The World Health Organization should produce a vaccine against corruption and the International Criminal Court should endorse it. Corruption is ruining lives more than diseases. It is itself a pandemic.
All other pandemics are attended to, but corruption is the only pandemic which is not attended to. Wars are fought for and at the end, brought to an end, but the war of corruption is unending. It is being fought year in, year out.
Anti-corruption commissions and Pandora Papers are formed as weapons to fight corruption, but they are formed for the sake of formation, and not for the sake of fighting against corruption. Corruption has conquered the world in general, Africa in particular and South Sudan in extra particular.
When the culprits of the Pandora Papers were read out and no South Sudanese was mentioned, I disturbed my brain’s equilibrium, wondering how satanic the corrupt individuals have become. I thought two, three or more corrupt South Sudanese would be mentioned to terrify the less corrupt ones to slow down corruption.
Unfortunately, none was mentioned, not even a slip of the tongue to mention one. Despite our poor relation with the public funds, the praises and supports that we bestow upon corrupt individuals nurture corruption and sharpen its horns so piercingly that it is always excused.
Celebrating the corrupt individuals is an insurance of corruption against eradication in Africa generally and South Sudan particularly, with that of other African countries being tried to deal with. But that of South Sudan is not even being talked about, leave alone being dealt with.
The indicators of corruption have been blinking since the liberation struggle, but they were ignored following the fact that the governance was not worldly recognized. When South Sudan became independent, the headlights of corruption keep flashing with glare light to signal the institutions concerned with corruption to wake up and formulate ways of eliminating corruption.
When Anti-corruption commissions and Activists against corruption woke up, they found themselves being chained down unknowingly by the candidates and retirees of corruption. How were they chained unknowingly? They were chained by the subordination of their system under the system of those they wanted to deal with.
And because when they lobby, they lobby from those they want to deal with, their words of lobbying chained them down more than any other attempt to quieten them. Anti-corruption commissions are called independent commissions but I disagree with that name, not because the name does not fit. The name fits best but the action is contrary.
If they were independent, they would decide independently and expertise their institutions superbly without the public seeing the image behind them as that of the participants and retirees of corruption. The corrupt individuals usually reside within the voices of activists and chairpersons of anti-corruption commissions purposely to neutralize their actions against corruption.
This is what disarms them of weapons against corruption. The chairpersons of anti-corruption commissions are disarmed not because they come disarmed, but because they lose their weapons during lobbying.
As long as corruption conquers the country, service delivery escapes and the country finds herself in great turmoil that requires years to rectify. Corruption undermines democracy and good governance, therefore a country presided over by corruption becomes malnourished and loses her nationhood.
A lion never runs away when it has killed a cow until the owner of the cow comes. However much other people chase it, it knows the sacrificial actions of the owner. Now that the resources being corruptly acquired belong to the peasants and a few servant-hearted people, why can’t they rush rapidly to rescue them?
The corrupt individuals have refused to eat public funds with spoons, they eat them with bowls. The public shouts and the corrupt individuals continue to be involved in corruption. The activists and chairpersons of anti-corruption commissions screech to stop corruption, but the corrupt individuals mind their own business.
It takes five years or more for South Sudan to move forward just an inch. This is an insignificant step to take while the other countries are moving faster. Yes, a country being pulled by tribalism and pushed by corruption cannot move forward as expected. Until when tribalism and corruption are brought to an end shall South Sudan grow.
Thanks for reading “Sowing The Seed Of Truth”.