Edifice of Corruption and the Agenda for Good Governance

Abstract

Corruption is the reality that has a great impact on so many aspects of the country's economic growth, including foreign direct investment, gross domestic products, exchange rates and inflation etc. The World Bank (2001) has identified corruption as the single greatest obstacle to economic and social development. World Bank (2004) has estimated that more than US Dollar 1 trillion is paid in bribes each year and those countries that tackle corruption, improve governance and the rule of law could increase per capita incomes by 400%. In Transparency International's (TI) Corruption Perception Index, India ranked 83 in 2003, in 2010 it ranked 87th out of 178 countries evaluated. India tops the list for black money in the entire world with almost US$1456 billion in Swiss banks (approximately USD 1.4 trillion) in the form of black money. According to the data provided by the Swiss Banking Association Report (2006), India has more black money than the rest of the world combined. Indian-owned Swiss bank account assets are worth 13 times the country's national debt. It is generally acknowledged that constitutional democracy is the basis for good governance as good governance is the antidote for corruption. Thus, the paper will engage in the conceptual examination of corruption as a phenomenon before analysing the constitutional mechanisms and framework discussed, as a prelude to highlighting certain emerging prospects for combating and preventing corruption in the Indian state. The observations and conclusions thereafter will flow logically from the preceding discussions.