In the great tradition of public service for which Timor-Leste politicians are becoming renowned, our esteemed Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Mariano Sabino Assanami, has been defending his decision to hand out free tractors to members of his own political party.
Assanami was confused as to why this woud be seen as an abuse of power. "Yes indeed I handed out tractors to them. But because they belonged to the farming community and as Timorese citizens who deserved to receive them from the government program so as to facilitate their lives as farmers", he told local press.
This defence could be sound: just because farmers were members of his PD party, this does not mean they were favoured. Some farmers are members of his party, and some are not. Some farmers received tractors and some did not. It is like one of those tests of syllogism.
However, Assanami came out fighting: "The members of parliament are making these accusations because they do not understand the logic from the principles of democracy, as this happens in any developed nation, that when we win of course we have to give priority first to our people who elected us" he said.
"If I give attention to my party members, how or why is that wrong?"
Memo to Maun Assanami: When politicians in developed countries are caught overtly favouring their own cronies with public funds they are either prosecuted or kicked out the next election. Or both.
I admit that the British penchant for handing out peerages to political donors leaves a bad taste in the mouth, but it does not actually confer public funds on the individuals. The practice in the US Congress of attaching earmarks to bills (so-called porkbarrelling - the ears in question are sow's ears I guess), such as the Alaska 'road to nowhere', does not make payments to specific individuals and thus all constituents can gain from a Senator that 'brings home the bacon'.
However, in less developed countries this kind of behaviour is endemic and poisons public institutions, eventually leading to violence (e.g. see Michela Wrong' study of Kenyan corruption in 'It's Our Turn to Eat'). In fragile states such as Timor-Leste, where corruption is rife and inequality becoming increasingly stark, jealousy is likely to express itself in unpredictable ways. Factions will start to perceive who is favoured and who is slighted, and this may lead to a political climate whereby groups see winning elections (by fair means or foul) as the first necessary step in grasping control of public assets, and thus distribution to favoured parties. Eventually, perhaps even inevitably, the Petroleum Fund will come under attack as it has in Chad, and will be broken open in order to scatter munificence amongst party supporters. This would complete the country's descent into anarcho-petro state, joining luminaries such as Equitorial Guinea and Uzbekistan.
Hardly a recipe for peace and prosperity for Timor-Leste.
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