On October 23, 2015, Mcebisi Jonas, South Africa’s deputy finance minister, faced a harrowing, yet enticing, decision. He had thought he was attending a normal business meeting but ended up in the home of the powerful Gupta family, sitting with the Gupta brothers and the president, Jacob Zuma’s, son. Jonas was offered a promotion and $45 million. In return, he would be expected to use his position to advance the Gupta’s many business interests. This included firing officials who opposed the construction of new power plants, which were slated to run on fuel from Gupta-owned mines. The deal was simple— but would Jonas accept?
This kind of corruption in politics is nothing new. It plagued the ancient world— the “Arthasastra,” an Indian political treatise that dates back to the 3rd century BCE, lists 40 types of embezzlement alone. So, what exactly is corruption, and what can we do to combat it?
Corruption is often defined as a misuse of a position of power for personal gain. For example, this could be a city clerk accepting bribes in exchange for issuing permits; or a mayor appointing a campaign donor to an influential position. But corruption isn’t limited to the political sphere; it can happen in schools, sports, businesses, or religious institutions. In ancient Greece, the power-hungry Alcmaeonid family notoriously bribed the priestesses at Delphi to deliver false prophecies, like telling the Spartans they should invade Athens.
It may seem like all corruption is driven by greed, but individual motives are often complex. There can be economic drivers, like family pressure on an underpaid civil servant who exaggerates his expenses to get more money back. This might not seem like a big problem, but corruption can snowball. If anti-corruption laws aren’t enforced, or if loopholes are continuously exploited, a larger culture of corruption can emerge. For example, in 2009, numerous British MPs were exposed for using taxpayer money to cover personal expenses, from home renovations to luxury purchases, and even having a moat cleaned. And corruption isn't always directly about money. In 2016, a Department of Justice investigation found widespread patterns of unconstitutional policing, abuse, and corruption within the Baltimore Police Department. In just one elite task force, eight officers were convicted of crimes, including planting evidence and robbing citizens during traffic stops.
Corruption like this causes people to lose faith in government and can deplete much needed resources. The more taxpayer money that goes into people’s pockets, the less there is to spend on services that benefit the community— like repairing roads, building schools, or providing healthcare. In the case of South Africa, the Gupta family plundered billions of dollars from the country’s funds through their wide-ranging corruption schemes, devastating the nation's economy. In Baltimore, the police department cost taxpayers more than $22 million in court settlements and gravely eroded public trust.
So, how can we prevent corruption? While it’s important that laws set a high price for corrupt behavior, punishment is only one piece of the puzzle. Transparency in terms of budget and paper trails and support for freedom of the press are hugely important. In Botswana, the government has built public trust through their ongoing commitment to respond to corruption openly, quickly, and decisively. In Denmark, government ministers must publish monthly reports cataloging their spending on entertainment, official travel, and any gifts they’ve received.
As citizens, we can vote out those who engage in corruption and question officials who push back against transparency measures. And we can stand up against corruption when we see it. In South Africa, Jonas refused the Guptas’ offer, and despite threats against his life, spoke out, exposing a sprawling web of corruption that toppled Zuma’s regime, and sent the Gupta family into exile. But it wasn’t just Jonas’ revelation that mattered. Once the scale of corruption was unearthed, everyday South Africans took to the streets, insisting that “Zuma must fall.” By using our civic voices, we can fight back to ensure that tax dollars don’t line pockets, but instead benefit everyone.
