MEMBERS & VISITORS
CORRUPTION NEAR YOU
CORRUPTION NEAR YOU
One by one, the officials spoke candidly on camera about how they abused their power and accumulated enormous wealth. They looked relaxed, confident and even happy as they described bribes, kickbacks and other perks of corruption. The Chinese Communist party hasn’t figured out a way to stamp out corruption. The same is true here in East Africa and it’s heartbreaking. Today I learned that the daughter of a good friend who recently graduated with a high GPA in her field, attempted to get a job with a government agency. Such jobs guarantee lifetime employment though meager pay approaching the equivalent of $200 per month. The hiring manager suggested that if she really wanted the job, she would have to pay him the equivalent of $5000. Dejected, she turned away with no chances of getting this job that she had worked hard at in school and had paid a great deal for the school’s tuition. SMDH
Getting seafood boxes stuffed with $300,000. Owning a fancy house for nearly every season. Running red lights without getting tickets. Watch “Zero Tolerance“. At times the documentary felt like a political satire show that offered absurdly detailed yet credible insights into how the corrupted acts were conducted and what drives its senior officials. And yes, the motivations were the usual ones: power, money and sex. Officials can enjoy many perks, big and small, get all their whims pampered and live a privileged lifestyle that even money can’t buy. It’s been well understood since ancient times in China that with power comes many things, especially money.
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