Written by Editores

EDITORIAL

BUREAUCRATS, CONTRACTORS AND AUTHORITIES: TAKING ADVANTAGE OF COMMUNITIES

There are a lot of bureaucrats out there who round out their salaries with per diems. Some even fight tooth and nail for the privilege of going to some out-of-the-way corner of the country to inspect a project, supervise the construction of a road or school, or file a report, because these trips bring economic and psychological compensations. In addition, residents of rural areas have a reputation for the outstanding hospitality and the overwhelming gratitude with which they greet those from “the outside” come to provide something that will make their lives a little easier. And there are too many bureaucrats who take advantage of this fact.

The economic compensation bureaucrats receive is the per diem. This is a sum of money that is intended to be spent on meals, transportation and lodging. In addition – and this is the psychological compensation – often communities organize a fiesta, with the requisite chicken soup or the roast guinea pig with chicha, the local fermented drink, for the authorities. Here in Íntag, as in the majority of rural areas, bureaucrats are treated like kings, receiving a pile of gifts, something that seldom happens when they are in their offices. And, of course, they don’t have to spend a large part of their per diem. Too many functionaries are by now accustomed to this treatment though this doesn’t stop them from treating farmers with disdain.

While rural community residents spend the little they have on making their guests feel at home, the bureaucrats make them feel as though they were doing a huge favor by being there. In fact, having access to a decent water system, a reliable flow of electricity, and quality health services and schools are rights that farmers, above all, should have at their disposal. What is more, thanks to the farmers, these bureaucrats have a job, get to travel, eat at no charge, and keep the per diems for themselves rather than returning them to the government entity that disbursed the money. And they also get treated like kings.

But bureaucrats are not the only protagonists in this little drama. We also have the contractors. Often they treat residents as though they constituted their personal work force. To this end, they ask the community to organize a minga, i.e., a work party whose members carry out a task for no pay. The minga is an institution dating to pre-Columbian days and is traditionally used for tasks from which the entire community benefits and for which funds are not available. However, the contractor more often than not has been provided with a budget that includes money to pay local labor. By making use of the minga, the contractor “saves” on this line item and said savings go into his own pocket. This practice is called corruption and the savings are the result of theft. And like the bureaucrats, contractors are treated like kings while the residents who provide food and labor and lodging will, if they are lucky, receive a thank you.

And there’s more. Too many contracts include kickbacks. Bureaucrats and contractors take advantage of residents’ lack of knowledge of technical matters and/or of the desperation of residents who will do just about anything in exchange for access to basic services. So the contractors buy more materials than they need, do shoddy work they leave half undone, and so on.

The practices described are no secret to anyone. So how is it possible that they continue to happen under the noses of local authorities? Because too many contracts are awarded on the basis of friendships and family ties and so on, rather than on the basis of the track record of the contractor. So guess who benefits, who, besides the bureaucrats and the contractors, also gets to fill his or her pockets.

People who live in rural areas have a right to quality services and they also have a right to be treated with dignity. But if they continue to close their eyes to the corruption taking place in their communities, and to put up with the lack of respect displayed by bureaucrats, contractors and local authorities, the situation is not going to change. At the same time, if basic infrastructure and services do not improve in rural areas, it is going to become increasingly difficult to convince people to remain on the farm. And if it finally comes to that, the bureaucrats and the contractors are going to be out of work.

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