Stop normalising corruption, it normalises failure

DAR ES SALAAM: WE must be reminded that corruption often arrives quietly, wearing the friendly face of “chai,” “kitu kidogo,” or “let’s sort this out.” It rarely bangs on the door; it knocks softly, smiles politely and asks for a small favour. Yet this polite visitor has an expensive appetite, and Tanzania has been paying the bill for far too long.

At its core, corruption is not just about envelopes slipped across desks. It is about stolen time, stolen trust and stolen opportunity. When a citizen must pay to receive a service already funded by their taxes, the state is robbed twice.

When a business bribes its way to a contract, merit is dismissed, innovation is punished and honest competitors are told loudly that integrity is for fools. Even humour has limits and corruption has long crossed them. Again, we must realise that those entrusted with public service carry a special responsibility. Government offices exist to serve wananchi, not to auction services to the highest bidder.

A licence delayed to extract a bribe is not cleverness; it is sabotage of national productivity. A file hidden until “something small” appears is not survival; it is theft of dignity. Public servants swear to uphold the law and the law cannot be selectively respected like a buffet menu.

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Equally, the private sector is not an innocent bystander either. Corruption thrives because there is both a seller and a buyer. Companies that grease palms to cut corners may gain short-term profits, but they poison the market they depend on.

Over time, corruption raises costs, scares away serious investors and rewards connections over competence. In the end, everyone pays more for electricity, for roads, for medicine while receiving less. Collectively, why must corruption be fought relentlessly?

Because it widens inequality by favouring the connected over the capable. Because it weakens institutions and replaces rules with rumours.

Because it erodes patriotism; it is difficult to love a country that seems permanently for sale. And because corruption, left unchecked, teaches the next generation a dangerous lesson: that success comes not from effort, but from shortcuts.

With this in mind, we must realise that fighting corruption is not only the work of watchdog institutions and courts. It is a daily civic duty. It begins with refusing to pay a bribe, even when it is inconvenient. Yes, this may mean longer queues and heavier sighs, but it also means lighter consciences. It means reporting demands for bribes and supporting those who choose to do the right thing.

A culture of resistance grows when ordinary people decide that “no” is a complete sentence. Let us be clear: refusing corruption is not unpatriotic or naïve. It is an act of national loyalty. Tanzania’s development will not be delivered in brown envelopes or whispered deals.

It will be built through honesty, accountability, and a shared refusal to normalise what is plainly wrong. Corruption may think it is clever. It is not. It is simply costly and we have better things to invest in. In a nutshell, corruption destroys trust and progress; reject it firmly, choose integrity always.