I have been traveling to India for business frequently in the last couple of years. It's a country that I enjoy visiting, for its rich history, depth of cultural heritage and great hospitality. I have also been a huge fan of India's famous epics, the Mahabarata and Ramayana, and it is great to see the places that inspire these amazing stories. One main advantage of being very involved in developing businesses in India is that I get to see and visit places, meet people and observe things that many other people would not have the privilege to experience.
In one of the trips, I attended a logistics conference and listened to a captivating presentation done by a journalist. He did a recount of his 8 days of investigative journalism to tell the story of a life of an Indian truck driver. To do a credible story he decided to disguise himself as a truck driver's assistant, fully immersing himself to the task of delivering goods from Chennai (south of India) to Delhi (north of India). Unbeknownst to him, he would witness the level of inhumane hardship that the drivers had to face throughout the journey. He was so taken by his experience that he did a passionate presentation to raise awareness of this social issue, and managed to mesmerize the audience for more than 45 minutes.
His presentation was eye opening to most people, even to those who knew but chose to ignore. He described the poor hygiene condition the drivers face, the horrible abuse they receive on the road, the unaccounted risks to their lives due to poor safety standards and poor road conditions, their severe separation from their family, the little acknowledged psychological and physical side effects that include injuries or sexual diseases they contracted. He also highlighted in many ways the main cause and enabler of all these problems: the rampant corruption across the board.
Road conditions are poor because the construction budget that was made available went to someone's pocket instead. The abuse to the drivers happened because the state border patrol wants to have that extra money, otherwise he will block the vehicle from passing through. The poor truck condition were allowed to pollute the road and endanger the driver's safety, because the law enforcement authorities can be bought easily and cheaply. Corruption to society is like bacteria to our body: it takes life when the immune system is weak, and it can cause other illness to come in.
While corruption exists everywhere, it seems that it is not well understood.
First, most people like to think that there is a higher moral ground position against corruption. Many global corporations and some countries announce that they have "zero tolerance to corruption". In practice most of them who wants to do business in India or trade with India will still use the services of those truck drivers, indirectly pay the border crossing bribes, close their eyes and ears to the hardship of the drivers, as long as they can distribute their goods. The problem with this hypocritical approach is that nobody gets to understand why and how the corruption happened in the first place. At the end, it will be perpetuated or made worse, not better.
Second, most people thinks that criticism on corruption will help solve the problem. Some rating agencies publishes the annual analysis of the most corrupt countries in the world. The problem is that this type of analysis helps nobody, offers no solution, and does nothing in changing the behaviors of those who does the corruption in the first place.
Third, most people thinks that corruption is a black or white matter. A UK anti corruption act considers gift giving, or favor giving as an act of corruption and violators will be prosecuted under this law. It also specifies that if one uses someone who uses someone who does gift giving, then one is still guilty for corruption. This applies in UK, or to anyone in the world who deals with the UK. The problem of creating a stupid law is that it will not be enforceable, and in the mean time it wastes everyone's time. Business is built on relationship, whether it is done in UK or in India. Relationship involves some form of favors and gestures, whether we like to acknowledge it or not.
The governments, policy makers, corporate leaders and individuals should take a practical approach to corruption, not a philosophical or a moral one. Just like bacteria, corruption can be eradicated only through good hygiene and better immune system. Therefore in every country there has to be good organizational "hygiene", which involves transparency and regular processes of check and balance. There has to be strong immune system, by putting honest people at the key positions while in the mean time ensuring that nobody can stay in power too long. Governance and policies are key to eradication of corruption, but only when it is made at a practical level.
As per the problem of truck drivers living condition in India, there is a solution. I have been a part of a government sponsored project to promote rail as an alternative mode of transportation in India. After intensive work for more than 1.5 years, we are nearing the implementation time. This project has a powerful social impact: it will dramatically reduce the need of truck drivers to drive long distances. This helps the life of these drivers as they can stay closer with their family, have a better lifestyle and have less exposure to the border corruption. It is just a little example that practical solutions are everywhere. We just have to start by acknowledging the problem, not pretending we are above it.
Pune to Mumbai, by road
Friday, July 20, 2012
In one of the trips, I attended a logistics conference and listened to a captivating presentation done by a journalist. He did a recount of his 8 days of investigative journalism to tell the story of a life of an Indian truck driver. To do a credible story he decided to disguise himself as a truck driver's assistant, fully immersing himself to the task of delivering goods from Chennai (south of India) to Delhi (north of India). Unbeknownst to him, he would witness the level of inhumane hardship that the drivers had to face throughout the journey. He was so taken by his experience that he did a passionate presentation to raise awareness of this social issue, and managed to mesmerize the audience for more than 45 minutes.
His presentation was eye opening to most people, even to those who knew but chose to ignore. He described the poor hygiene condition the drivers face, the horrible abuse they receive on the road, the unaccounted risks to their lives due to poor safety standards and poor road conditions, their severe separation from their family, the little acknowledged psychological and physical side effects that include injuries or sexual diseases they contracted. He also highlighted in many ways the main cause and enabler of all these problems: the rampant corruption across the board.
Road conditions are poor because the construction budget that was made available went to someone's pocket instead. The abuse to the drivers happened because the state border patrol wants to have that extra money, otherwise he will block the vehicle from passing through. The poor truck condition were allowed to pollute the road and endanger the driver's safety, because the law enforcement authorities can be bought easily and cheaply. Corruption to society is like bacteria to our body: it takes life when the immune system is weak, and it can cause other illness to come in.
While corruption exists everywhere, it seems that it is not well understood.
First, most people like to think that there is a higher moral ground position against corruption. Many global corporations and some countries announce that they have "zero tolerance to corruption". In practice most of them who wants to do business in India or trade with India will still use the services of those truck drivers, indirectly pay the border crossing bribes, close their eyes and ears to the hardship of the drivers, as long as they can distribute their goods. The problem with this hypocritical approach is that nobody gets to understand why and how the corruption happened in the first place. At the end, it will be perpetuated or made worse, not better.
Second, most people thinks that criticism on corruption will help solve the problem. Some rating agencies publishes the annual analysis of the most corrupt countries in the world. The problem is that this type of analysis helps nobody, offers no solution, and does nothing in changing the behaviors of those who does the corruption in the first place.
Third, most people thinks that corruption is a black or white matter. A UK anti corruption act considers gift giving, or favor giving as an act of corruption and violators will be prosecuted under this law. It also specifies that if one uses someone who uses someone who does gift giving, then one is still guilty for corruption. This applies in UK, or to anyone in the world who deals with the UK. The problem of creating a stupid law is that it will not be enforceable, and in the mean time it wastes everyone's time. Business is built on relationship, whether it is done in UK or in India. Relationship involves some form of favors and gestures, whether we like to acknowledge it or not.
The governments, policy makers, corporate leaders and individuals should take a practical approach to corruption, not a philosophical or a moral one. Just like bacteria, corruption can be eradicated only through good hygiene and better immune system. Therefore in every country there has to be good organizational "hygiene", which involves transparency and regular processes of check and balance. There has to be strong immune system, by putting honest people at the key positions while in the mean time ensuring that nobody can stay in power too long. Governance and policies are key to eradication of corruption, but only when it is made at a practical level.
As per the problem of truck drivers living condition in India, there is a solution. I have been a part of a government sponsored project to promote rail as an alternative mode of transportation in India. After intensive work for more than 1.5 years, we are nearing the implementation time. This project has a powerful social impact: it will dramatically reduce the need of truck drivers to drive long distances. This helps the life of these drivers as they can stay closer with their family, have a better lifestyle and have less exposure to the border corruption. It is just a little example that practical solutions are everywhere. We just have to start by acknowledging the problem, not pretending we are above it.
Pune to Mumbai, by road
Friday, July 20, 2012
