Dear Editor,
Would President Ali be kind enough to say how much is enough payback for loyalty of some of his Ministers. It is common knowledge that money is being siphoned off from a few ministries led by dishonest Ministers. What will the President do about kickbacks and siphoning off of money? Is he blind to loyalty even amidst overwhelming evidence of Ministers and their families and ranking officials (like Chairs and CEOs) super enriching themselves? Would any Ministers or other officials be disciplined?
Kickbacks undermine businesses by driving up costs, lowering service quality, lowering efficiency, and creating unfair competition. They incentivize staff to prioritize personal gain over national interests. Prices are inflated to cover the cost of the bribe. Ministerial decisions are based on bribes rather than merit. This leads to accepting inferior products or subpar services, as the vendor is selected for their willingness to pay, not their competence. It destroys morale and compromises quality. They prevent fair bidding, shutting out honest suppliers and contractors and damage competition. Ministers and staff become loyal to a specific supplier despite lower quality or higher costs.
Several Ministries have outstanding payments to contractors in billions of dollars. Agriculture, for instance, has almost a billion dollars outstanding to a handful of contractors from last year. Where did last year’s allocation to Agriculture go? And money was approved in last January budget to erase outstanding debts to contractors. Why is the Ministry of Agriculture delinquent? Contractors complained about demand for kickbacks. How much is enough kickbacks? At what point will President Ali say enough is enough on the demand for kickbacks and discipline Ministers and other ranking officials?
When money is siphoned off through poor works and fictitious contracts and from kickbacks or paybacks, it leads to a breakdown of discipline among staff. Civil servants tend to reduce their functionality in servicing the public. When Ministers are corrupt, they will not be able to control line officers as the latter too would want to be a part of the action of “teking”.
In one Ministry, line officers have been instructed to move money around to pay for fictitious contracts. Civil servants are instructed at the behest of senior functionaries to make payments for fictitious works or bogus contracts. Staff are impelled to make payments or face dismissal from their jobs when they know that invoices are fictitious or work not completed. Billions are siphoned off just from that one ministry. The Minister’s children are contractors and now have billions in assets, own multiple luxury vehicles, several mansions, gold mine, among other investments.
Because of corruption, money is exhausted midyear and work incomplete. Money have been spent on works that cannot be found. There is no accountability in many so-called contracts. And money is not available for critical emergency flood works.
Currently, Agriculture Ministry owes contractors for honest work done last year. The Ministry advices contractors that it awaits approval for liability payments from Ministry of Finance. How can this be fair to contractors. This situation calls into question the integrity of the highly respected Dr. Ashni Singh. How can he knowingly withhold payments to contractors when he is aware of what has been happening at Agriculture with allocations. Rather than penalize the contractors, why does he not stand up against the skullduggery at a few Ministries.
Kickbacks and siphoning off of state money erode the ethical fabric of ministries, compromising integrity and fairness. When individuals engage in such practices, they prioritize personal gain over the best interests of the ministry and the nation. Moreover, they create a toxic work environment where ethical decision-making takes a backseat. Employees might feel pressured to participate in kickbacks to protect their job, perpetuating a cycle of corruption. This erosion of ethics ultimately leads to a decline in employee morale and productivity. Will the Attorney General launch an investigation into siphoning off of money as is done in other countries?
The President and Vice President can combat bribery by firing Ministers and staff who are known to be on the take.
Yours truly,
Anonymous
