How do citizens make politicians corrupt?

On Sunday, the Governor of Eastern Equatoria State, Louis Lobong Lojore, said South Sudanese citizens are to blame for corruption among government officials in the country.

He urged South Sudanese to work hard so that the government could collect tax from them and render services in return for the revenue remitted to the taxman.

In this view, Governor Lobong perceived the citizens as the ones responsible for causing corruption among the politicians. This is like blaming the ordinary people for making South Sudan the world’s most corrupt country, yet it is not, according to the corruption perception index.

‘‘You are the ones who leave politicians to be corrupt. You are the ones who destroyed the country. It has been said that the government and its people are hungry, poor, and corrupt and that the government is not good,” said Lobong while addressing the congregations at St. Mary Cathedral during Sunday service in Wau.

Disputably, there is no connection between the citizens and the cause of corruption among politicians. There is no reason for citizens to bear the brunt of the existing corruption among politicians, whether in the executive or legislative branches.

Regardless of several other factors, corruption cannot be assessed clearly, since there has never been one factor that is responsible for its occurrence and its development. It should be noted that corruption always arises from an array of several interrelated factors, such as the political and economic environment, as well as professional ethics and legislation.

Just like in most developed countries, South Sudan’s corruption is mostly influenced by the low salaries of public servants because their salaries cannot compete with market inflation. Some of these people, whether they work in the organised forces or the civil service, are trying so hard to improve their financial position by receiving bribes.

The socio-economic situation of government officials has a bearing on corrupt practices, and the level of corruption rises because the government agencies and institutions are not in a position to effectively control graft due to underpaid officials, especially the junior staff who do most of the government activities. This has been a major problem, especially in developing countries and not in South Sudan, because the government does not have sufficient tax revenue to properly reward the local officials.

However, low wages are not the only cause of corruption, but also the poor state of the public administration, which has been politically overcrowded. For instance, our public administration is politically overcrowded with different political parties, where political loyalty prevails over professional standards. It is just a deception to say that the citizens are responsible for the high corruption among the country’s politicians.