Where Corruption Lies

Where Corruption Lies 

         “Mommy!” A six-year-old screamed as she clung to the side of the latrine. Seconds prior, the floor had caved in under her weight, leaving her yelling for help and moments away from drowning [Inside Education]. Luckily, she was saved but unfortunately, this isn’t the first time events like this occurred, and many of them didn’t have such a lucky outcome. Reasoning for these events can be traced back to the faults in the architecture and the people responsible for funding these buildings. In this case, Mr. Mabuza, a principal for that school, was suspected to be the reason behind these poorly made latrines. It was reported that he had asked for $30 million, triple the original budget he had, to build new boarding schools. Provincial officers had gone to inspect the new schools and found, “roofs sprouted leaks soon after being finished, toilets barely worked, students lacked water, retaining walls collapsed and dormitories were missing doors” [Inside Education]. With the money the government gave to him to build these schools, the quality doesn’t show for it. The way the schools were built appears cheap and obviously shows how Mabuza had spent little money on building the promised boarding schools. But why would he triple the budget when hardly any money was spent on building the schools? With that question in mind, Mabuza’s political career had started on an incline. According to party officials, Mabuza was giving out, “government contracts, cash handouts and even KFC meals” [Inside Education]. Not only is it clear that he didn’t spend all $30 million on the school, but his political funding had also increased from an unknown cause. Many believe there were acts of embezzlement or some type of theft from the budget given to him by the government.

         To add on, bribery is another source of common corruption within Africa as a whole. In a barometer study, some places within Africa had percentages as high as 52% for people who had paid a bribe for public services in the past 12 months [Corruption Watch]. In fact, “more than one in four people who accessed public services, such as health care and education, paid a bribe in the preceding year” [Corruption Watch]. Not only that but, there have been reports of public political figures being physically violent and silencing it with a bribe. During a protest at a school, Mr. Siboza, an ANC councilor, was being bombarded with rocks. He pulled out a gun and started firing into the crowd. A few days later, he came to the students he injured and offered bribery money. A girl, whose leg was grazed by a bullet, took a bribe of $15 and spent it on sanitary pads. [Inside Education]. This situation not only shows how influential bribes can be to shush incidents like this, but it also reveals the state of Africa's general wealth. Finally, John Makumbe had argued that corruption is influenced by the need to gain power, wealth, and fame. [South African Journal of Education]. Looking at the previous issues, we can see an overwhelming truth behind Makumbe’s words. Corruption is a real and prominent issue that won’t go away unless dealt with. Governments are trying to bring justice to these acts and have created new policies to deal with corruption because of the citizens and the surge of protests.

Works Cited

Inside_Education, ANC. “The ANC, Corruption and a Failed Education System.” Inside Education Inspiring Minds, 8 Aug. 2018, insideeducation.co.za/anc-corruption-failed-education-system/.

 Loss of Principle. “Loss of Principle - New Schools Report.” Corruption Watch, 26 Oct. 2017, www.corruptionwatch.org.za/loss-of-principle-new-schools-report/#:~:text=. 

 Global Corruption. “Global Corruption Barometer Africa 2019.” Corruption Watch, 11 July 2019, www.corruptionwatch.org.za/global-corruption-barometer-africa-2019/. 

Wilkinson, Kate, and Julian Rademeyer. “Is SA Bottom of the Class in Maths and Science? WEF Ranking Is Meaningless.” Africa Check, 2014, africacheck.org/reports/is-sa-bottom-of-the-class-in-maths-and-science-why-ranking-is-meaningless/

Clarity blurred by Desperation

“He was so enraged that he didn’t hear our jovial shouts of greeting. He was very short-sighted and was unable to distinguish us from the jeering peasants in the neighboring paddy fields… His vision restored to its former clarity, Four-eyes was shocked to see the state Luo was in.” page 47

“‘How could you waste all that time writing down this drivel? I can’t believe it. Do you seriously think an official journal would even consider publishing this shit? That they’d give me a job on the strength of this? You must be out of your minds.’ The change he had undergone since receiving his mother’s letter was truly remarkable. A few days before it would have been unthinkable for him to snap at us like this. I hadn’t suspected that a tiny glimmer of hope for the future could transform someone so utterly. He was insanely arrogant and his voice seethed with longing and hatred.” pages 77-78

Sijie uses the symbol of Four-Eyes’s glasses to demonstrate how hope can make a person irrational in their desperation to see something come to fruition.

When Four-Eyes is without his glasses, he is “so enraged that he didn’t hear our jovial shouts of greeting,”(Sijie 47) and was unable to distinguish friends from “the jeering peasants”(Sijie 47). This demonstrates how enraged he becomes without his ability to see. However, when his glasses are on “His vision restored to its former clarity, Four-Eyes was shocked,”(Sijie 47).

These glasses connect to the theme of hope because when Four-Eyes loses his glasses and receives the letter from his mother, it gives him a sense of hope of returning to his former life and receiving his glasses. Further, glasses are a symbol of him being composed and clear-headed But when it seems all is lost, Four-Eyes becomes highly desperate, arrogant, and angry, saying “‘Do you seriously think an official journal would even consider publishing this shit?’” The narrator continues to say that “a tiny glimmer of hope for the future…transform[s] someone so utterly.” These “glasses” of hope have actually compromised his vision so he is fully desperate. This desperation damages his relationship with those around him and causes him to be a more arrogant, insipid person.

On page 105, the narrator takes note of the tail sitting on top of the books in the suitcase. It was the tail from “the unfortunate buffalo responsible for breaking Four Eye’s glasses.” This is symbolic because it connects back to when Four-Eyes got angry about the broken glasses when he got the chance, he got his revenge. With this quote being at the end of the chapter where Luo and the narrator try to steal from Four-Eyes, they’re playing with his hope, the books, and that could come back around and get them.