Times Of Swaziland: MOVE FAST IN CORRUPTION FIGHT

MOVE FAST IN CORRUPTION FIGHT
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Editor on 15/04/2024 08:14:00


Sir,
Many people talk about corruption at almost any given moment and vow to fight it
at all levels but nobody seems to take them seriously. I guess what compounds
this problem and causes many culprits in our shores to go back to complacent
slumber instead of repenting is the fact that for so long there have been many
reported cases of corruption with no serious action being taken against the
culprits. To consolidate this apathy towards corruption is the fact that we
seemingly lack the capability to investigate and bust syndicates that involve
multimillions. And as a result of this, many nightrider pirates are doing as
they please without any fear.
Fight
We, as a country, need to move fast in the fight against corruption and ensure
that we spare and respect no one and anyone who takes this lightly does so at
their own peril. We are possibly going to see what is mentioned in the Bible
about the dreaded day that is coming, wherein those who took it lightly will be
running from mountain to mountain trying to save their complacent selves but it
will be too late. When the roosters finally come to nest on corruption, surely
there will be no space for it anywhere. It should be a serious concern that
corruption in the country has been institutionalised as we have heard many
stating corruption promoting lingos such as, ‘you eat and wipe your mouth dry
(udla usule umlomo) and those who see you must naturally keep quiet (kubindvwa
kubonwa, ligama lemuntfu yinkhomo). And what of the scary but common idiom which
asserts that you can even steal from the King as long as he does not find out
(inkhosi iyebelwa)? I put it to all emaSwati that in a way all of us could be
corrupt or are corrupted by corruption.
On top of the actively corrupt officials, there are those who have amassed so
much wealth from public coffers such that they have retired from the game, and
are now laughing at those who have been disgraced as if they are clean. When the
public says corruption is institutionalised in Eswatini they don’t mean that
our authorities support and live by it but, more importantly, they mean Eswatini
has been operating at a snail’s pace or seemingly unwilling to deal with
well-known cases of corruption, let alone expose it to the public domain. Sadly
this pace disappoints the masses and helps corruption to sky rocket. If Eswatini
was in a better political and economic situation, many public officials, whose
innuendos with corruption have been overlooked, would have been sent packing
long ago. Let me warn those who continue to thrive on corruption that some of us
will fight it like wounded buffaloes. However, we also need officials who have
the same attitude if we are to win this war.