A Yemen without corruption – Yemenis’ ultimate dream? [Archives:2008/1135/Community]
By: Majed Thabet Al-kholidy
The appointment of new personnel at the Anti-corruption Association was no surprise to many. Nor was it an invention, as many high-ranking personalities in the government constantly talk about corruption, condemning the hidden and unknown hands behind its spread throughout the entire country. Unlike other corruption committees, this recently appointed association began working immediately, soon declaring many cases of corruption in public institutions.
Everyday citizens actually paid no attention to this act as a means of solving corruption in Yemen, the main reason being that there have been many such previous committees and teams formed by the highest government authorities, but they revealed nothing more than their personal benefits. Some even exploited their positions on such committees to work not against corruption but alongside it, being paid to keep everything as is and declare that there is no corruption.
Considering it like the previous anti-corruption committees, citizens were surprised at the news of revealing many corruption cases involving high-ranking government personnel. Such a topic is the concern of nearly all who keep searching for the latest news.
Such news gives hope to those who daily suffer from the bitterness of corruption in most – if not all – government institutions. As the association has declared, big names in government are involved in such instances. “What's the next step?” is a question citizens ask daily, wanting to know how more facts about such incidents will be revealed and what type of punishment will be meted out to those involved.
Yemenis really do have hope in this Anti-corruption Association. Many have begun suggesting the names of those involved in such instances, while others suggest the punishments such individuals must face. Still others have begun imagining and dreaming of a Yemen without corruption.
A Yemen without corruption is the new title given after discovering these cases. Punishing anyone involved in any corruption case will be a caution to many others who think or already practice any sort of corruption. Others will stop participating in corruption because they'll realize how bad it is to be caught red-handed in any incident of corruption. Revealing and punishing such persons also will provide a chance to return all monies illegally obtained through various means of corruption. Of course, large amounts of money probably will have to be returned to the general treasury, where it can be used for numerous commercial, industrial or agricultural projects to solve many problems such as poverty, unemployment and others.
Because of such a restrictive association, many individuals will fear and may refuse high positions within the government, fearing involvement in any such cases. Because of this, only qualified individuals will be selected for positions suitable to their knowledge, specialization and experience.
In this case, such high-ranking personalities no longer will be as rich as they are now, being left without the financial resources to buy the best cars, the best villas, etc.
If corruption no longer existed in government institutions, procedures and daily routines would be easy and citizens would complete procedures sooner. Their interests wouldn't be halted or held up in any office as an excuse of missing some data or signatures, which forces citizens to pay extra money into the employee's pocket. People would be dealt with alike. Rich and poor would be equal. All rules and regulations would be followed by all.
During the era of a Yemen without corruption, government projects wouldn't be sold or involve paying a certain percentage to the employees responsible for such work. Completing such projects wouldn't be a means to receive financial gain without any real quality according to the specifications. Yemeni projects would be long-lasting, not like many current projects, which soon reveal the absence of any type of quality. This is what Yemenis dream of, if such an anti-corruption association does its job. However, achieving such a dream isn't in the people's hands, nor is it in the hands of those who are behind corruption. Rather, it's in the hands of the members of this association who should do their best to rescue our nation from the ghost of corruption.
Majed Thabet Al-kholidy is a writer from Taiz, currently doing his M.A. at English Dep, Taiz Uni. He is an ex-editor of English Journal of the University.
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