Introduction
Over the years, many disasters have occurred in various parts of the world, causing serious damages that have taken years to address. One of the most notable elements about most of the disasters that have been documented in various parts of the world is lack of adequate preparation in case of their occurrence (Fernando, 2015). Most governments do not have enough funds set aside for dealing with disasters, thus leaving the affected people at the mercy of well-wishers through donations.
Reports indicate that disaster relief is one of the main avenues of corruption that are easily targeted by people seeking to make easy money. Disasters often create a conflict environment characterized by genuine people seeking to offer a helping hand to those affected and those looking for opportunities to steal some of the money donated for relief services (Richter, 2007). The power imbalance created during a disaster situation makes it easy for powerful and influential people to be corrupt because the victims are often highly dependent on the resources they coordinate (Fernando, 2015).
Lack of good planning identifies as one of the main contributing factors to the challenge of corruption during disaster relief. Governments have a huge responsibility of ensuring that resource allocation is done in an organized and coordinated manner in order to avoid creating loopholes for corrupt characters to exploit (Saban, 2016).
Studies have established that one of the main elements that attracts corrupt individuals during disasters in the spirit of humanitarian action. During disaster situations, people normally come together in a show of solidarity with those affected by offering various humanitarian services. Some people choose to volunteer their services (Brooks, 2013). Others opt to donate money and other form of resources, while others engage in mobilizing people to offer all manner of support. In the midst of all these activities, some individuals create avenues for misappropriating the relief resources by offering auditing and coordination services among others (Richter, 2007). In most cases, it is hard to single out such individuals because everyone purports to work under humanitarian grounds.
Disaster preparedness plays a very crucial role in promoting the spirit of humanitarian action and undermining the activities of corrupt individuals. Research has established that lack of proper disaster preparedness mechanisms encourages vices such as corruption because of limited regulation (Fernando, 2015). This encourages people in influential positions to have illegal control over the donated resources, thus forcing the needy survivors to engage wrong means in order to survive. Standard procedures applied during the reconstruction process after a major disaster is often overlooked in order to sustain corrupt activities (Brooks, 2013).
Transparency and accountability are crucial elements of corruption during disaster relief. According to studies conducted by the transparency international, most cases of corruption during disasters are necessitated by the fact that there is little transparency with regard to the amount and nature of resources donated by various people (Saban, 2016). In most cases, monetary resources donated to assist during disasters are often spent without any meaningful system of ensuring accountability, thus making it easy for corrupt individuals to swindle the funds (Richter, 2007). The lack of accountability often generates increased negative influences on the life of the affected people because the ability to rebuild their lives without further hardships is often compromised.
Studies have established that all forms of corruption mainly thrive in environments characterized by poor governance structures and political irresponsibility. In most countries that have been hit by big disasters in the past, the number of corruption cases amidst the humanitarian efforts were mainly due to lack of political will (Richter, 2007). Political leaders have failed in their mandate to come up with the necessary legislation that will provide guidelines on the collection, organization, and distribution of resources donated for relief. It is very common to hear of cases where people that were not even affected by a disaster being enlisted to receive aid at the expense of genuine victims (Saban, 2016).
Mitigation measures
According to Transparency International, it is important for governments to develop highly inclusive disaster management programs that allow all the involvement of communities, the civil society, donors, and the private sector (Brooks, 2013). All the stakeholders should focus on identifying the main priority areas in terms of the government’s capacity to handle different kinds of disasters. The programs ought to be result oriented and developed based on the most important needs (Guttry, 2015).
Corruption during disaster relief is also necessitated by limited capacity among the vulnerable communities. Reports indicate that most people do not take mitigation measures such as insurance to caution them from suffering huge losses in case of a disaster (Saban, 2016). Their only hope remains the aid support provided by the government and well-wishers. Therefore, it is important for governments to come up with policies that make insurance services affordable and easily accessible (Fernando, 2015). This will make it possible for people to get compensation for their losses and use the money to reestablish themselves.
According to transparency international, the countries that have managed to handle disasters in an effective manner have existing national disaster agencies that coordinate and implement humanitarian efforts (Guttry, 2015). This has helped them eliminate any loopholes that corrupt individuals can exploit when handling resources meant for relief purposes (Brooks, 2013). Therefore, it is important when governments have good disaster preparedness programs in readiness for any calamity. They should not wait for a disaster to happen to constitute a management body.
National aid tracking systems are a tool that governments can use to help their people access aid as soon as they are hit by a disaster. Studies have established that donor agencies and international organizations have a higher liking for governments with such systems because they can easily monitor the way different disasters are addressed (Richter, 2007). This tool also helps in addressing the challenge of corruption because the degree of transparency and accountability is very high.
Accountability is a very important element during disaster relief. In order to achieve this feat, it is important to ensure the involvement by the relevant government agencies and various communities. Community members help in expressing their priority needs and ensuring that the programs developed by the government are adequately inclined towards meeting them objectively (Brooks, 2013). Therefore, involving community members in assessing the way resources are used during disaster relief ensures transparency and accountability.
A report by the transparency international on the challenge of corruption during disaster relief identified that governments have a huge responsibility of empowering their people in terms of identifying and reporting criminal activities such as corruption (Saban, 2016). This entails creating effective channels for reporting people asking for bribes from beneficiaries of disaster aid and a program to protect people that report cases of corruption.
The roles of donors
Studies have established that cases of corruption during disaster relief are often influenced by lack of proper coordination between government programs and those of various donors. This often leads to duplication of programs, thus making it easy for corrupt individuals who steal money through double payments (Richter, 2007).
Donors have an ethical responsibility of ensuring that the various government agencies tasked with handling the money they give out for relief purposes have the essential capacity to meet the needs of the affected people (Saban, 2016). Importantly, they should ensure that the legal frameworks governing the procurement of resources during disaster relief in the respective countries of operation address the various elements of a disaster situation adequately.
According to the Transparency International, disasters often attract different kinds of people. One of the main groups of people involved during such times is volunteers, who offer different kinds of services as needed. Donors have the responsibility of ensuring that the process of assessing the needs of the affected people and allocating resources to them is not conducted by volunteers (Brooks, 2013). The main reason for this is the fact that they may lack enough knowledge about the programs used by the donor, which could easily create loopholes for corrupt activities.
Example of corruption during disaster relief
One of the infamous disasters in the world is the torrential rains that hit Bulgaria in 2004 and 2005. The rains led to extensive flooding across the country, which caused many damages. Reports indicated that 257 municipalities across the country were affected (Nikolova & Marinov, 2015). In its bid to help the affected people reestablish their lives, the Bulgarian government gave a total of 67 million Euros as relief aid. The mayors of the affected municipalities were responsible for deciding the way the money would be distributed. At the time, Bulgaria was ranked as the second most corrupt country in the European Union. Investigative reports by various media in the country uncovered numerous instances in which politicians took the money meant for relief and spent it on their own interests. A total of 59 million Euros was swindled by politicians in the ruling party through unscrupulous deals awarded to firms they owned (Nikolova & Marinov, 2015). According to a report released by the Bulgarian National Audit Agency in 2006, the money was swindled in three major ways. First, contracts were awarded without bidding. Those that were awarded through bids did not consider the highest bidder. Secondly, a lot of money was allocated to cater for repair on buildings that did not have any notable damages. Thirdly, a substantial amount of money was paid for work that had not been done (Nikolova & Marinov, 2015).
Conclusion
The major corruption loopholes that exist during disaster relief are necessitated by factors such as lack of political will, uncoordinated relief programs, and the spirit of humanitarian action. Political leaders have failed in their mandate to come up with the necessary legislation that will provide guidelines on the collection, organization, and distribution of resources donated for relief.
The most effective strategies for addressing the challenge of corruption during disaster relief include using highly inclusive programs, encouraging donor participation, limiting the services of volunteers, and increased political will among others.
References
Brooks, H. (2013). Using Social Media for Global Security. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Fernando, L.S. (2015). Strategic Disaster Risk Management in Asia. New York, NY: Springer.
Guttry, A. (2015). International Disaster Response Law. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Nikolova, E., & Marinov, N. (2015). How Disaster Relief can Increase Corruption. Web.
Richter, W.L. (2007). Combating Corruption, Encouraging Ethics. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield.
Saban, L.I. (2016). International Disaster Management Ethics. New York, NY: SUNY Press.