Thanks Kita, yeah i do agree that there are good people who seek a life in pubic service. I think they maybe hamstrung however if they don't comply with the agenda of those who control things. I think there have also been purges of genuine public services due to the way game theory has been applied to politics (the documentary 'The Trap' on google videos talks about this process in both the US and the UK, if you're interested. It's in 3 parts but explains a lot!)
Perhpas the best way of cutting down on corruption is to design it out of the system ie remove the need for it!