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Other
Consequences
of Corruption |
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Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice
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| Public
Ethics |
What
is an ethics infrastructure? The term might sound like
quite a mouthful, and yet it has become a cornerstone
in a comprehensive strategy to fight against public-sector
corruption in modern democracies.
.As far as public-sector ethics are concerned, corruption
is a management problem. It spawns in conditions where
even the finest laws do not make it beyond the statute
books and where weak public institutions fail to enforce
the rules or provide adequate control, oversight and transparency.
Integrity is a fundamental condition of democratic government,
and countering corruption as well as promoting public
integrity are critical components of sustaining economic
development and making a successful transition to a market
economy.
Corruption is therefore not a cause, but a symptom of
breakdown. To understand it means to address the factors
influencing ethical behaviour in the public service. Which
brings us back to our notion of an ethics infrastructure.
OECD countries employ a range of tools and processes to
discourage undesirable behaviour and to provide incentives
for good conduct. They issue basic codes of conduct which
employees are expected to abide by, like rules about protocol,
behaviour and promotion. High standards of behaviour are
required in high places, too, with senior staff being
asked to lead by example, including operating in a transparent
manner. There is no single method or miracle cure for
stamping out public-sector corruption. Rather, a combination
of incentives and sanctions is needed to encourage the
right professional standards of conduct. It is the sum
of these approaches that makes up an ethical infrastructure.
For more information.
www.unpan.org
www.presswise.com.uk
www.oecdobserver.org
www.socio.demon.co.uk
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©
WANGONeT 2003