Chris Blattman

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Debauching the corruption

Everyone is talking about corruption in Southern Sudan. It’s on the radio; leaders talk about corruption. But it’s not clear that people understand what it means. When it rains too little, you’ll hear people say, “well that is just corrupt.”

That is Besty Paluck talking about her upcoming civic education program in Southern Sudan, here at EGAP.

2 Responses

  1. Thats a bit harsh – the 2007 Corruption perception Survey in Juba found that

    “There is a general understanding of what corruption means amongst the Southern Sudanese. More than (90%) of those interviewed closely linked corruption with mismanagement of public utilities, funds and abuse of office for personal gain.”

    Understanding of term ‘corruption’ %
    —————————————————
    Misuse of government property 38
    Looting/ embezzlement of government property 30
    Nepotism/Favoritism 13
    Lack of transparency 5
    War/ clashes 4
    Something is not going on well 3
    Unlawful payment 2
    Negligence and ignorance 2
    Cheating 2
    Others 3

    http://www.ecosonline.org/back/pdf_reports/%2F2007%2Fpeace%20process%2FMicrosoft%20Word%20-%20Anti-Corruption%2BSurvey%2B_South%2BSudan_3.pdf

  2. So what’s the point in trying to ‘educate’ Western notions of corruption that are appropriate to Weberian states when clearly the word has a meaning that is appropriate to its context.

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