How to prevent political corruption - Stephanie Honchell Smith

翻译人员: R YANG 校对人员: Lexi Ding

On October 23, 2015, Mcebisi Jonas, South Africa’s deputy finance minister,

2015 年 10 月 23 日， 南非财政部副部长，姆切比西·乔纳斯

faced a harrowing, yet enticing, decision.

面临一项令人痛苦但又诱人的决定。

He had thought he was attending a normal business meeting

他本以为自己正在参加 一场普通的商务会议，

but ended up in the home of the powerful Gupta family,

可结果却来到了强大的古普塔家族，

sitting with the Gupta brothers and the president, Jacob Zuma’s, son.

与古普塔兄弟以及总统 雅各布·祖马的儿子坐到了一起。

Jonas was offered a promotion and $45 million.

他们提供给乔纳斯晋升机会 和 4,500 万美元。

In return, he would be expected to use his position

作为回报，乔纳斯需要利用职务之便

to advance the Gupta’s many business interests.

促进古普塔家族的诸多商业利益。

This included firing officials who opposed the construction

包括解雇那些

of new power plants,

反对建造新发电厂的官员，

which were slated to run on fuel from Gupta-owned mines.

这些新发电厂原定使用 古普塔自有矿山的燃料运行。

The deal was simple— but would Jonas accept?

这笔交易很简单—— 但乔纳斯会接受吗？

This kind of corruption in politics is nothing new.

这种政治腐败并不是什么新鲜事。

It plagued the ancient world—

古代社会就深受其扰——

the “Arthasastra,” an Indian political treatise

公元前 3 世纪的

that dates back to the 3rd century BCE,

印度政治著作《治国安邦术》中

lists 40 types of embezzlement alone.

就列出了 40 种挪用公款的行为。

So, what exactly is corruption, and what can we do to combat it?

那么，究竟什么是腐败， 我们又怎样打击腐败呢？

Corruption is often defined as a misuse of a position of power for personal gain.

腐败通常被定义为 滥用权力地位谋取私利。

For example, this could be a city clerk accepting bribes

例如，市政职员接受贿赂

in exchange for issuing permits;

给人发放许可证是一种腐败；

or a mayor appointing a campaign donor to an influential position.

市长任命自己的竞选赞助人 担任重要职位也是一种腐败。

But corruption isn’t limited to the political sphere;

但腐败不仅限于政治领域；

it can happen in schools, sports, businesses, or religious institutions.

它可能发生在学校、 体育界、企业或宗教机构。

In ancient Greece, the power-hungry Alcmaeonid family

在古希腊，渴望权力的 阿尔克迈翁家族

notoriously bribed the priestesses at Delphi to deliver false prophecies,

贿赂德尔斐的女祭司， 让她们发布虚假的预言，

like telling the Spartans they should invade Athens.

比如告诉斯巴达人 他们应该入侵雅典。

It may seem like all corruption is driven by greed,

似乎所有的腐败都源于贪婪，

but individual motives are often complex.

但个人动机往往很复杂。

There can be economic drivers,

可能有经济因素驱动，

like family pressure on an underpaid civil servant

例如家庭负担重而工资不高的公务员

who exaggerates his expenses to get more money back.

为了获得更多报销款而夸大开支。

This might not seem like a big problem, but corruption can snowball.

这似乎不是什么大问题， 但腐败会滚雪球般增长。

If anti-corruption laws aren’t enforced,

如果反腐败法律得不到执行，

or if loopholes are continuously exploited,

或者漏洞不断被利用，

a larger culture of corruption can emerge.

就会出现更严重的腐败现象。

For example, in 2009, numerous British MPs were exposed

例如，2009 年， 众多英国国会议员被曝光

for using taxpayer money to cover personal expenses,

使用纳税人的钱支付个人开支。

from home renovations to luxury purchases, and even having a moat cleaned.

款项包括房屋装修， 购买奢侈品，甚至清理壕沟。

And corruption isn't always directly about money.

但腐败并不总是直接与金钱有关。

In 2016, a Department of Justice investigation found widespread patterns

2016 年，司法部的一项调查发现，

of unconstitutional policing, abuse, and corruption

巴尔的摩警察局内部 普遍存在违宪警务、

within the Baltimore Police Department.

滥用职权和腐败。

In just one elite task force, eight officers were convicted of crimes,

仅在一支精锐特遣部队中， 就有八名军官被判有罪，

including planting evidence and robbing citizens during traffic stops.

罪行包括在交通拦截期间 栽赃和抢劫市民。

Corruption like this causes people to lose faith in government

这样的腐败会导致人们 对政府失去信心，

and can deplete much needed resources.

并可能耗尽急需的资源。

The more taxpayer money that goes into people’s pockets,

越多纳税人的钱被中饱私囊，

the less there is to spend on services that benefit the community—

越少的钱会被用于造福社会——

like repairing roads, building schools, or providing healthcare.

如修复道路、修建学校， 及提供医疗服务。

In the case of South Africa,

就南非而言，

the Gupta family plundered billions of dollars from the country’s funds

古普塔家族通过各种各样的腐败方式

through their wide-ranging corruption schemes,

从国有资金中掠夺了数十亿美元，

devastating the nation's economy.

摧毁了该国的经济。

In Baltimore, the police department cost taxpayers more than $22 million

在巴尔的摩，警察局在法庭和解上 花费了纳税人 2200 多万美元，

in court settlements and gravely eroded public trust.

严重损害了公信力。

So, how can we prevent corruption?

那么，我们如何阻止腐败呢？

While it’s important that laws set a high price for corrupt behavior,

尽管通过法律为腐败行为 设定高昂的代价很重要，

punishment is only one piece of the puzzle.

但惩罚只是解决难题的一个方面。

Transparency in terms of budget and paper trails

预算和文件记录的透明度

and support for freedom of the press are hugely important.

以及支持新闻自由都极为重要。

In Botswana, the government has built public trust

在博茨瓦纳，政府一直致力于

through their ongoing commitment to respond to corruption

公开、快速、果断地应对腐败问题，

openly, quickly, and decisively.

从而建立了公信力。

In Denmark, government ministers must publish monthly reports

在丹麦，政府部长们 必须发布月度报告，

cataloging their spending on entertainment,

记录他们在娱乐、

official travel, and any gifts they’ve received.

公务旅行和收到的 所有礼物上的开支。

As citizens, we can vote out those who engage in corruption

作为公民，我们可以投票 淘汰那些参与腐败的人，

and question officials who push back against transparency measures.

质询那些反对透明度措施的官员。

And we can stand up against corruption when we see it.

当我们看到腐败现象时， 能够挺身而出，反对腐败。

In South Africa, Jonas refused the Guptas’ offer,

在南非， 乔纳斯拒绝了 古普塔家族的提议，

and despite threats against his life, spoke out,

尽管生命受到威胁， 但他还是勇于发声，

exposing a sprawling web of corruption that toppled Zuma’s regime,

揭露了庞大的腐败网络， 推翻了祖马政权，

and sent the Gupta family into exile.

并使古普塔家族流亡海外。

But it wasn’t just Jonas’ revelation that mattered.

但是，这件事中起作用的 并不仅仅是乔纳斯的揭发检举。

Once the scale of corruption was unearthed,

当这一大规模腐败被揭露后，

everyday South Africans took to the streets,

每天都有南非人走上街头，

insisting that “Zuma must fall.”

坚持“祖马必须倒台”。

By using our civic voices,

通过群众的呼声，

we can fight back to ensure that tax dollars don’t line pockets,

我们可以抗击腐败， 确保税款不会流入私人口袋，

but instead benefit everyone.

而是用于造福大众。