[mjklin]

Adding to your point: in a tribal culture within a "state" that began as some convenient lines drawn by westerners, when your tribesman gets into political power it will be expected of him to reward his tribe with jobs and/or monies from the public coffer.

When a common person needs help from above, he or she turns to the tribe strongman rather than a bribe-seeking policeman or bureaucrat.

While this may look like "corruption" to westerners, it is understandable in places that have different political histories than the west.