Morris West Quotes
All institutions are prone to corruption and to the vices of their members.
West, Morris. The Shoes of the Fisherman. William Morrow, 1963.
The leaders and creators of these anti-corruption organizations get kickbacks from corrupt officials and organizations to be sure that they do not get investigated and exposed. In some cases they frame an honest politician who would not pay them and accuse him of corruption to show the public that they are cracking down on corruption. Or they go after corrupt politicians who are going against the regime on political matters. Not all anti-corruption and reform organizations are corrupt themselves, but many are. But the methods of corruption thoughout the world are becoming more and more sophisticated as the simple forms are being exposed by media and reform groups.
When his wife Benizir Bhutto was prime minister, there was a perception of many Pakistanis that he was getting 10% graft on all government construction, development and purchases. After his wife was assassinated, he was elected Prime Minister, and the notorious nickname stuck even then.
The United States had just ousted the popularly elected leader Patrice Lumumba {640611}, and backed Mobuto. Lumumba was an idealist who was not corrupt at all, but were not so sure about our new protégé. Sadly he turned out to be one of the worst kleptocrats of all time, and he stole with more United States money than we gave to many nations in toto. Many believe that one of the reasons, corruption of our “allied” leaders was so bad lies in the wording of this cable. Note that to the State Department writers there was “normal” corruption as opposed to excessive corruption. Once that view is taken there is a constant battle to determine whether each new act of corruption is “normal “ or not, and corruption is simply lessened by pushing back against the most abnormal schemes. These critics advocate a zero tolerance for corruption especially with United States AID money. The State Department has been ambivalent and have often used the corruption system to bribe leaders to obtain national objectives.
She was the first Female President of Mauritius.
Morris Langlo West AO was an Australian novelist and playwright, best known for his novels The Devil's Advocate (1959), The Shoes of the Fisherman (1963) and The Clowns of God (1981). His books were published in 27 languages and sold more than 60 million copies worldwide. Each new book he wrote after he became an established writer sold more than one million copies.
