Corruption in Nepal: Forms, Strategies and Recommendations

This paper discusses the various forms of corruption in Nepal, including bribery, chakari, and afno manche. It also suggests strategies to tackle corruption, such as empowering the CIAA and maintaining transparency in governmental processes. The paper concludes with recommendations for citizens to change their attitudes towards corruption. Subject: Business Ethics and Sustainability. Course Code: N/A. Course Name: N/A. College/University: N/A.

Running Head: Corruption in Nepal
BUSINESS ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY

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Corruption in Nepal
Executive Summary
The main aim of the paper is to understand how corruption has led to the degradation in Nepal.
Corruption has been a major concern for most of the countries nowadays and has been a center
of political attraction in all countries. It is now a widespread disease which is prevailing across
the globe and in every corner of the world. One of the major causes of setback for Nepal is the
corruption which is practiced at all levels of the society. There are different forms of corruption
which will be discussed in this study. Also, the focus will be given to the local governing bodies
to take some necessary steps against it.

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Corruption in Nepal
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Forms of corruption.........................................................................................................................3
Bribe.............................................................................................................................................3
Chakari.........................................................................................................................................4
Afno Manche................................................................................................................................4
Strategies to be implemented to tackle corruption..........................................................................5
Recommendations............................................................................................................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7

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Corruption in Nepal
Introduction
Corruption is a phenomenon which is having many sides and is very complex in nature as it
exists in various forms varying across the countries. Corruption has been given several
definitions like "an act of bribery", "using power for self-profit" and "misuse of authority".
People have been addicted and constantly exercising this issue for self-need and greed. With
different manifestations, corruption has become the root cause of evil for developing economies
which exists in various forms. The common forms of corruption are fraud, bribery, extortion,
embezzlement, Nepotism etc. which are quite prevalent in almost every country.
In recent years, Nepal has been incriminated with this widespread disease called corruption. The
main topic of political parties and a matter of national importance has become corruption in
Nepal. A prime reason for Nepal being an underdeveloped nation is due to this factor. The course
of corruption varies from country to country and similarly, Nepal has its own forms of corruption
other than the common forms existing. In this paper, the intent is to classify the various forms of
corruption prevailing in Nepal and devising strategies to tackle the same which is a major agenda
of every democracy.
Forms of corruption
A multifaceted phenomenon is something which is having different faces, similar to corruption
which exists in different forms across the countries. It has started an economic debate in the
country. After the reinstatement of democracy in Nepal, there was a rise in the number of
political parties in the country which led to the surge of illegal activism in the country in several
forms (Rose and Peiffer, 2015). Some of the major forms existing in Nepal are:
Bribe
Money in the form of cash or gift which is offered to someone for the procurement of something
illegal or seeking a favor for own greed is stated as a bribe. Bribery has been given several
definitions like favoritism (giving preference to someone over other), patronage (giving illegal
support), and nepotism (favor given to relatives by someone holding a patronage). It has been
brought into notice by several Nepali business communities who claimed that they have offered
bribes or forced to do so in order to accomplish their agendas more proactively. It helps to
expedite the process as no one likes to go through the legal way which is way time taking and
complex (Banuri and Eckel, 2015).

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Corruption in Nepal
Also, the businessman of Nepal has been involved in running illegal activities across the country
by offering bribes to the officials and running a business under their shadow. The business
environment has been affected severely due to this the impact on the economy of Nepal. The
governmental policies and procedures are believed to be unfriendly which sometimes forces
people to involve in such kind of illegal activity. Although the issues of corruption are common
in every country but in it Nepal has been leading the charts in this scenario (Köbis et al., 2017).
(Source: Khanal, 2018).
Chakari
Chakari is a concept wherein people who are more powerful politically and administratively are
served or appeased. It is done in order to seek favor from these people as they are the ones who
have their influences in every sector and people run after them. They are served, respected and
people prove their loyalty to them in return of favor or personal greed. The people expect
something in return for all the good deeds done. Chakari has become an important aspect for the
people of Nepal.
It is mostly prevailing among the government employees who are linked to this form of
corruption in order to get a promotion or make their jobs safe. The people who are generally

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Corruption in Nepal
involved in this practice are called as chakariwal. The social life of the people of Nepal has been
integrated with chakari. This has gained more limelight due to the fact that the local governing
bodies are itself involved in some way or the other which has made this form of corruption
difficult to demolish (KC and Kharel, 2017).
Afno Manche
This term is used to link one's own near and dear associates. This may include one's family
members, friends, close relatives who can be approached in case of any need. This is generally
termed as seeking a favor from the people who are known (Subedi, 2014). The attributes which
are considered important for a person such as skills, qualification, training doesn't have any
prime importance in case of afno manche. As the feeling of belonging is enough to be considered
for this. An example can be taken from an organization perspective wherein a person is favored
due to their closeness to the person holding the power rather than the ones who are actually
qualified and skilled to take up the role easily (Integrity, 2018).
It is a kind of Nepotism wherein the person in power gives importance to the close associates and
has become very common and existent. This form of corruption in Nepal has shifted the
paradigm to biases and people are now being preferred having afno manche. If it continues to
exist then the ones who are genuinely skilled and trained will also be involved in such kind of
corruption (Gottschalk and Stanislas, 2017).
Strategies to be implemented to tackle corruption
It is now the prime motive of the local governing bodies that the various forms which are
existent in Nepal are to be decreased and demolished. The decline of corruption has now become
the matter of national importance. Although, Nepal has already devised a few guidelines and laid
down strategies but it should ensure that it is playing its part efficiently, as the conventional
techniques and strategies are not sufficient.
Nepal government has established various constitutional bodies to fight corruption such as CIAA
(Commission for the Investigation of Abuse and Authority) whose prime motive is to investigate
and dig deep into the cases where people have complained about misuse of authority by a person
holding a powerful position. The government should ensure that this constitutional body gets full
support of the people and other important bodies who are capable of providing a transparent

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Corruption in Nepal
audit report about a company or individual. It should be ensured to keep a check on the public
resources and the revenue collected in order to minimize the gaps where corruption can prevail.
Also, several laws have been established by the government and various acts have been enacted
to tackle and diminish corruption. The Prevention of Corruption Act was formulated as a helping
aid to CIAA to smoothen the process. The government should ensure that timely legal provisions
are formulated in order to curb corruption keeping in mind that peace among the people of Nepal
is maintained and there is no disturbance in the society. The morality and discipline should
remain constant while tackling the issue so that people can also cooperate when it comes to
fighting against corruption (Graycar, 2015).
Recommendations
Although the government has been actively involved in keeping its foot forward in every case
where corruption exists, still there are specific recommendations which should be formulated in
order to increase the efficiency. The constitutional body i.e CIAA should be authorized with
more powers and freedom so that appropriate and harsh actions can be taken by them in case of
any person or organization involved in case of corruption. It would be better if there is a
transparency maintained in every governmental process or project which involves huge funding.
It will ensure that there is no illegal outsourcing of money to any of the officials and every penny
is accounted.
Lastly, the most important recommendation which can be taken into consideration is by the
people of Nepal itself. It is the mere duty of the citizens of Nepal to take a stand and express
their views on the issue. Before changing the country, it is the duty of the people to change
themselves and the attitude towards corruption. As money is not the main concern but the
people's attitude and mindset is the main problem.
One should change their thinking and realize that involving in such kind of act will only result in
the loss of their country and their people. Along with this, the rules and regulations laid down by
the country should ensure that the people are strict with the guidelines devised against fighting
corruption. Whosoever involved practicing any form of corruption should be handled strictly and
legal actions should be the first step that should be taken against them.

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Corruption in Nepal
Conclusion
Hence, it can be concluded from the above discussion that corruption is the root cause for the
downfall of not only Nepal but also for every other country. Corruption has been a major issue
for Nepal for years and has been growing exponentially. The local bodies are the one who can
actually act as the saviors of the country. With proper guidelines and acts, it should be ensured
that the stakeholders involved in corruption should be charged with justified legal terms and
without any biases. Every person should be treated equally and should be provided an equal
platform. Also, it is the sole duty of the citizens of Nepal to make sure that this disease should be
cured with immediate effect.
References
Banuri, S. and Eckel, C., 2015. Cracking down on bribery. Social Choice and Welfare, 45(3),
pp.579-600.

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Corruption in Nepal
Gottschalk, P. and Stanislas, P. eds., 2017. Public Corruption: Regional and National
Perspectives on Procurement Fraud. CRC Press.
Graycar, A., 2015. Corruption: Classification and analysis. Policy and Society, 34(2), pp.87-96.
Integrity,G., 2018.Nepal corruption report. .[Online]. Business anti-corruption. Available at
https://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/nepal/. [Accessed on13 September].
KC, G. and Kharel, P., 2017. The Dynamics of Representing Nepal's Struggle for Modernization:
from Nepalization to Fatalism. Dhaulagiri: Journal of Sociology & Anthropology, 11(7), pp.130-
50.
Khanal,S., 2018. Nepal ranked as third most corrupt country in SAsia. [Online]. The Katmandu
post. Available at http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2017-01-26/nepal-ranked-as-third-
most-corrupt-country-in-sasia.html . [Accessed on13 September].
Köbis, N.C., van Prooijen, J.W., Righetti, F. and Van Lange, P.A., 2017. The road to bribery and
corruption: Slippery slope or steep cliff?. Psychological science, 28(3), pp.297-306.
Rose, R. and Peiffer, C., 2015. Paying bribes for public services: A global guide to grass-roots
corruption. Springer.
Subedi, M., 2014. Afno Manchhe: Unequal Access to Public Resources and Institutions in
Nepal. Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 8(2), pp.55-86.