Visualising the impact of corruption
Citizens understand that corruption is ‘bad’, but it is in danger of becoming an abstract concept. Their experience may be limited to paying bribes for services, but people do not tend to relate this to the grand scale loss that occurs when public funds are misused. We need to juxtapose the costs of corruption to what they are actually paying and what is being lost as a result. We need to democratise the data on corruption, so its meaning is not lost in reports read by a select few. This can be done through info-graphics, pictures, and a website where users can interact with datasets, and other creative means.
Some questions could be:
- How much is corruption really costing you?
- How much are you really paying for that bribe?
- What is the Cost of your child’s schooling, feeding an average Kenyan family, medical assistance at a clinic, deaths on the roads, HIV/AIDS treatment, working water systems?
An example of a comparison could be be 200kSH for a police officer = 200,000KSH damage due to unresolved crime or Anglo Leasing scandal = 100 superhighways?
A website could also be developed to showcase the data in an interactive and presentable way for the general public. Some of the data sources can be obtained from ipaidabribe.or.ke, East African Bribery index, corruptions perceptions index, other reports we can source, and further research.
Additional information:
- An organisation that we work with with data on corruption reported: www.ipaidabribe.or.ke
- A good example of clear breakdown of data: http://wheredoesmymoneygo.org/
- Our facebook and twitter and blog have lots of information on our existing campaigns.
- East Africa Bribery Index
