The absence of democracies, particularly in Africa and Latin America, opened avenues for mass corruption. But when it happens in democratic states, the electorate, caught napping, has to take full responsibility for allowing graft to take place. In other countries where no tax regimens exist, as in Pakistan or many in developing countries, as well as a few of the bankrupted European nations that sought bailouts, similar situations exist where the fiscus reaches unsustainable levels due to pressures bought about by poor tax revenues. All in all, any nation that has as its head sleazy characters to whom the welfare of a state does not take precedence over personal aggrandisement, will be left devoid of growth, international trading partners and a myriad problems that stunts both nation-building and morale. Past despots — the Sesekos, the shoe-loving Imelda Marcos, the Khan land-owning barons, the Kabilas — all were apprentices compared to the capturing South Koreans and South Africans...

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