Be they national or international donors, the fact that they do not care whether what they have donated reaches the target people or gets lost on the way, makes them thieves.
They are thieves who steal in broad daylight. They are thieves who pretend to assess the people in dire need of assistance in order to triple the donations. Once tripled, they would get away with the bigger portion and donate the smaller one.
They are thieves who steal other thieves’ property. They steal things and give them to other thieves to steal from, and then give the remainder to the target people. It is a remix stealing. International thieves steal international donations and give them to local thieves. Such thieves are called “abakaak” in Dinka language. They are the type of thieves whom Governor Rin Tueny Mabor majorly deals with. I wish I were Salva Kiir Mayardit to give Gen. Rin Tueny Mabor a side-dish assignment to deal with donors. They would pay a heavy price for it.
Donors are part of success if what they have donated has improved the livelihoods of the target people. If hunger is eradicated in South Sudan, donors for food assistance are part and parcel of the eradication history. If quality education is achieved in South Sudan, donors funding education are part and parcel of the achieved quality education. If disasters, such as flooding, famine, drought, fire, landslide, earthquake, and tsunami, are managed as soon as they occur, donors engaged in the management are part and parcel of the disaster management as their names shall go down in the history. So, donors should not mind their own businesses.
Educational sector is the most funded sector, but the poorest one of all. The Ministry of Education receives multi-donor funds every year, but because the donors do not care whether such funds are used appropriately or not, quality education is not yet achieved today. Sometimes, donors can be part of the team delivering the funds, but because South Sudan is conquered by corruption, such funds become misappropriated.
Because of multi-donor funds, education was declared free in South Sudan, with a strong promise to pay teachers on a monthly basis. But both donors and government failed to fulfil the promise, maybe because they have squandered the funds, and teachers continue teaching unpaid.
The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management is another ministry receiving multi-donor funds as it is concerned with returnees from Sudan, war IDPs, flooding IDPs, and other disasters, but it looks like nothing has never been done to save the lives of these disadvantaged groups of people. Donors are donating here and there, but no sign of improvement is seen so far as protection sites are still overcrowded and returnees are still stranded at the airport. It looks like donations get lost between the donors and the government. Why? Why would big people cheat themselves?
It would be good if donors donate and become part of the team that is going to deliver the donations. Inspection matters! This way, they would come to know whether what they donate reaches the target people or not. When it reaches the target people, well and good. But when it does not reach the target people, they can refuse to donate next time, whether voluntarily or when asked to donate. Whether they exchange donations for something, is a case to study. It is better to refuse to donate than to give your donation to a hyena to deliver it.
Thanks for reading “Sowing The Seed Of Truth”.