Corruption in both its grand and petty forms is a defining character of the public sector in many low income countries throughout the world. As a recognized problem, it is often quantified and its manifestations recorded and lots of books published about it. In spite of all the talk and discussions about corruption, the responses that have been adopted tend to be generic. These solutions often require ethical training for policemen, better surveillance, establishment of specific anti-corruption agencies, mandatory disclosure of income for politicians and tightening of rules and new laws against corruption. not only are these ideas uninteresting, they have had little effect in most corrupt countries.
An Indian lawyer and entrepreneur named Shaffi Mather has an idea that has stunned me both for its freshness but also because it introduces a profit element into the fight against corruption. In the TED talk on this page, he talks about having designing a business that uses a number of innovative tools and approaches by trying to fight corruption by adoption of a private and fee-based service to citizens who are faced with demands for bribery in order t receive public services. While the talk is slightly less than a year old, I find this a fantastic approach to a very serious problem that undermines growth in Africa and Asia in particular. Perhaps I should take a sabbatical and study his approach because he seems to have something to teach about business solutions to corruption.
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