Egyptians are famous for their sense of humour, and that’s one of their proverbs. Seriously, though, this amusing line could be a stepping stone towards improving the lives of billions around the world, if taken literally.
We all strongly believe that the prerequisites for persons occupying public office are and should always be honesty and integrity. Why then aren’t there standard laws governing the explicit and thourough evaluation of the assets of government officials before they take office and after they leave this office.
The US for example do have a law that forbids the president to accept gifts of significant value while in office. He is thus presumably required by law to decline lavish holiday invitations, if he isn’t, he should be. And so should all officials in all countries.
Why torment and prosecute former officials after they leave office, depending of the whims of whoever is holding office next and their political inclinations? Why not make it official in the first place? Not all countries of the west have the proper constraints on their officials. The once communist states surely have their work cut out for them.
Political correctness should not take precedence over the welfare of the people. As everyone seems to be accepting the torment of actors and movie stars by the tabloids and press, under the pretext that these people are in the public eye, and therefore should not have a private life, so should the private finances of people holding office be subject to scrutiny. If the first instance could be considered a morbid curiosity, the second is surely popular acumen.
People who seek higher office for monetary gain or dishonest purposes are flawed by nature. They cannot but flaunt their riches, as they consider money to be one of the ultimate goals of life, and they want to make use of their newly acquired wealth before they pass away. They are therefore easy to indentify and expose.
The world community cannot of course force the third world countries to promulgate such laws, but since everything seems to have a ripple effect in the world, even a small number of countries in the west adopting such a stance, with a lot of propaganda, would obligate smaller countries to follow suite, these laws would have a domino effect. And therein lies the biggest gain.
No more briberies, no more frauds, all aid reaching the needy people, HEAVEN !!!