[Radix] Re: The Pakistan quake: Why 10,000 schools collapsed

[James Lewis]

None of my comments that follow are meant to suggest that the 
destruction of schools and deaths of children is not tragically 
serious, or that corruption does not matter. Both corruption and 
earthquake destruction are impassioned and emotive subjects: my 
concern is that each requires analysis, as does their co-incidence.

First an overview: Chapter 9 (Johann Lambsdorff) in the Global 
Corruption Report 2005, referred by Ben, gives Transparency 
International's tenth annual "Corruption Perceptions Index". Briefly, 
the index comprises 146 countries, virtually every country in the 
world, ranked in terms of the degree of corruption perceived from a 
set of international data sources. Countries where corruption is 
least perceived are at the top of the ranking. Pakistan comes 132nd. 
Finland, New Zealand and Denmark are first, second and third. 
Corruption affects us all, in some degree.

Corruption, in my view, is a cultural as well as purely ethical or 
financial matter. In many countries, it is a traditional, ingrained 
and systematic process often regarded as normal and habitual. It can 
be simply isolated cases of bribery but is more often a sequential 
process of baksheesh step by step from the top of a hierarchy down to 
the bottom - a payment for favour granted, such as construction 
contracts or subcontracts.

Corruption in construction is invariably last of a long line of such 
payments, not all of the"30 - 60 percent" goes to one person, but it 
does mean that only 40-70 percent of an amount of money gets spent on 
what it is intended for; only a reduced number of buildings built or, 
more likely, all are built to lower standards by cutting out 
quantities of steel and/or cement in reinforced concrete etc. As I 
have repeatedly stated, construction lends itself to short-cuts by 
the nature of its necessary processes of repeated coverage of what 
has been done - from foundations in the ground to the last coat of paint.

In the 10,000 communities of Pakistan where schools were destroyed, 
what other buildings were there that had been built by public funds ? 
In many, schools would have been conspicuous as the only one, and 
attracted attention for their failure as such, as well as for the 
killing of children - a fine distinction perhaps. Dwellings also were 
destroyed, in which people died, but dwellings, more often than not 
in rural communities, are self-built and would not, I suspect, have 
incurred corrupt practices in their construction, or not to such an 
extent (for the time being, I am assuming the destroyed apartment 
block we all saw images of to have been urban). Had the children in 
Pakistan been sleeping, at home, when the earthquake occurred, then 
child deaths in similar proportions probably would not have appeared 
so obviously and with such public impact. Child deaths would likely 
have been obscured within the total of deaths. In Algeria, in 1980, 
another earthquake caused the destruction of schools but on the 
Friday 'Sabbath', so children were not killed in them.

These, and many other, causes and characteristics, should be seen in 
national context, and therefore must be remedied in context, albeit 
with globally sourced assistance. There are professional financial 
and physical working practices to ensure against "between 30 and 60 
percent of funds for government buildings" being taken by corrupt 
officials. Such working practices of rigorous management and 
inspection are themselves relatively costly (against no management at 
all or to pay local inspectors appropriate salaries to reduce 
temptation of bribes to look the other way) but are more likely to be 
nearer single figures as a percentage of project cost with the 
advantage, where successfully applied, of resulting in 
earthquake-resistant construction quality.

I have worked in-situ on sites internationally, in developing and 
developed countries, where generally corruption is alleged to occur, 
and I have written on corruption in construction. I have faced it and 
countered it, directly, and I have also suffered its effects, 
professionally. I know Pakistan not at all and if others have 
comments to add to mine, then please do so. Corruption is by its 
nature an elusive subject and as long as description and evidence 
remains scarce, so will its remedy.

For certain, international assistance for reconstruction will be 
harder to attract while Pakistan remains so low on the corruption 
perception index.

James