Economist Khaled Al-Zantouti wrote in a post:
“I ask, quite innocently: our country is full of corruption, corrupt individuals, and silent devils—we are all either corrupt or among those silent devils.
Isn’t the one who stays silent about corruption a silent devil? Isn’t the smuggling of 33% of imported goods—without customs, in foreign currency, and subsidized—amounting to perhaps 10–13 billion dollars annually (including fuel smuggling), exceeding more than 50% of annual oil revenues?
Isn’t this corruption beyond all corruption? Worse still, some even consider it re-exporting that supports the balance of payments, while all its proceeds remain in dollar accounts abroad (for its fortunate beneficiaries). I do not generalize.
Is there corruption worse than this?
Our officials are either corrupt themselves, sitting in the front row, or silent, turning a blind eye out of fear or greed. Isn’t silence in the face of injustice equivalent to committing it?
Have you ever heard of a minister or official resigning in رفض of corruption and exposing it and its supporters? Even those few who may be honest remain silent.
We are, ladies and gentlemen, among the top five out of 192 countries in corruption indicators, and we remain silent. By God, we are silent devils, condemned in this world and the hereafter.
Let everyone know that, were it not for corruption and mismanagement, we would be among the highest-ranking countries in terms of income per capita, and we would all be above the poverty line.
Imagine if we fought corruption in all its forms—from letters of credit and smuggling to misuse and theft of public funds—while also diversifying our income sources through our natural resources and the geography we have been blessed with. We would all be wealthy.
I say it loudly: the decline of our currency, liquidity problems, inflation, and the deterioration of our living standards, education, and healthcare are all due to corruption—corruption. Will we wake up? Enough corruption, enough corruption. How long will we remain silent devils while 50% of our oil revenue is being stolen and smuggled in the form of goods and fuel before our eyes?”
