In general, Nepal is a small South-Asian country that nobody in the first world knows if it exists or not. The only time Nepal ever comes across people’s minds is when they hear about Mt. Everest or The Eight-Thousanders.
With a population of around 30 million packed together in the total area of 56,827 mi², it won’t be surprising to hear that Nepal is one of the prosperous countries around. Unfortunately, the statistics beg to differ.
Just like in the case of any other poor country, corruption is deeply engraved into its very core. A third world country with people so corrupt, they’ll gnaw at a slightest of opportunity. The Palm-Greasing has become something of a culture here with people bribing officials for doing as much as lifting a cup of water.
The more we dug deep, the more corruption we find. But Corruption isn’t the only thing that hinders the growth of this country. In fact, corruption is just a catalyst leading to a much greater problem and that is lack of Civic Participation.
In numerous surveys, researchers have found that the country with morally rich citizens didn’t suffer as much from the plague that is Corruption and stagnant Economy. If citizens of a particular country don’t sell out their ethics and morality for the sake of monetary or other benefits, then the poor country such as ourselves won’t suffer as much.
There has been no concrete reason as to why a person becomes corrupt but it’s clear, lust for power is one reason. The system in Nepal is so drenched in corruption that even if a person with a higher sense of ethics comes into power, he/she is not able to end it.
It is even harder to comprehend that even the educated citizens of Nepal are brazenly involved in corruption. Though corruption is one of many factors dictating the growth of a country, it still is a root problem.
For instance, a person who is a Chartered Accountant by profession will do everything in his/her knowledge to help evade his client’s company the taxes they’re supposed to pay, unfortunately, these are just a tip of the iceberg.
According to a report, poor country loses almost a trillion-dollar every year due to corruption. If you live in a rich country, the figure might not be so astounding, but for the poor, it begs to differ.