The corruption ‘mafia’ in the Arab world

Nidal Mansour /

As usual, countries in the Arab world have toppled the Corruption Perceptions Index, which is released annually by Transparency International, and of course it’s not a strange thing that raises people in shock and amazement. , and the public authorities of these countries do not declare a state of emergency and a public mobilization to face this scourge which afflicts the structure of the State and causes the failure of sustainable development, if there are plans to promote sustainable development.

Corruption is an international phenomenon that transcends continents and borders, and it occurs and is practiced in rich and poor countries. Likewise, it occurs in democratic countries, and of course it invades and settles in tyrannical countries, and becomes part of state structures. International reports reveal that two-thirds of the world’s countries suffer from widespread corruption, in varying proportions and in various forms.

Statistics explicitly state that the cost of corruption in the Arab world is 3% of GDP and is estimated at $ 90 billion per year. This “stolen” money, which enters the accounts and pockets of leaders and businessmen, could have bridged the growing class divide in these countries, solved the growing problems of poverty and unemployment and announce unlimited disasters.

Somalia ranks 180th in the 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index released by Transparency International this month, and is the last country on the index and the most corrupt country on the country list. A little better than Syria, in 178th place, Yemen in 176th and Sudan, ravaged by protests for weeks, in 170th place. Umm Libya, which has not stabilized for years after the fall of Gaddafi, and the power struggle is still ongoing, in 170th place, and Iraq in 168th place, Mauritania in 144th.

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The best Arab countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index were the United Arab Emirates at 23rd, followed by Qatar 33rd, followed by Jordan, 58, and Saudi Arabia at 58, followed by Tunisia, with a difference of 73rd.

Examining the numbers need not come out with a clear conviction that corruption is a hallmark and a hallmark of countries in the Arab world. It can also be concluded that the absence of democratic rules and the peaceful transfer of power from the Arab world, with very rare exceptions, are among the causes of widespread corruption. We can also say that the syndromes of wars and military coups, the loss of stability, the marginalization of citizen participation, the absence of good governance, the loss of democratic structures, the absence or the weakness of monitoring, in addition to weak civil society and diminished independence of the media and the judiciary are all factors that fuel and perpetuate the state of corruption.

There may be a deviation from this general rule in some Arab countries, despite weak democratic structures in countries like the Emirates and Qatar, for example, they have achieved successes by slipping off the bottom of the list. corruption, and it may be a reference to the dominant political will of the authority to present the state as a different model, to the general Arab context, to entrepreneurship and to attracting investors.

Other countries have made signs of slight progress in the fight against corruption, such as Jordan, Tunisia and Egypt, and this is due to measures and measures and the imposition of certain rules of good governance, even if the road ahead is long and difficult.

The discovery of corruption does not require much proof in many countries of the Arab world, because the cases of rapid and sudden wealth are sufficient proof of suspicion of corruption, and every day the media present and present information about the abuses and attacks on public money, and present cinematographic films on the phenomena of corruption Always in my memory, the film of Adel Imam “Morgan Ahmed Morjan”, a businessman who buys everything, and knows how to bribe and adapt everything the world. The scene, and wins the football championship after buying the debts of the referees and the opposing team, and this satirical film is not an exaggeration, because at the time of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, the names mentioned by the Lebanon have penetrated all the joints of the state.

Yes; It does not take much effort for everyone to “smell” the smell of corruption, because this minister who comes to power only has his salary, whatever his age, and you find that after a short period, he has palaces. , the luxury cars, and the money deposited in his personal accounts inside and outside the country, and the question that it generally raises People and the public authorities do not pay him attention, of where did you get this?

The manifestations of the crisis are evident in the Arab world. Political corruption through the abuse of power is the best environment and climate to deepen economic and administrative corruption, because the spaces between public money and power almost disappear, and the hidden and open relations between the government and the people of business is consolidated at the expense of the values ​​of transparency, integrity and the rule of law.

In the Arab world, we can say that corruption has become a culture, and this culture is not exclusive to the ruling authority, but rather extends to people who do not see corruption in wasta, and do not find hard to strike the concept of equality. possibility of meeting if they are for their children, parents, clan, sect or political party, quotas become a right and not corruption, and the authority consecrates these phenomena and feeds them so that their great corruption is forgotten .

There are a lot of little things that are considered corruption, and they are ignored from the top of the pyramid down in Arab countries, corruption becomes a “tip”, extortion becomes a “hallucination” and a “jadana”, and conflict of interest is a Western lie invented by civil and international institutions to destroy the values ​​of extended relations and kinship ties. … etc of tawashahat plotting against our Arab values.

Corruption in our Arab world is a< mafia >> institutionalized and equipped with production lines that begin with the realization of personal interests in public work. It develops, develops and develops in networks that facilitate crime, prostitution and trafficking in human beings, as well as< courtiers >> and commissions for arms sales and drug trafficking, and can end in cover-up and support for terrorism.

After years of so-called “Arab Spring” revolutions, we wonder if there is justice, rule of law and inviolable people’s rights. What if their right to education, health and a decent life were available … would they sacrifice themselves for change? Without the enormous wealth they saw with their own eyes as men of power and business when they were destitute, would they have been angry and exploded even if they had paid the price for the stability of their country? and their Safety?

Legitimate questions, and increased pain and tragedy when the prosecution began, as well as local and international affairs to recover billions of dollars for ousted leaders such as President Ben Ali, Muammar Gaddafi and Mubarak, who had been deposed in European and American banks and safe havens and so far their files have not been closed.

I have a popular question related to conspiracy theory: why have western countries remained silent and silent about the corruption that is being committed in our Arab world, while they have saturated us with theories about the dangers of corruption? and its consequences?

Does Arab corruption serve the interests of Western countries, so don’t discuss much when commissions are paid in billions for arms deals as long as they are the seller and the beneficiary, and as long as the money is ultimately deposited with it, and as long as all those whose corruption you know have become within its reach and do not stray from its control and do not engage in it?

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If you want to count the corruption stories known in the Arab world, you will tire of not being able to “inventory” them. In every country there are stories suitable for films. They can be added to the Guinness Book of Numbers. I remembered that when I visited a country years after the fall of its regime, my media companion told me: “The money he stole Political leaders, according to an economist’s estimate, were sufficient to pave all the lands of his country with gold. “

For the Arab world to be victorious in its battle against corruption, it must first win in its other battles, it must free itself from the legacy of tribes and sects, and it must also wait for democracy to see the light in his countries, and so that citizenship has a meaning and not a creation, and the rule of law has a value and not slogans, and the human being has a status It is not a number in the dictionary of their systems.