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Let it be genuine war on corruption
2007-03-22 08:50:09
By Ileti Ngaluma
The Prevention of Corruption Bureau says that political corruption, corruption in the Judiciary and corruption in Parliament can be extremely damaging, adding that Tanzanians should stand forewarned.
High-ranking officials from the bureau told a workshop for journalists in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday that Tanzania has no immunity against these scourges and must wage a multi-pronged war against them by deploying ‘troops’ and marshalling resources from as many quarters as possible.
Hardly ever since the 1996 report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry Against Corruption have we had more candid analyses of the state of corruption in the country, complete with realistic and workable recommendations on a meaningful way forward, than those made by PCB.
The bureau rightly notes that corruption is a symptom of deeper-rooted factors, that its causes are complex and that the means to control it need joint efforts by different players.
PCB Director General Edward Hosea’s view is that some journalists in the country fear reporting corrupt practices and trends partly for lack of professionalism, integrity, credibility and credible sources of information mainly because they may themselves be corrupt. That is very real food for thought for media houses and practitioners.
To be fair, the media practitioners themselves have on several occasions evaluated and re-evaluate themselves accordingly. The additional criticism they keep getting from outside forces like PCB should enable Tanzania to have more robust media that detest corruption.
But there has been a lot more to the PCB’s interventions lately than merely that he bureau has grown stronger teeth that bite.
The bureau has become so much more and more transparent and therefore less and less secretive, mysterious or horrifying that it has gradually won badly needed public faith.
It is true that corruption obstructs the principles of democracy, good governance and human rights and is a threat to national and world peace, tranquility and security. Yes, it is a vice that both the bureau and the media must combat and sensitise the public into making that fight their fight.
But this cannot be achieved if the bone is left to only a few organs like PCB and the media to chew while the rest of society, including other law-enforcement agencies and people with crucial information, watch the drama from the sidelines.
Fortunately, we could soon have more comprehensive, watertight and stringent anti-corruption legislation guaranteeing whistleblowers and witnesses State protection and capitalising on the constructive engagement of all stakeholders.
Experts say corruption and most other vices are chiefly products of the human conscience and that it is from there that the war should be fought.
PCB concurs, stressing that the enforcement of legal measures will work best if complemented by adherence to professional standards and observance of codes of ethical conduct.
All our State agencies, the private sector and wananchi must come together in striving to make Tanzania a corruption-free zone. Quite a tall order it is, no doubt, but not insurmountable for a nation determined to win the war.
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