SOUTH SUDAN: On International Anti-Corruption Day, Prelate Calls for Cautious Usage of World Resources
Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
On the commemoration of International Anti-Corruption Day on December 9, a South Sudanese Prelate has called on members of the society to use carefully the available world resources for the benefit of all, an achievement that can only be realized through collective responsibility.
International Anti-Corruption Day was declared by the United Nations to create awareness about the negative effects of corruption, and the need to prevent and fight it.
“The evil that is called corruption deprives individuals from enjoying what God has created so well and provided for all humanity,” Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala said in a statement signed Wednesday, December 9.
He explained, “The selfishness of human heart makes children, women, young and old people suffer because some individuals have chosen to take for themselves, for their interests, for their own desires what belongs to everyone else, what belongs to the community, to the region, to the nation.”
Bishop Hiiboro who is the Local Ordinary of South Sudan’s Tambora-Yambio Diocese highlighted that we should all be concerned of each other as we use the world resources which are meant to benefit all.
“We need to be humane, to put human person in focus and this must be done by everyone of us; to act justly, act well towards our fellow human beings so that we are aware of the fact that the things that we receive, the things we have, the things that we have power over belongs not only to us alone but also to our fellow human beings,” reads the statement in part.
“We must recognize that our fellow human beings also deserve what we have and we therefore must use these resources well for our collective benefits,” adds the South Sudanese Prelate.
In the statement, Bishop Hiiboro explained that “International Anti-Corruption Day is meant to make us aware of the evil of corruption, of the pain it causes us, the suffering it lavishes upon the world.” At the same time the day is meant to “remind us of God’s desire for the love of our neighbors, which can only be realized when we embrace God’s intention for humanity, for the resources He created for the benefit of humanity. It calls for holiness and honesty, coupled with integrity.”
According to Bishop Hiiboro, the root course of many sufferings in the world is corruption.
“To stop all the wars in the world, we need to stop corruption. To stop all the problems and suffering in the world, we need to stop corruption. Corruption is at every level in our societies; corruption takes place among the different categories of humanity. In the government, in the Church, in other religious communities, corruption is thus everywhere,” he observed.
This year’s International Anti-Corruption Day is themed, “Winning the fight against corruption, a sustainable path to Africa’s transformation.”
Addressing the members of South Sudan on the significance of fighting corruption the Bishop said, “We know what corruption has done to us and is doing to us. I therefore call upon my country men and women to say that enough is enough; let us stop this monster and be good custodians of the resources God has given us in this beautiful country and use them well.”
“If we need peace in South Sudan, then let us stop corruption at every level. If we really desire peace, growth, happiness, prosperity; let us stop corruption today. The fight against corruption begins with you and me and us together,” he underscored.
The Bishop noted further that fighting corruption is a collective responsibility that requires well informed minds and cannot be done in isolation by individuals.
