Corruption has no place here

Editorial One

An Indian Newslink reader, faced with the demand for money in exchange for ‘favourable consideration’ of a visa application filed by his sister, contacted us saying that he would rather have the application declined than subscribe to graft.

We arranged to record the telephone conversation and provided a copy of the tape to investigators at Immigration New Zealand.

Eight weeks on, we have heard nothing from the department.

Our front page report on the subject  (November 15) has opened floodgates of public opinion –some condemning the trend and some narrating their experience with Immigration New Zealand and demanding immediate and stern action against the corrupt officials.

While corruption at any level in any country is unacceptable, it is more so in New Zealand, which has the reputation of being the least corrupt in the world (Corruption Perception Index 2009, Transparency International). We as a nation, expect cleanliness among not only politicians but also public servants. We have always held graft in any shape or form as unacceptable and criminal.

It is unfortunate that those likely to be implicated and charged in the case currently under investigation are of Indian origin, for such instances are likely to impact on the processing of applications lodged in India and Fiji. If anything, applications from some areas would be subject to protracted checks and delays.

Our politicians say that honesty and integrity are an integral part of New Zealand’s public administration. Unfortunately, that statement cannot include all departments of the Government. To its great embarrassment, Immigration New Zealand has earned itself a decidedly caddish reputation in the field of business integrity. Complaints of open bribery at its offices in some countries, notably India, Fiji, Hong Kong and China have surfaced from time to time, and despite the best of efforts invested, the reputation remains tainted, as successive governments have failed to eradicate this menace from its roots.

However, from an international perspective, we have done better than most other countries of the developed world, notably Britain and the US.

Last year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) laid into Britain’s record on cracking down on bribery in securing foreign business.

The OECD pronounced itself “disappointed and seriously concerned about the UK’s continued failure to address deficiencies in its laws on bribery of foreign public officials and on corporate liability for foreign bribery.”

The same year, Britain suffered a slight from Transparency International, which downgraded Britain’s score on its annual “corruption perceptions index.”

Britain still ranked 16th best out of 180 countries (and comes a respectable joint fifth in a separate bribery index), but it was mortified to slip, for the first time, below a score of eight. Some experts believe that a string of high-profile allegations of corruption made against both companies and parliamentarians last year was responsible for the slide.

That stung. For the obsession with fair play is not just a national myth: in international crime surveys, Britons are among the least likely in the world to report having experienced corruption among public officials.

When MPs are alleged to have broken even relatively minor rules, there is widespread outrage, as it is in New Zealand.

So it is good that after years of tinkering by the government, Britain’s Justice   Ministry outlined plans for a new bribery law that will plug some of the gaps businessmen have long been wriggling through.

The bribery bill would replace a mad hotchpotch of laws going back to 1889, and would introduce a new offence of corporate failure to prevent bribery by employees.

Companies in Britain could be prosecuted for turning a blind eye to bribery, as well as actively carrying it out. The clause ought to prevent firms from protecting themselves by allowing a junior employee to take the flak for breaking the rules if they are discovered.

The current National Government has placed immigration reform on the front burner. The exercise should include a more robust system with zero tolerance towards graft. Corrupt officials and those who attempt to bribe them should be brought to book, punished and most important, exposed in public.

As a responsible publication, Indian Newslink will continue to be a watchdog and report the woes of the public.