Mbakuwaku against scrutinizing public and civil servants’ wealth

Mbakuwaku Movement for Development (MMD)national president Peter Dominico Sinosi Driver Kuwani has described as a sarcasm calls by some people are making that the wealth public and civil servants amass should be scrutinized in an effort to seal corruption loopholes in government systems.

Some sections of the society believes that some of the wealth civil and public servants have could be attributed to acts of fraud or money laundering.

But Kuwani argues that the magnitude of a salary should not be used as a determinant for wealth creation, but rather fruits coming out of it through meaningful investment.

“Unaccounted worth befriended by an individual over a period of time will not always imply ill-gotten economic fortune. As time progresses, linking income to one’s fortune becomes a tall order and such a shortfall will not always constitute a proof for crookedness,” he says in a a statement made available to Nyasa Times.

Kuwani underlines  that high-level corruption, as orchestrated by the country’s political cartel, has been rampant and yet public servants fall prey for being used as sacrificial lambs.

He said it is a pity that public servants remain victims of corruption and yet we can hardly take out a political cartel from the equation of public finance mismanagement.

“Corruption remains a complex creature to be defined and what we can achieve with precision and certainty is classification of the vice as to fall under ‘cash’ or ‘kind’. Corruption in cash overshadows the same act in kind and yet they all achieve the same prime objective of inducement.

If the capture of the once objective and unbiased airwaves and vocal personalities is not a product of political inducement, then corruption might have lost a meaning. Yes, they are being rewarded for aiding political accomplishment,” says Kuwani.

He states that other than being evil and nepotistic, appointments of connected personnel into public positions is just a tip of an iceberg on a political cartel thriving on ‘you scratch my back and I scratch your back’ philosophy.

Kuwani says the battle against corruption has always been subjective and divisive because of a thin line between ‘anti corruption drive’ and ‘political persecution’.

“Absence of legal independence for the graft busting body has at times attracted ridicule, hence dilution of what could be considered ‘anti-corruption drive’ for the national cause, to mere political persecution or jealousy to one’s possession. The nation might be heading towards a dangerous path as oversight institutions meant to provide checks and balances on corporate governance are subdued and converted into mere weapons for political vengeance and persecution,” narrates Kuwani.

He said it is a conscious free political leadership that frees and unleashes corporate governance enforcement institutions towards investigation and prosecution of corrupt suspects.

“On numerous occasions, we have witnessed the fight against corruption melting down to mere barking of a political cartel in infant stage……..the objective has always been to build hype for the new regime whilst blindfolding the overzealous citizenry in the process. The citizenry continue to be hoodwinked by being made to believe that corruption is fought and won when one ascends to presidency and yet the most crucial and overlooked phase in uprooting the malpractice is ‘campaign period’.

“The road to power attracts political surrogates and capital angels who harbour multiple agenda out of the seemingly benevolent gesture. Corruption has to be repelled during campaign period by exercising restraint from ‘donations’ which can throw conscious into conflict of interest and when such stringent measure is adhered to, business and employment benefits will trickledown to the marginalized society,” Kuwani underlines.

Turning to politics, the MMD leader says the pompous and glamorous campaign leading to 2009 tripartite elections got overshadowed by acute fuel and forex shortage while the road to 2014 tripartite elections gave birth to the looting of public financial resources.

He says the country doesn’t need further exhibits to substantiate the assertion that public financial scandals amidst us are linked to political party financing.

“The glamorous and pompous electoral campaign highly financed by mafias results into lucrative fortunes being scrambled by crooks masquerading as people of goodwill. Mild enforcement on political party funding disclosure is the weak link to the fight against corruption. Corruption is not considered to be universally chastised when own political surrogates and capital angels are spared from the wrath despite the apparent tainted past,” he explains.

He pointed out that  the battle against corruption is meaningless amidst stagnation of social and economic development hence the need for creation of business and employment opportunities.

Kuwani said the nation has to free resources for a common man by combating high level corruption which is hatched during ‘campaign period’ and subject to the contrary, the widening gap between the rich and the poor will become a norm to the society.

“ It is not just by mere coincidence that the fight against corruption becomes an easy task when hunting individuals who have fallen out of grace but rather an act that shields members of the inner circle,” says Kuwani, adding that corruption has to be tackled whilst uniting the seemingly divided nation.

“If we can hardly investigate, prosecute and pass verdict on high profile cases, then prosecution and sentencing of sacrificial lambs get conquered because of the set precedence.”

He said the waged war against corruption cannot only be won through the court but rather love, tolerance and coexistence hence the need for construction of a tribunal through which willing suspects will have to be sanctioned for mediation and out of court settlement.

Kuwani pointed out that mediation and out of court settlement using corporate governance enforcement institutions is relatively cheap, quick and more rewarding when superseded by recoupment of public resources through self-disclosure.

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