03.03.15 The 13th Snare that Causes Some Seemingly God-Fearing People to Succumb to Corruption
13. Ignoring or Failing to Read ‘Warning Signals’
One of the main reasons why some seemingly ‘God-fearing’ people succumb to corruption is because they fail to read the warning signals early enough, while other people just ignore those signals. A few of these indicators of corrupt individuals, situations or environments are discussed here, in relation to our fictitious story.
Unrealistic Gifts
Sometimes, unrealistic, aimless and ‘over the board’ gifts and hospitality from a client or fellow employee could be a ‘corruption trap’.
For instance, do you remember the handsome gifts that Delph used to load Daudi with after the mogul would return from international trips? To crown it all, the tycoon sent a chunky envelope to Ntariza, with the sole purpose of ‘buying’ the Director to drop Jenga and award the dollar-loaded contract to Delph!
Did you know that Micah 7:2-3 collectively refers to gifts, bribes and evil desires as ‘an evil committed with both hands’? It reads (NKJV): 2The faithful man has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; every man hunts his brother with a net. 3That they may successfully do evil with both hands - The prince asks for gifts,The judge seeks a bribe, and the great man utters his evil desire;So they scheme together.
My friend! The fact that God is complaining about gifts in Micah shows us that not every gift is genuine. And, not every gift is legitimate either. Some are born out of evil intentions, aiming at corrupting the service provider!
By the way, some Christians are okay with receiving any kind of gift; when it could well-be an evil-laden bait. This is how they get caught up in corruption.
Abnormally high quotations
Did you know that, apparently, it is common for corrupt employees to coerce suppliers to inflate quotations on invoices so as to accommodate kickbacks?
You may recall that this came out in our story, where Daudi, then Technical Manager at Tafiti Technologies Agency demanded that Keziya the statistician inflates the invoice by thirty percent to accommodate a ‘cut’.
If you clear such an invoice with no questions asked, the supplier could brand you as part of the syndicate. To make matters worse, the corrupt workmate could lure you into the deal by offering you some of the loot as a reward for your signature. Many ‘good’ officials have ended up succumbing to the vice through such a path. But Proverbs 11:1 warns that (EXB): The Lord hates [detests] dishonest [fraudulent] scales, …
Unnecessary ‘Red Tape’ or Bureaucracy
It is usual for corrupt officials to feign red tape or bureaucracy when their ill-intention is to camouflage justice or the rights of the people they serve; be them clients or fellow workmates. In fact, Ecclesiastes 5:8 is spot on when it says that (NLT): … matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy. No doubt, red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy commonly fuel corruption.
When Keziya the statistician met Daudi, then Technical Manager at Tafiti Technologies Agency, the man claimed that the payment process was long, hoping that the statistician would be pushed to accommodate a cut that would oil the seemingly slow financial system.
Unnecessary Preference to Meet You Privately
Corrupt clients may insist on meeting you alone. For example, you may recall how Delph summoned Daudi for a posh lunch, away from BORA’s office premises; to discuss how to get Jenga off-board.
Also, a corrupt client who already knows his or her way around your organisation could insist to meet you with workmates whom he or she has already bribed ‘behind your back’. So, if you are not alert, you could be an accessory to corruptive decisions. Worse still, they could offer you a cut by ‘counting you in’. If you are not careful, you may find yourself joining their team of corrupt officials.
Leaving No Track Record
In an attempt to cover their trail, corrupt clients or workmates may be unprepared to leave any evidence of their dealings or transactions. You will notice that they are hesitating to sign for payments (or on any other documents for that matter); insisting on cash transactions rather than cheques or bank transfers, for example. Recall how Daudi insisted that the supplier, Nalule, should deliver ‘hard cash’ in order to get her tender documents processed. Such people could prefer to transact through a third party, so that it would be impossible for their fraudulent acts to be traced back to the culprits.
Therefore, some officials succumb to corruption because the cash option looks attractively instant…! Get the money…, address a pressing need.., with no queries raised from auditors or other prying eyes and ears for that matter.
Flourishing in a Corrupt-infested Institution
Another signal of corruption is where employees comfortably and guiltlessly operate in an openly corruption-infested institution, when their remunerations are much lower than the lifestyles, salaries and assets owned. That discrepancy is what Mama Tatu must have smelt when she saw Daudi’s abrupt affluence.
If you working in such an environment, you could be sucked in by that whirlwind, as you may start feeling belittled by the meagre assets that you have, compared to those fielded by your workmates. In the effort to fit-in, you could get lured into participating in their illicit deals.
Demanding for Money to Speed up a Service
It is common for either a client to offer or for an employee to demand for money to speed up an organisation’s process or function; just like Daudi asked for a bribe to expedite the processing of Nalule’s Tender. Another version of this indicator is where officials present clients with two different rates for the same product or service: a normal rate if you want to follow the normal procedure, and a higher rate quoted ‘under the table’ for those clients who want the service ‘facilitated’.
If you are not putting your finger on issues, a workmate may approach you with ‘whatever reason’ for speeding up the process. The downside of this is that should you comply with your workmate’s request, the client may think that you are part of the deal. In addition, as already mentioned above, your colleagues may promise to give you a share of the bribe in exchange for your expedited services; and should you comply, you are hooked.
Unexplainable Disappearance of Documents
Corrupt officials hide documents with the aim of making a client so desperate that she or he has no alternative but to bribe the employee. For instance, Daudi locked up the supplier’s file, demanding that Nalule first agrees to pay a bribe before her tender documents could be processed. Once the bribe was paid, the file shamelessly resurfaced from thin air; and, tender documents were processed within just twenty-four hours!
If you are not alert, a client could think that you are part and parcel of this ‘file conjurer’ game. And indeed some ‘good’ officials have been lured into participating in such elusive activities.
Deception
‘Corruption’ and ‘Lying’ seem to be ‘cousins’. In fact, many corrupt officials are also liars; and, fraudulent behavior thrives on deception. It is not uncommon for corrupt people to say one thing today, forget what they said, then say the opposite the following day. Such people are well-described in Psalm 10:7 which reads (TLB): Their mouths are full of profanity and lies and fraud.
Likewise, our Daudi was a chronic liar. For instance, not only did he deceive the supplier Nalule that his Director, Zakayo was unavailable; he also lied that BORA’s tender processing procedures were slow, when he knew that the documents could be processed within just one day!
The problem here is that if you are not on the frontline, a client may never know that you are not part of that deception. You and your corrupt workmate cum frontliner may all be counted in the same basket. Plus, deception is infectious; so if you are not keen on ethics, you may find yourself participating in the lies and getting a share of the bribe, as a reward.
The fact that corruption and lies go together is not new. For starters, religious leaders bribed soldiers that had been deployed to Jesus’ grave; to lie that his body had been stolen! Matthew 28:11-14 reports (NKJV): 11Now while they were going, behold, some of the guards came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. 12When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ 14And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” 15So they took the money and did as they were instructed...
Creating Barriers between Clients and Management
The last signal in our discussion is the tendency for an employee to hide a boss from clients; creating a situation where they have no one to depend on apart from that official. All that is designed to make clients so desperate that they are ready to bribe in order to get things to move. Those were Daudi’s intentions when he hid his boss from Nalule and adamantly stopped her from meeting Zakayo.
So while you are readily available, a corrupt supervisee could publicise you as being out of office for example. If you are not careful, such a workmate could slowly indoctrinate you into that kind of false disappearance act, of course with a promise that you will share in the proceeds from the bribe; which of course would make you part of their corruptive scheme.