Introduction
Like many African countries, Mali is unfortunately facing the challenge of corruption, a phenomenon that is compromising its development and is also a source of social imbalance and frustration.
Actors in Corruption: The Corruptor-Corrupted Duo
As the saying goes, there is never a bribe without a bribe-taker. This assertion is sufficient to identify the players in corruption, which is an act that takes place between two people, either moral or physical. The bribe-giver, who offers the bribe, in order to benefit from favours, advantages or services in an illicit manner, or the bribe-taker, who asks or accepts a bribe from the bribe-giver in exchange for advantages, favours or services in an illicit manner. Based on the above explanations, we can speak of active bribery in the first case and passive bribery in the second case. These cases, which are well explained above, show that contrary to what the vast majority of Malian public opinion thinks, the corrupt is not the only actor in corruption, as its implementation depends on the collaboration of the corrupt.
Major Causes of Corruption
Social perception favourable to corruption
The first cause is social: society reserves a judgment without qualms for those who exercise functions of responsibility or work with exemplarity and rigour recommended in a word it is favourable, an admirer of corruption.
Lack of political will
The second is political: the reality is that the fight against corruption has never been the concern of our governments. Their battles are limited to rhetoric and nothing more, as evidenced by the fact that there are never any exemplary and dissuasive sanctions against anyone.
Possible Solutions for Corruption
To eradicate corruption we need to do a collective introspection and awareness on the part of all of the dangers that corruption represents for us, our future, our development and our stability; promote a culture of transparency, integrity and merit in order to create a new model citizen; encourage the reporting of corruption by protecting whistleblowers; and, punish all those found guilty of corruption in an exemplary manner by establishing sufficiently rigorous legal instruments in this area and by ensuring that the legal mechanisms and the players who operate them are effectively free in order to act as a deterrent, and thus guard against any possible emulation.
Conclusion
The fight against corruption requires both a serious commitment on the part of leaders and a real desire and positive change in the behaviour of society, otherwise the evil will persist and the rhetoric will remain ineffective.
