huu mchezo sio mzuri kwenye jamii.......ebu angalia huyu jamaa anachofanya.

BRIBERY.

 INTRODUCTION.

Bribery is no doubt on the increase, one person in four worldwide has paid a bribe in recent times according to Transparency International Survey, and the categories of people who had made such payments to public officials are more; especially in Africa (Transparency International 2011). However, bribery occurs at the interface of the public and private sectors while, countries vary widely in the pervasiveness or levels of bribery (Rose-Ackerman 1996: 31). Bribery occurs in both public and private lives and is given and taken in all cultures (Hyyryläinen 2010:7). Bribery is a serious form of corruption (Salminen & Ikola-Norrbacka 2010) that has been associated with mankind for a long time. Numerous national and global institutions like the United Nations (UN), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) etc., have proposed different standards and regulations that now serve as models to understanding bribery. The United States was the first country in 1977 to make the bribery of foreign officials a crime, while some European countries do only encourage the act by permitting their companies to claim foreign bribes as a tax deduction (Heimann & Katz 1999: 7 & Gesteland 1999: 91). Tobego (2010), has stated that dealing with bribery can take different forms. Bribery strongly affects the efficiency, fairness, and legitimacy of state activities; it occurs as a result of obtaining benefit(s) or avoidance of costs or pains  However, numerous efforts by different nations to tackle bribery abound. In most countries, it has been the setting up of anti-corruption agencies; while the media and civil society organizations are notables in some other countries, but different anti-bribery ideas or measures effectively complement one another (Heimann 1999).

Definition.

Bribery is a different thing to different people. Bribery is part of corruption or most basically, a representation of unethical practice. For there to be a bribe, there must be a giver and receiver; and it is an act that influences the giver and receiver in relative ways. Bribery is seen as illegal effort to influence civil servants, political authorities/parties, and other public and private office holders in order to get some favours (Vincke 1999: 78).  Bribery is an unethical practice, which corrupt  both the giver and recipient; most individuals and institutions prohibits it, because it could become a major source of illegal payments (Gesteland 1999: 91) The act of offering payments or any other form of benefit to influence individuals of various calibres to affect what they ought to do or what they ought not to do is a challenging and disturbing issue. The same goes for receiving payments or other forms of benefits for the same purpose. (Heimann 1999.) We get to understand bribery when notion surrounding a transaction, activity, and gift is secretive and selfish. Bribery impedes open competition in different ways. Some factors that have contributed to bribery are poor pay, complex procedures for sanctioning bribe taking, and the frequent overturning of administrative sanction by the judiciary; bribery often receives cooperation in order to avoid punishment (Hunt 2005: 7 & Hunt & Laszlo 2005).

Active and Passive Bribery.

In recent years, efforts have been made by the international community to encourage countries to dissociate and incriminate as separate offences, active and passive bribery.

Active bribery can be defined for instance as the promising, offering or giving by any person, directly or indirectly, of any undue advantage [to any public official], for himself or herself or for anyone else, for him or her to act or refrain from acting in the exercise of his or her functions. (article 2 of the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (ETS 173)^[16]of the Council of Europe).

Passive bribery can be defined as the request or receipt [by any public official], directly or indirectly, of any undue advantage, for himself or herself or for anyone else, or the acceptance of an offer or a promise of such an advantage, to act or refrain from acting in the exercise of his or her functions (article 3 of the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (ETS 173)).^[16] The reason for this dissociation is to make the early steps (offering, promising, requesting an advantage) of a corrupt deal already an offence and, thus, to give a clear signal (from a criminal policy point of view) that bribery is not acceptable.

Forms of Bribery.

o   It lists four intertwined forms of corruption. The first form is bribery and grease payments . Bribery is the payments sought by public officials – or offered by private agents – in return for favours such as government contract. Grease payment is money paid to public officials to do work that they are already being paid to do, such as issuing a license.

o   Second is petty and grand corruption . Petty corruption is the collision of a public official with a member of the public to subvert the system over relatively small transactions. It therefore mostly involves lower level public officials. Grand corruption is the subversion of the system by senior government officials, ministers and heads of state.

o   Third is bureaucratic Corruption . This the abuse of discretion by public officials to bend or circumvent rules and regulations in exchange for certain benefits. It occurs mostly where there is considerable rewards and punishment discretion under an official's control.

o   Last, but by no means least, is political corruption . This is the trading of influence and authority by political leaders and may extend to granting favours, irregularities in campaign financing and electoral fraud.

Factors/Causes of Bribery.

The causes of corruption are rooted in a country's political and legal development, its social history, bureaucratic traditions, economic conditions and policies. Generally, the weaker the institutions of governance are, the more prevalent is corruption.

Five conditions that facilitate corruption are listed. They are:

Political factors.

Political conditions that foster corruption include weal civil liberties , particularly the level of press freedom, the ability of individual citizens to form civil society organizations, and the level of structured political competition. They also include lack of transparency and accountability on the part of government officials especially where the ruling elite have captured the state. State capture in turn is more likely where the government has extensive involvement in the economy and regulation of public life.

Bureaucratic factors.

These include the expansion of the state bureaucracy with the attendant increase in discretionary powers for the bureaucrats. Growth of the bureaucracy allows select individuals to gain direct access to state resources and to enjoy considerable privileges associated with administrative office.

Legal factors.

The quality of a country's legal system, particularly the possibility of being caught and punished meaningfully, determines the level of corruption. This is turn linked to the existence of effective anti-corruption laws, an effective police and an independent judiciary.

Economic factors.

Levels of economic development affect the forms and sectors where corruption is most prevalent. Petty corruption is particularly common in developing countries while in developed countries, the higher incomes mean corruption tends to be of a grand scale. Corruption is also more likely in countries where governments control monopolistic economic entities thus creating space for officials to promote their own interests and those of their allies.

Countries that give a high degree of protection to their economies may experience domestic corruption as well as from international corporations. Tariff barriers and such other protective measures raise the incentive for private interests to bribe public officials.

Transnational factors.

Despite achieving independence, many countries in transition suffer from ‘new colonialism' of corruption as they grapple with systemic corruption introduced during their colonization or occupation. In addition, developed countries have been reluctant to penalize their companies that foster corruption in developing countries. As a result corruption of third world countries by major international companies has tended to be seen as no more than just another competitive expense in the global marketplace. Major companies have thus paid bribes to win business in third world countries.

General Causes of Bribery.

What are the causes of corruption? People do not indulge in corrupt practice because they like doing so; rather, it is often their only option. To an extent, the causes of corruption vary from place to place. The causes of corruption in a closed dictatorship like North Korea may not be the same in a large democracy like Kenya. But there are still some general causes:

        i.            Poverty: Poverty not only encourages corruption, but corrupt public institutions in turn exacerbate poverty. The poor engage in corrupt practices out of desperation, but the only people who benefit in the long run are those already in power. It's no coincidence that the most corrupt countries often have the poorest citizens, or are otherwise ravished by war and violence. 80% of Africans live on less than $2 a day. In 2010, the United Nations estimated that 239 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were undernourished. When the poor do not have what they will eat, they are forced to make money through cut-corners which are corrupt. The countries at the bottom of the corruption rankings, mostly in northern Europe, are among the wealthiest in the world. While it is difficult to say whether poverty causes corruption or corruption causes poverty, there is no question that the two are linked.

      ii.            Illiteracy and Poor Education: Similar to poverty, the most corrupt countries are often those with low rates of adult literacy. Literacy can prevent corruption in a number of ways. First, those who can read well are more likely to read newspapers and online media, and therefore be able to critically evaluate their own public institutions and politicians. Corruption feeds off ignorance. Second, basic education makes people more likely to find stable careers, and therefore they are less desperate. Again, while it's hard to say whether illiteracy causes corruption, or whether literacy can stop corruption, the table below illustrates that the countries with low literacy rates are higher up in the corruption ranking than those with high literacy rates.

    iii.            Unemployment. Similar to education and literacy, the unemployed are more likely to succumb to illegal ways of making money out of desperation. Many internet scammers and other grifters engage in this type of activity because they lack the opportunity to make legitimate gains. How do the countries with the highest rates of unemployment fare on the corruption scale?

    iv.            Greed: Greediness is impossible to tabulate, but it is undoubtedly an important cause of corruption. Corruption continues to exist because the people with the most in a society are not content with what they have. They more they have, the more they want to acquire. In corrupt societies, politics is an avenue for greed as leaders use their positions to embezzle vast amounts of public funds meant for the public good.

      v.            Weak Governments: In corrupt societies, governments are unable or unwilling to stop corruption. They lack strong-willed or impartial anti-corruption agencies, and such agencies can easily be swallowed into corruption themselves. When such agencies are honest, their work is slow. In the worst cases, leaders staff anti-corruption agencies with their friends. The impotence of governments in the face of corruption is mimicked in the private sector. Corrupt business practices continue because executives are often the beneficiaries of those practices.

    vi.            Drug Trafficking: Drug use is often practiced by disaffected youth, who in turn create demand for a drug market that fuels corruption. In countries like the United States, hard drugs are commonly associated with crime among delinquent youths. The country's demand for drugs has allowed cartels in Mexico and Central America to flourish, and the Mexican government is frequently held hostage by the will of powerful drug gangs running supplies into the United States and elsewhere.

Five solutions that I suggested to ethics vice in Tanzania.

1.      As I read the interview feature, truly PCCB should have been given power to investigate and when they see a problem, they should be the one who file the case instead of sending it to the DPP, the Director of Public Prosecution. The government should look at it so that the operation could be efficient.

2.      If we are really willing, corruption will be largely reduced. A big problem is that, we Tanzanians (of all levels) are not respecting each other. Despite laws and regulations that we agree each other that they should be followed, so that at least those who request and give bribes could slow down, we still set gaps that allow bribes. If a person is caught giving or taking bribes, there is no need to look for court evidence. He gets 12 stripes on the day he enters prison and other 12 on the day he gets out, which will be no less than three years behind bars and no fine.

3.      I like the trend of corruption vices going down Big up for the Hosea and his team. The goverment should give all the assistance neede including the establishment of corruption courts Powers of Prosecution is a must also to  PCCB.

4.      A statement by the Director shows effective leadership with no doubt. Let's wait and see if the new Constitution will give a chance to TAKUKURU and how other institutions which are responsible for decisions, such Parliament, will be involving in strengthening this organ for Control of the Good governance.

5.      The PCCB cannot work in isolation. Therefore, we also need collaboration with the state and other players in the field, locally and internationally. The PCCB is established by an act of parliament, therefore its permanence is not guaranteed. It needs to be established by the law of the land, the constitution, for permanence.

Conclusion.

Bribery will never end in Tanzania because the one who fights against it, is also taking it. How can he stop it? There isn't any institution that has got no bribery in Tanzania, and even so openly. Besides, the circumstances have been set officially for them to take a bribe. Take a simple example of going to the ministry of land and ask for documents. You will see the place is equal to auctioneer center. But I advise them not to stop taking bribes so that we will get what we need as well as they do. When you feel pity for the government, there are people who are eating it with no shame. Those who are in top positions, are taking bribes and robbing from the government without feeling any shame. When they are on forums, they preach as if there is no good leader than them. They would show you all the procedures for you to solve your problems. But go and follow them, you will see how complicated they are, you will never do it again. But bribe him one day, the next you have everything in order.

 I even advise that bribe is legalized. What is the use of employing people to stop it while nothing is done, except arresting the unlucky ones like me, or I fight with somebody who is related to top officials and am being punished. Go to Muhimbili Hospital, if you don't have money, wait for your death. Not that you won't be treated, but the tortures you will pass through will make you never willing to go back. But ask the supervisor and listen to his nice replies as there is no one nicer than him. This is Tanzania.

 I advise the government not to waste money on TAKUKURU. It should allow bribery.