intellectual Olympic by saying that political power and wealth go hand in hand. He asked us to look at world history and said: “When humans were barbarians most of the tribal leaders became wealthy. This is normal.”
When education is in such a dismal state in our poor country, it is difficult for us to read world history as per our wish. We believe his statement that it happened in man's barbarian state. And we saw that not only our political leaders, but even their wives, excepting some, made a mountain of wealth in the past five years. Therefore, that there are many poor people still in Bangladesh is the fault of the poor who have not entered into our fortune-making politics. If every poor man did so, we would not have to wait till 2041 to have our dream come true.
Some think that politics has turned into a business enterprise in Bangladesh. This is wrong. In business, a transaction occurs in a market where both the trader and the consumer exchange their commodities and both get benefited. But think of a situation in which a blind man is begging on a street. A rich man passing by him stands, takes out Tk.1 from his pocket, puts it in the beggar's pot, takes away Tk.10 from there and puts it in his pocket. The beggar, because of his blindness, prays to Allah for His blessings on him. The rich man is a swindler. But if he can do it a hundred times with impunity, he is a politician somewhere on earth. Friedrich Engels wrote in 1884: “America is the classic example” of the “plain corruption of officials” where wealth and power go hand in hand.
While launching the Global Corruption Report 2004, Transparency International founder Peter Eigen said: “The abuse of political power for private gain deprives the most needy of vital public services, creating a level of despair that breeds conflict and violence.” That TI Report detailed the extent to which world political leaders embezzled public funds. The heads of our poor people will spin on hearing the figures. Compared to them, our ministers are nearly saints.
The writer is Research and Publication Officer, Centre for Development Innovation and Practices.
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