South Sudan: Corruption is a devilish act
Corruption
By Pal Chol Nyan, Juba, South Sudan
Tuesday, October 06, 2020 (PW) — Corruption is when you take something which does not belong to you and you think you are right and it is your right to do so.
It is when you take money or abuse your power excessively and yet you force others to accept that you are right even if it means defending that right by all means available.
This is what it means to be corrupt in lay man’s language. The SPLM leaders/ commanders who later became the politicians and the rulers are the accused. When they realized that they were spotted in their corrupt businesses , they turned against themselves and here we are; in something similar to statelessness.
The same SPLM leaders absconded from doing what they should have done; building the country and establishing Institutions. They indulged themselves in corrupt practices . They call it a compensation for having fought the war. I think they are trying to translate into self- enrichment what the Late Chairman Dr John Garang used to call “payback time” for those who have born burnt of the 21 year-old war.
If I were a teacher, I would teach the school children that corruption means stealing; be it money or whatever; you can also steal the employment by having your relatives or members of your ethnic groups in key positions. Some call it being kind to relatives.
Others say it is their right that when their tribesman or woman is in the position, they own that Institution or the country. This is what hampers the development because all the money will be eaten by the relatives who are not subject to the laws of the country.
Our leaders are corrupt to the core. I know this statement once costed a respected University Professor who was the deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation his job but I have no job that will be taken away, thank God.
The culture of taking what is meant for all by individual war-time commanders turned leaders is known to the least informed of our societies. Those who benefit from this daylight political robbery of the resources accused us of gossiping and that we are agents of the West; which West when even the Easterners know how corrupt we are?
When we continue to live and governed by interim Constitutions, that means there will be no accountability or transparency in any way. These egotistical leaders think they are cleverer than all and sundry. It is untrue. They don’t know much more than others. Their days of reckoning will come soon.
Corruption or stealing is a bad practice in some cultures. Once you’re known to be a thief or to have stolen something in a certain communities, you will then be marked or hated. You will not enjoy the local opportunities like engaging ladies, participating in the local dances;you will not be allowed to share with people including beer or whatever.
You are an abomination or an outcast. You will live to curse yourself about why you chose to be a thief.
Currently, the most respected are the corrupt; be they businessmen , army commanders or politicians. We are instilling bad culture in our children and their children. Let us do good and be exemplaries.
My advice to the leaders is that they should stop being corrupt or political thieves. It haunts people and even their generations.
The citizens have been patient and they will continue to be so because they are helpless. God is watching over those who torment them; those who steal their resources and worst of all those who kill them in cold blood.
The author, Pal Chol Nyan, is a Graduate from the College of Radiological Medical Sciences from Sudan University of Sciences and Technology. He also holds a Diploma in Teaching Methodology and a Diploma in General Medical Sciences. He was a red army soldier, a former Primary school teacher, currently serving as a General Medical Practitioner in Juba Teaching Hospital in Juba, South Sudan. He is a columnist with local newspapers in Juba/South Sudan and contributes in many websites about social, security and economic. You can reach him via his email: palcholnyan2016@gmail.com
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