By Mawut Guarak, New York, USA) February 11, 2009 — The most dangerous form of corruption in many emerging democracies is conflict of interest. Politicians and other public servants who love to become millionaires overnight wind up serving two masters at a go. When an official, whether elected or appointed, holds two positions at once, it becomes harder and harder for him/her to diligently perform the duties in which he/she was elected/appointed to serve. Africa in particular has been hit the hardest by this form of malady. Conflict of interest has remained untreated in many developing countries, particularly in Africa, because public servants do not recognize it as a problem, or are too reluctant to define it as ‘corruption.’ Of all affected nations in the world, South Sudan suffers severely from this type of ailment. The term ‘conflict of interest’ is often used when an elected or appointed official has competing personal or professional interests. Once conflict of interest emerges, it becomes difficult for a public servant to diligently and impartially execute the duties as anticipated, hence creating appearance of impropriety that undermine confidence in such figure’s position and service. There are usually five types of conflict of interest public … Continue reading Conflict of Interest: The most dangerous form of corruption