Maravi

Corrupt elements thrive on people's ignorance

Corrupt elements thrive on people's ignorance
By The Post
Thu 26 Apr. 2012, 13:50 CAT

It is important in life to be clear about things, to be well informed about things. It is not possible for an individual to live a meaningful life in a state of ignorance. It is also not possible for a nation to develop and be governed well if its citizens are ignorant.

To develop, a nation needs well-informed citizens. Any nation that hopes to develop with ignorant citizens is hoping for the impossible because no nation in this world has ever developed without an informed citizenry.

It is not possible for a country to be governed well if the great majority of its citizens are ignorant. The most potent weapon against misgovernment is an uninformed citizenry.

Ignorant citizens are easily manipulated and are even sometimes made to act against their own interests. Abuses are easily carried out in a nation dominated by ignorant citizens. It is easy to neglect ignorant people. It is not easy to mistreat well-informed people. Even things like ethnic conflicts are easily perpetrated in nations dominated by ignorant people.

It is very easy to mislead the ignorant and set them against another humble section of the population. Ignorance is dangerous. And any nation that wants to make progress has to ensure that its citizens are first well-informed. Where there is ignorance, corruption and other abuses thrive. Ignorant people cannot fully take their destiny into their own hands. Ignorant citizens can easily be misled to think that the resources of their country belong to their political leaders. In this way, corruption thrives. Corruption easily thrives in nations with very high levels of ignorance.

To develop, we have to first ensure that ignorance is dealt with. To stamp out corruption, we have to first ensure that our people are well-informed about the dangers and evils of corruption and as well as about everything else. Even diseases are impossible to combat in any state of ignorance. It is a big challenge to carry out health programmes in communities where levels of ignorance are very high. It is not easy to teach ignorant people even basic hygiene.

Ignorant citizens cannot be expected to hold their leaders accountable. To hold the political leadership of a country accountable, the citizens must first be well-informed. Sometimes ignorant people do things that are harmful to themselves; they can be a danger onto themselves. Ignorant people can easily be made to work against their own interests.

It is very comforting that some key leaders of our government recognise this fact. The assurance by Given Lubinda, our Minister of Foreign Affairs, that top among the government's priorities is awareness creation. This is indeed a priority issue. Everything should start here. New awareness is needed and that awareness has to be built by the leadership of our country.

If the leadership does not build the necessary awareness among our people, it will fail to communicate its programmes to them. Development programmes will not be understood by the people and people can only meaningfully support that which they understand.

Many government programmes have failed because of lack of awareness among the people they are intended to serve. Schools and health facilities have been vandalised by ignorant people in some parts of our country.

And Given is right when he says that corrupt elements capitalise on the lack of knowledge on the part of the people. Ignorant people cannot realise that what is being abused is theirs, belongs to them. In that way, corrupt politicians take advantage of their ignorance and treat government resources as if they were their own.

Truly, corruption and abuse of human rights thrive in an environment of ignorance. We have seen ignorant people made to defend politicians who have stolen from them when they are being pursued. We have seen ignorant people being mobilised to go to court and give support to corrupt politicians when they are being prosecuted.

It is therefore very important for the government to ensure that citizens are adequately informed on all matters that affect them. There is need to ensure that our people are educated about their rights and duties. Citizens have duties to perform. If they are ignorant about them, they will not perform well.
For instance, every citizen has a duty to vote when time for voting comes.

Ignorant citizens don't vote. Citizens have a duty to participate in the governance of their country by taking active roles in the activities of their political parties and by trying to hold their political leaders accountable.
Ignorant citizens cannot meaningfully participate in the governance of their country and are equally incapable of holding their leaders accountable.

Citizens have a duty to protect the environment. Ignorant citizens sometimes destroy the environment on which they depend out of lack of awareness. Most of the diseases affecting our people today are out of ignorance; with a bit of awareness, some of the diseases people experience would be easily wiped out.

The misgovernment that our country has experienced from time to time would be a thing of the past if the great majority of our people were fully aware of their rights and duties. Some of the things our politicians have gotten away with, they wouldn't get away with if our people were well-informed or were aware of what should or shouldn't be done.

It is therefore very important that special attention is paid by the government and indeed by all our political parties to educate our people and make them aware of their rights and duties so that they can become better citizens. Democracy cannot thrive in ignorance; misgovernment and abuses thrive in ignorance. We need to spend more time and resources in efforts to enlighten our people, to make them aware of their rights and duties.

Ignorance is dangerous for the individual and for the nation as a whole. An ignorant citizen is not only a danger to himself or herself but also to the whole nation. Let's do everything possible to increase the awareness and enlightenment of our people.

Development is impossible without awareness. Ignorance is an impediment on development. Poverty can be said to be an offshoot of ignorance. Diseases are sometimes spread by ignorance. Getting rid of ignorance can help us get rid of many other vices that depend or thrive on it.

Labels: CORRUPTION

posted by MrK @ 4:28 PM