'Defence is the last refuge of grand corruption’

John Githongo, former Permanent Secretary for Governance in the Government of Kenya

The defence establishment has historically been one of the least open government organisations to public or intra-governmental scrutiny. The secrecy that necessarily veils some defence activities often extends much more widely than can be reasonably justified, making the sector particularly vulnerable to the abuse of corruption.

The problem of corruption is recognised by many defence establishments around the world, and increasingly recognised by defence companies.  A 2006 survey by Control Risks suggested that roughly one third of international defence companies felt they had lost out on a contract in the last year because of corruption by a competitor.

There are good reasons for addressing corruption specifically in the defence sector, both for those in charge of defence establishments and for those promoting development:

Defence and security - corruption has a dramatic impact on the operational effectiveness of the military forces. It means troops are equipped with equipment ill-suited to their needs. It means aircraft are purchased according to how large the accfompanying bribe is and not according to their capability... read more

Economic and social development - corruption is costly and a waste of scarce resources; whether through bloated or unnecessary procurements, payment of non-existent soldiers, corrupt privatisations or asset sales, corruption in the defence sector occurs at the expense of more socially productive investments such as health and education...read more

Public trust in the armed forces - corruption reduces public trust and acceptance of the military. Pride of the civilian and military staff in their service is seriously degraded when the staff know of corruption in their leadership. The Global Corruption Barometer 2006 shows that around the world the military are generally held in high esteem. Fighting corruption helps militaries to keep that trust...read more

Integrity across government - the secrecy that shrouds the sector makes the sector more vulnerable to the misappropriation of resources than others. As a result, the defence sector can act as a concentrator of corrupt behaviour in government. Funds can be siphoned from the sector by the ruling elite to finance election campaigns or for personal gain. In this way corruption in the defence sector can keep a corrupt infrastructure of middlemen, accountants and lawyers in business...read more

Peacemaking and peacekeeping - corruption reduces the credibility of national and international forces on peace-keeping missions. In Afghanistan for instance, concern about corruption is reaching a point where it directly threatens the success of the Government of Aghanistan as well as the ISAF mission. Corruption has now reached a level where the legitimacy of the new State institution is at stake in particular in the most isolated areas where the state was virtually nonexistent during the last 25 years... read more