Defending our Interest at the Expense of a Nation: A response to Media Liaison Officer-Nile Pet
By Daniel Deng Mario, Juba, South Sudan
May 31, 2017 (SSB)— In response to Media Liaison Officer-Nile Pet who responded to my article I wrote against the Managing Director of the Nile Pet, I would like to state categorically onset of this response that whatever I wrote in that article still remains correct as it is and it is not considered rebutted whatsoever.
In opening of this response and in respect to the Media Liaison Officer whatsoever his or her gender is, has made unfounded and baseless response to my article just to defend supra interest embedded in the management of Nile Pet. Since I am not sure of the gender of the said officer, I will in this response use the pronoun “he” in order to make it easier for my readers to follow my response to him in this article.
I must also add that as I will be discussing the points raised by the Media Liaison Officer in defense to my article I will be responding to each point in rebuttal so that time is saved for my readers.
Having said that, I would like to go straight the business of the day in this article in response to the Media Liaison Officer-Nile Pet as in his article entitled: NEPOTISM &TRIBLISM: ASSCUSATION AGAINST NILE PET MD BASLESS AND UNFOUNDED –REBUTAL that was published on 27th May, 2017 Vol.2 issue 372 by the dawn newspaper in which he put the following points in defense to my article—
First of all, that nepotism is not a crime as it is a matter of ethics and by implications it means that it can be practised as long as one practicing it does not care about ethics.
In support to the above point, he said and I quote “when US president appoints his family (two elder sons, a daughter and her husband) to run vital officials duties in the whites house, there were cries of nepotism, but brushed aside such criticism and said that nepotism is a subjective idea and is a fact of life, but maintain that is family members are educated and capable to hold public offices. But the bottom-line is that does your friend or relative have the qualifications and experiences that the role demands?”
That Nile Pet forbids nepotism and all its forms because it is deemed as un ethical matter. Nile pet believes that in theory and practice, nepotism could have upset expected deliverables and is also disruptive to institutional harmony. Accordingly, employment in Nile is based on the principles of meritocracy, efficiency, effectiveness and experience.
In reply to the above point, I would like to say that such an argument shows high level of lack of understanding of the term Nepotism. In definition, Nepotism is the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving those jobs irrespective of their qualifications. Hence, nepotism is based on favoritism granted to relatives in various fields, including business, politics, entertainment, sports, religion and other activities.
In fact, nepotism is a common accusation in politics when the relative of a powerful figure ascends to similar power seemingly without appropriate qualifications. This makes Nepotism to be a form of political corruption. Political corruption in this respect is the use of powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties, is done under color of law or involves trading in influence.
Wikipedia states that the forms of political corruption to include bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influence peddling, graft, and embezzlement (see; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_corruption). Corruption may facilitate criminal enterprise such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking, though is not restricted to these activities. Thus, since nepotism is a form of political corruption and as we all know corruption is a crime in South Sudan, then, nepotism is a crime punishable under the anti-corruption law of south Sudan.
For the Media Liaison Officer-Nile Pet making simplistic argument that “Nepotism is not a crime in south Sudan’s illegal parlance, but it is considered unethical, and Nile pet is aware of its depravity” is rather ignorance of the highest order and support by view that people who are employed in Nile Pet are not employed on their qualifications but on who knows who.
In that respect, if the said Media Officer of the Nile-Pet were someone competent he would have research on the meaning of nepotism based on the question whether there is any literature that considers nepotism an illegal act that can constitute a crime under the law of South Sudan.
However, due to the incompetency and lack of information, the Media Liaison Officer of the Nile Pet exposed his naked ignorance about the illegality of nepotism in South Sudan. Failure to understand that nepotism is a crime further unearths other fact about the said Media liaison Officer, who fears to consult his colleges or legal officers in regard to the status of nepotism whether it is a crime or not. This shows that the said Media Liaison Officer of the Nile Pet does consult his colleagues, due to fear of exposing his ignorance to them hence exposing his ignorance to the general public in that response I am responding to in this article.
What I just need to advise my friend, the Media Liaison Officer in Nile Pet is that nepotism is corruption hence it is crime punishable by law. It is not therefore ethical as such because it is at the same level with other corrupt practices prohibited by law.
It ceases only to be corruption if relatives or friends appointed have necessary qualifications and this is why the issue of the US president appointing his family (i.e. two elder sons, a daughter and her husband) to run vital officials duties in the whites house was not considered to be corruption hence there were cries of nepotism. Bringing such an example to back up illegality in Nile Pet is uncalled for.
There was a clear nepotism in the appointment of the current Managing Director of the Nile Pet due to the following reasons— first of all, I am an eye-witness to his appointment. There were many lobbying activities involved before his appointment as one of my friends related to him was a major architecture in the campaign for his appointment. This shows that there was no competition in order to say that he was appointed based on merit.
Second to it, that Managing Director of yours is a husband to the Daughter of one of the female ministers in the national government of South Sudan who is also a close friend to the president, which would have made it easier for him to be appointed without any difficulty as he is related to the said Minister who is in turn related to or close friend to the president.
Given the reasons above and the fact of general knowledge that jobs in South Sudan and in relation to the jobs like the one in the Nile Pet where people earn hard currency like the USA Dollars such jobs are not accessed based on meritocracy but on friendships and relationships. Hence, the appointments of those working in Nile Pet including the Managing Director and you were not based merits. This rebuts the argument that there is no nepotism Nile Pet.
The second the said Media officer in the Nile Pet raised in defense to my article is that what my accusations about nepotism is politically motivated, or are created to launch campaign of opposition. I do not need to be harsh in response to this argument because like any other sector in South Sudan when a person says the truth then that person is either supporting a certain political group or is a rebel.
But, in fact the accusations of so and so is a rebel or his or her actions are politically motivated is just a way how to control anger against mismanaged and corruptions in public institutions by individuals who are insecure and incompetent like the Nile Pet Liaison Media Officer.
The fact is that these accusations of political motivation or rebellion are unfounded. This assertion is supported by the arguments I have already put forward above which proves beyond reasonable doubt that nepotism was at play during the appointment of Nile Pet and they cannot deny those points I have raised above. Hence, for that reason, I have to say that there is no political motivation in what I was talking about in the previous article.
The Media Liaison officer in the Nile Pet further exposed his nakedness in regard to ignorance by attempting to rebut the arguments in my previous article that and I quote: “For the benefit of readers and to rebut wild claims that Nile PET boss employs kith and kin, be informed that the Executive Secretary in MD’S Office hails from Aweil State, private Secretary comes from Yirol and the Office Manager hails from Rumbek, but not a family member to MD. The three gentlemen responsible for MD office management are educated with reasonable.” This argument is quite naïve as the said Media Officer is ignorance of the meaning of nepotism.
As I have already stated above, nepotism, is a form of political corruption, which means the use of powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain, which is done under color of law or involves trading in influence. Thus, trading in influence, or influence peddling, refers a person selling his/her influence over the decision making process to benefit a third party (person or institution).
As I can be understood from the above point, the Executive Secretary in MD’S Office though hailed from Aweil State, private Secretary though comes from Yirol and the Office Manager though hailed from Rumbek, were not appointed based on merit but they were appointed under the influence of other most powerful figures in the government or friends to the Managing Director. It may not even be far from the truth that these individuals were appointed as a promise made by the Managing Director to those who were lobbying for his appointment. This shows that there was influence in their appointment which is a form of political corruption in the Nile Pet.
It is just a clever way of doing things by appointing individuals from different states but underneath there is a clear network syndicate who has absolutely controlled the system. So, the project is a plot to retain continues practising political corruption undercover of power and resources sharing to the detriment of the populace.
Thus, the three gentlemen responsible for MD office management were not appointed based on their education per se but they were appointed under their own influence based on the role they played in the appointment of managing director or under the influence of some big figures in the government. Hence, this rebuts the rebuttal of Media Liaison Officer in the Nile Pet how three Officers in that office were appointment.
The Media Liaison Officer further pointed out in defense to my article that in many cases, Nile-PET has a policy f non-discrimination and equality of opportunities. So the accusations of nepotism are baseless and should be treated with utter disdain they deserve. As an established policy, Nile-PET hires individuals for their best experience and education.
This is but hypocrisy. It appears that the Liaison Officer does not know the meaning of discrimination. Discrimination does not stop because of policy but it is something done through practice and as we see in most cases in South Sudan the law is there but what is prohibited by law is still being practised. For example, some time back a son of the well-known general in the army was employed in Nile Pet leaving out someone who was not a son of general yet there has been a policy of non-discrimination in Nile Pet.
So discrimination does not stop because of the law or policy but it stops when there is a will to work according to the law or policy. In Nile Pet I there is a lot of discrimination going on and this rebuts the attempted rebuttal to my point on discrimination in that article.
The Media Liaison Officer points out that my criticism is not constructive but it appears that he does not know what constitutes constructive criticisms. To tell him the fact, constructive criticism is that criticism which is based on rebuttal fact and since what I wrote were facts that are true then it is constructive criticism. Anyway, constructive criticisms are a matter of taste and preference and it is also subjective words. So, the Media Officer is free to explain what constitutes constructive criticisms.
Rubbishing my article as based on pointless critics based on trivial personal animosity, is unfortunate and that is the fact of South Sudan. In South Sudan major of the people and in particular those working in offices look at truth as baseless while lies are valued. One thing I need to tell the writer is that I do not have any grudge with the managing Director but he has fallen into the wrong angle so the truth is at work.
Saying that the criticism in question is a non-star, non-constructive, apathetic kind of evaluation of Nile pet performance points to the simplistic way of looking at things by the writer. The Media officer indicates that he is just acting like ‘desperate local vigilant, worried about personal interest in a competitive South Sudan where rate of dependency is unprecedented such as never been seen before’ to use his word. His response indicates serious frustration since he sees that his interest is in jeopardy if the managing director, his employer is gone he must also go as well. He is therefore using all means to defend his master either by crook or fair means.
The so-called media liaison officer said I was reported to have accessed MD’s office and the office manager couldn’t arrange my meeting with MD. Mr. Officer, it seems as if you and the people managing the MD’s office are acting like trained professional liars in words and actions. It is always good for People like Thelweng Mathiang Rok the MD, to be employing intellectuals of ebullient sagacity in such as offices not uneducated, conmen and mediocre of media liaison officer’s caliber. I have never thought of going to Nile pet to meet the MD on my personal interests.
In a nutshell, I’m “the voice of the voiceless” and if the truth and the rule of law are not put forward, the sky is the limit whatsoever. The profiles of the following guys are on my table: Thelweng Mathiang Rok the MD, Emanuel Ring Kiir, Matai Rin the Ghost so called media liaison liaison officer, I called him a ghost because he has got no specific name there he might be a spirit of dead person and Daniel Deng Mayak. The next articles are in the loading in pipeline.
The writer can be reached at via mariodeng@gmail.com/0956518990
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