If one tries to swim with a weight around one’s neck no doubt his/her fate will be sinking gasping for air. By the same token, the destiny of a nation engaged in a frantic bid to crystalize a turnaround in the socioeconomic and political arena, while crippled by corrupt practices, will be suffering the abortion of envisaged objectives.
Needless to mention, corruption results in the absence of the rule of law, spread of rampant penury, expansion of bureaucratic red tape and development of grudges of people, pushed to the end of their patience, that get irritated by the government. When corruption sends root only some unethical government officials and business partners benefit at a cost of harm to the general public.
Despite the political rhetoric often made denouncing corruption and the sword unsheathed to attack corrupters, this social malice is seen picking up steam by the day than screeching to a halt. That is why it is not surprising to see the greasing of palms by inefficient contractors that win a bid using substandard materials to build roads that does not last long.
Hence, corruption derails a nation’s push towards affluence in all aspects. Here, it suffices to mention why the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) suffered a setback. The self-seeking few seeing a short term benefit will inflict long term harm on a nation that aspires to spur growth may be garnering a loan from abroad.
Due to corruption elections could be rigged as well as a family network could dominate a government office or private business firms. Fueling the fire of instability deep-rooted corruption scares away investors. It is in cognizance of such tragic episodes FEACC mapped out a strategic direction to bolster the country’s decade-long national development plan mainly in education, construction, health and agriculture sector taking pertinent stakeholders aboard the bandwagon of anti-corruption fight.
In the fight to extirpate corruption the role of media outlets whose attention seems to dwell elsewhere as well as the task of religious institutions go without saying. They must serve a right arm to the fight. Therefore, giving no less attention to the anticorruption fight to remove the spoke from the wheel of the country’s all-rounded developmental thrust goes without saying.
Paving the way for the wheel of development such as launching a satellite to space that could feed data to researchers stepping up product and productivity is a thumbs up action. Seeing to the task that corruption will not see roadblocks on such pushes is obligatory. Inculcating about the grotesqueness of corruption and the hurdle it poses on the nation’s developmental endeavor in the minds of citizens specially when they are in their formative years is a noteworthy venture that handsomely pays in the long run.
As some government officials show an acrobatic transformation from salaried civil servants, who fetch a modest salary, to business tycoons through money laundering the registration and verification of the wealth of officials must be made a point of.
At a time when the country is expected to augment its hard currency earning via giving a kiss of life to its export trade via improving the quality and quality of exportable items as well as penetrating the global market embracing space science and launching a satellite, among others, is a laudatory task. Other things set aside the step forward helps for the attainment of agricultural product and productivity, food security and nutritional nourishment as well as job creation. The satellite will also help to analyze the geopolitical landscape of the country.
On the other end of the scale buttressing social entrepreneurship is essential as it is instrumental in addressing the social problems of the country thwarting dependency syndrome and relaying on home grown knowledge and own resources effectively. Let us fight out corruption, ensure level ground for all citizens, water our peace, fast track our all-rounded development and try to stand on our feet.
The Ethiopian Herald Sunday Edition, December 22/2019
