It is good to see that this reluctance to tolerate corruption if becoming more widespread. Poor people in developing countries have spoken eloquently about corruption and its impact and the ways in which it prevents them gaining access to much needed public services. In India poor women speak of having to bribe forest officials for each bundle of firewood they collect. In Nigeria, parents said that teachers misused money collected by the community for school use. Corruption in the public services and the higher level corruption associated with contracts and investment projects leads to waste and misuse of development resources.
Aid is itself a target for corruption.
We have a duty to the taxpayers who provide the funding for aid to keep a close eye on the systems we have to prevent this. That is why the UK's overseas development programme is shifting assistance to countries with a commitment to poverty elimination. As a condition for our support, we expect governments to show commitment to tackling corruption. DFID's regional programmes are assisting governments in poorer countries to implement their own anti-corruption strategies. DFID is also providing support to help countries reduce the opportunities for corruption by rationalising policies and legislation and removing discretionary powers of the authorities.