Transparency Series #1 - How Blockchain can Dismantle Corrupt Governments
Fidelia Amezhinim Job
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4.6.21
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So many countries of the world over the years have been plagued with the same problem, the lack of transparency in government affairs, citizens of these countries accuse corrupt officials of syphoning public funds to amass generational wealth. Kenya is reportedly losing up to a third of its budget to corruption each year due to a lack of modern equipment and technology for fighting graft, as failures to track corruption cases cause the country to lose as much as $6 billion each year.
This plague has led to a lack of trust in the public sectors between citizens and the government, but how can it be nipped in the bud to ensure future generations do not suffer for the sins of their parents? And how can blockchain technology be potentially used as a weapon to fight against corrupt governments through the adoption of digital currency?
The technological advancement of Blockchain has a huge potential to increase the accountability and transparency of public financing to protect from fraud and forgery. It is defined as a continuously growing list of blocks (transactions) made by using cryptocurrency that is recorded chronologically. It functions on the principles of decentralisation and verification.
What this means is that digital information can only be distributed but not copied, each piece of information has a single block (owner), and blocks cannot be altered without the alteration of all subsequent blocks. Due to its decentralized nature, information is stored in multiple locations and updated instantly. This way, the information cannot be altered without being verified by the public.
Presently, officials wield so much power, from access to funds to awarding of contracts and have become accountable to no one but themselves, which leads to misappropriation of funds but through this technology, if a government decides to construct a road, it can now track how each dime is being spent, identify all the users of the funds, and ensure that only those authorized to spend money do so on originally intended expenses within the permitted time.
Although some countries may be averse to this technology, this is because they recognise it will expose a lot of discrepancies and easily detect mischievous practices, bring a whole transformation to the operations in a country and ultimately exclude illegal activities and fight corruption to the core. When a government adopts a digital currency, they benefit from it because financial resources do not end up looted by individuals but are used to meet the ever-growing needs of its population.
It has essential features that will help regain integrity in public sectors by verifying identities and promoting transparency by tracking funds. Crypto technology will be here to increase the confidence of people towards the government and because these digital tools are highly dependent on codes; it assures security significantly.
