News and Comment

Enormity of the Cancer Corruption

News:
The Citizen Newspaper on 13th August 2015 reported that, a senior Security Manager at Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) and two members of Tanzania Peoples Defence Force (TPDF) have been implicated in the $413,000 (over Tsh826 million) ivory haul seized in Switzerland last month. The value of 262 kg of ivory was intercepted at Zurich Airport after being smuggled out through from Dar es Salaam.

Comment:
Bribery and corruption are serious evils and a severe cancer that is entrenched throughout our third world countries but also on a global capitalist context. Although the levels vary from country to country.

Bribery in this incident is associated with the issue of poaching of which everyone vehemently opposes this vice because it is an international campaign.

Despite that, the basis of the menace of bribery is enormous compared to poaching. For example in this period of Tanzania approaching the General Elections that will see the President and Members of Parliament elected, there is a rampant trade of accusations amongst staunch politicians that are engaging in bribery in order to circumvent and outmaneuver others so that they either retain or ascend to top positions. That is the image of politicians who are looked up to by the citizens to come and fight subornment activities.

Bribery undertakings have spread almost in every executive sector. We are witnessing the filthiness of bribery in the destruction of public resources commencing with minerals, wildlife, energy infrastructure etc. Most of the times the public resources are privatized to multinational companies owned by foreign capitalist countries through sham contracts that are intertwined with bribery and corruption never witnessed with the sole objective of filling the stomachs of glutton politicians and their allies.

Even social services like education, electricity, water, health etc. are afflicted with this corruption. Despite the services being offered in poor standards, the poverty-stricken families are crushed by bribes and corruption. Institutions that are known for protection of rights e.g. courts and police are leading in their engagements in the malpractices. Therefore bribery is ongoing and spreading even to institutions that were established primarily to stem out the vice itself.

Due to poor working conditions and benefits for employees; most of the time the vice is perpetuated by connoisseurs and vested competitions for pilfering public resources; of which its foundation is anchored on the beneficial thoughts espoused by capitalism ideology of which our countries are attempting to adopt and spread its thoughts everywhere.

With such thoughts, waves of benefits based on bribes have engulfed everyone. While public servants motivated by the gluttonous amassing of wealth by politicians, they also exhaust all their efforts in finding ways to meet their benefits at all cost.

In reality the capitalist ideology have turned human beings to the lowest of status below the wild animals since wild animals when they are satisfied and full no longer need to eat their fellow animal! But this ideology has kept the appetite in human beings alive such that they do not feel satisfied!

It is now time the human beings replace the corrupt capitalist ideology with the moral and just ideology of Islam.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Masoud Msellem
Deputy Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in East Africa