Corruption

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• Last month, KPMG polled 300 Canadian organizations victimized by fraud to learn about the types of scams they have experienced.
• ESG fraud occurs when a company's environmental, social and governance efforts or data are exaggerated, embellished, or distorted.
• Additionally, 86 per cent are concerned that the pressures are increasing the risk of ESG-related fraud happening within their organizations, and 81 per cent are concerned their organization could inadvertently commit ESG fraud.
• Ms. Seidler says the survey findings underscore the need for organizations to implement strong controls that properly address ESG fraud.

• In a 2023 Afrobarometer survey, 77% of Ghanaians surveyed responded that corruption was on the rise in the country.
• As scholars of psychology, we set out to examine the overall levels and effects of perceived corruption on mental health in Ghana.
• We found that people’s perception of corruption in Ghana had a negative impact on their mental health.

Study method

We used a survey to collect data from 730 university students in Ghana. The participants’ average age was 22 years and they were studying for different degrees. We measured their perception of corruption by asking them to respond to four statements. The responses ranged from “not at all” to “extremely likely”:
State institutions are corrupt (for example public universities, hospitals).
Politicians and other government officials are corrupt (for example, parliamentarians and ministers).
In this country, people who have money/resources can influence any state institution(s) or government official(s) for personal gain.
In the last 12 months, I have seen a person influence/induce state institution(s) or government official(s) with money or other thing for personal gain.

The mental health burden of witnessing corruption

• We also investigated the question of what aspect of corruption had the greatest impact, and on what aspect of mental health.
• What we found was that witnessing corruption among state institutions and government officials, and the perception that the rich could influence these officials for personal gain, was strongly associated with depression and anxiety symptoms among our participants.

Why does corruption affect mental health in Ghana?

• Firstly, witnessing corruption may reinforce the negative beliefs about harassment, uncertainty and arbitrariness that are associated with corrupt practices.
• We discovered that the links between witnessing corruption and mental health problems could also be traced to certain tendencies for people to:

remain silent to protect or save others from being caught in order to maintain relationships
report to get the corrupt person sacked and ruin relationships
conform to a culture of corruption either in solidarity or for fear of being victimised.

• These tendencies can potentially create psychological discomfort that may lead to mental health outcomes such as anxiety and depression.
• There is a need to rethink the effects of corruption perceptions and to redefine it as a social determinant of public mental health.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• The only real question is whether he will receive more than 75% of the vote.
• It could be tempting to see these results as a sign of the strength of the Russian system.
• It is also increasingly dysfunctional, trapped in a cycle of poor quality and weak governance that cannot be solved by one man, no matter how much power he has.

The constitutional dark arts

• This centralisation is the product of an increasingly common logic that I call the “constitutional dark arts”.
• This logic generally holds that democracy and rights protection are best guaranteed in a constitutional system that centralises authority in one elected leader.
• This line of thinking is present in many populist, authoritarian countries, such as Hungary and Turkey.
• Thirty years later, however, we can see how this use of the “constitutional dark arts” backfired spectacularly.

Poor quality governance in Russia

• Although this centralised system has allowed Putin to dominate politics, it fosters weak and poor governance, particularly outside Moscow.
• First, centralised decision-making in Russia is often made using incomplete or false information.
• It was based on intelligence that the operation would be over quickly and Ukrainians would likely welcome Russian forces.
• In his February 29 address to parliament, Putin tacitly acknowledged these problems, promising new national projects to improve infrastructure, support families and enhance the quality of life.

An increasingly dysfunctional Russia

• Externally, this centralisation is likely to produce an increasingly unpredictable Russia, led by a man making decisions on the basis of an increasingly paranoid world view and incorrect or manipulated information.
• It will likely foster harsher repression of any dissenting voices inside Russia, as well.
• We are also likely to see an increasingly dysfunctional Russia, one in which roads, housing, schools, health care and other infrastructure will continue to deteriorate, particularly outside of Moscow.

William Partlett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.