Opinion
If you can be cleanest in Africa, why not the whole world?
The story goes that one time an African government
minister for transport was sent on official duty in an African country, where
he happened to chum up with his local counterpart. In the process, the host
minister got to offering an invite for a home lunch.
On the appointed day, when they reached the host’s house,
the guest’s eyes literally popped out. He could not believe his eyes and said
as much. As a government minister, how could he afford to build himself a
château that massive? The host offered to give him a short ride, before lunch.
At a newly tarmacked road, the car stopped and they
jumped out. Pointing at the road, the host said: “This is how. This road you
see”, said he, “I shaved fifty centimetres off both sides all the way to the
end. It’s enough for a few houses and a none-too-thin bank account”.
The guest was still shrilling his excited amazement when
they reached back home.
After quite a while, the reverse happened to be the case:
the former host minister went on official duty to the country of his former
guest. More or less the same process manifested and this time what the former
host saw was a palace of unequalled excesses.
As before, they went to see the ‘road’. On arrival, the
now-guest minister exclaimed: “But I see no road!” The host responded:
“Exactly! I didn’t shave; I chomped all the centimetres!”
Of course, you’ve seen this story multiple times, in
different versions. But to many of you, this may sound like a fairy tale. Your
officials know that, here, the arm of the law is not long and that it’s blind
to the height of government positions held.
Moreover, apart from the strong anti-corruption
institutions in place, the top leadership is so hawk-eyed, looking out for any
attempt at dipping dirty hands in the government kitty. To pre-empt, or catch
in the act, any attempt at using government-position influence for personal
gain.
To the extent that President Kagame himself has objected
to terming what should prevail across this land as “zero tolerance to
corruption” – to him, that imputes a positive connotation to corruption. He
prefers that, for stronger emphasis, it should be “NO tolerance to corruption”.
And truly, Rwandans to a man/woman should wish that as
their country is clean, so should she be cleansed. To mean that you are all clean
and live in a clean environment on the outside as on the inside. Clean in how
you appear, how you live, in the environment you live in, in all you do (no
corruption). That those in positions of power do not blindside anti-corruption
institutions.
And if you can manage to be clean all round in a short
span, considering the place you are coming from, why only be among the
cleanest? Why not go the whole hog and be the cleanest in the world?
What’s being asked for is not a utopia. It’s an easily
liveable situation. Especially if those out to make a dishonest fast buck
understand exactly what they are doing to fellow Rwandans all of who, in their
history, have had to contend with abuses aplenty. Also, not forgetting this
battered land.
Sadly, there are some rotten apples busy planning for
that exact dishonest quick buck, despite the hordes of spikes that have been
erected in their way. And in spite of seeing others being caught at it by the
day. For this, that first position of all-round cleanliness remains elusive to
Rwanda.
Otherwise, when it comes to policy objectives, ecosystem
vitality, environmental health, corruption intolerance, all forms of
cleanliness, there should be nothing to stop you from sitting at the apex of
the league of the world’s cleanest countries like Denmark, Switzerland,
Finland, Singapore, others. You should not be contented with being at the top
in Africa.
Rwandans and this country, for their past harrowing pain,
are a special case. Because of that, every individual engaging in any malpractice
should feel as if bleeding holes are being drilled into their conscience.
Because except for the after-1994 generation, every
Rwandan has looked death in the face, those who were lucky enough not to die at
the hands of sadistic regimes. Or been hounded out of their country
dishonourably. Or been treated like what the cat dragged in. This soil has ever
been fully soaked in blood.
The blood of they who sacrificed to liberate this
society; the blood of the innocents put to the sword for being born who they
were; the blood of those misled into death trying to counter this liberation,
to rewind the clock.
Let that blood be upon your hands, who engage in any kind
of malpractice that hinders the progress of this ushered-in civilisation.
Peddling influence; embezzling funds; inflating costs; under-delivering; using
inferior material; evading taxes; nepotism; abusing land allocation; denying
services to citizens; zillion others.
Itchy palms, beware! You are inviting the blood of past
victims that soaked this land upon your hands.
Rwanda’s current civilisation is over and above being
associated with such primitiveness.
Source: www.newtimes.co.rw