Editor, RE: “A pro-corruption argument can never win” (The New Times, August 17). I entirely agree that corruption and social development are incompatible. Without this vice Africa would not be ranked at the lowest level of human development. On the other hand, I also agree with Andrew Mwenda that corruption can be a source of personal development. I will give my personal experience as an example. Nearly 18 years ago when poverty hit me, I left Rwanda to Scandinavia. Like many other non-Europeans. I sought asylum there, unfortunately I did not succeed. In 2005-06 I was given a work permit on condition that I would bring my passport of which I did not have. Getting a Rwandan passport became impossible because I had added my middle name in all my official documents, the name of which did not appear on my Rwandan Identity Card. To correct this contradiction, I was advised to contact the office of the Prime Minister—a process which took me about four years and without success. By the time I was still struggling with this issue, other migrants in the same situation were settled and ready to apply for naturalisation because they bribed immigration officials in their home countries and got their passport in a flush. As a result, I decided to follow a corrupt route by requesting authorities in my host country the possibilities of using any passport from Africa. Luckily, I was successful in this regard. Perhaps the established prejudices that all Africans are the same helped me. To cut the long story short, my friend helped me to buy a passport in his country in West Africa and I got it in two weeks. I am now naturalised and have peace of mind. To me, uncorrupt systems should be paralleled with quick and effective service delivery. Otherwise a missing link put people in limbo and corruption becomes a better option or a savior, to say the least. A second example to pro-corruption argument would be the resistance of Rwandans in Zaire (now DR Congo). They were commonly known as “les gens avec l’identité douteuse”. Yet, many of them held high political positions in the former dictator Mobutu’s regime, and others owned factories. Many social commentators in the Great Lakes, region associated these achievements with widespread corruption. But as I said, this vice is an unwelcome guest. Sometimes corruption is confused with alternatives. Francois
