Who is not eating?

I read with keen interest the story of government officials being rewarded for their contribution in winning a court case that fetched the country prodigious amounts of money. Later on, as I enjoyed a tete-a-tete with one friend of mine, I told him of this very stimulating story, also with how members of Public were up in arms against the rewards. He paused a very simple question to me and asked, "But Patrick, who is not eating?" The question slowly sank in and I allowed myself a few moments to think it over. He told me of the many dubious and shady dealings that take place in government offices which never see the light of day, those that we prattle about, only a handful looting what is meant for us all. It is a culture that we have cultivated, it is a custom that has become part of our DNA, he went on to tell me and it is what will one day kill our generation and country. I refused to believe that our generation will be wasted but deep inside me I was skeptical.
Recalling the words of Mwai Kibaki, he once said that leadership is a privilege to better the lives of others. It is not an opportunity to satisfy personal greed. If that had been the guiding principle of our country's service then the lining on the cloud would be brighter. It summarizes what a perfect society should be like and no doubt we would have one if we all were selfless. We have bred leaders, that we have entrusted with power but only to squander our resources unapologetically. Our trust has thus dwindled because everyone seems to be betraying our national cause. That explains why fewer and fewer people will go out on voting day when the opportunity presents itself, it illustrates why respect for our leaders has hit record low even when this is an entitlement and it also demonstrates that the future seems unpromising. We see stupendous sums of money vanishing day and night and yet majority of the citizenry remain cash strapped, we remain in a hopeless state only hoping for the next day. It is what our society has grown into, that whoever has access to the source can "eat". At Makerere University for example there is terminology used to refer to tokens or handouts that we call "mugatti". It is unashamedly courted and the beneficiaries are part of us. No doubt our institutions of learning have also been penetrated by this virus but it would be foolhardy of us to sit and watch as our country is run down.
I understand that humans by their very nature always have zest for more but this should not be at the financial burden of this our beloved nation. We can develop a culture of hard work so that our efforts can be rewarded that way. Instead of siphoning funds from the national coffers illegally, we can simply work for this money so that it shows progress. The Bible is one such place where hard work is a pillar and in its absence there is no progress. I refuse to believe that we have a completely rotten society, a few bad elements could be in place but this should not derail us from becoming better. We can hate our government but not our country.
The president of this country once stated that a medical doctor must diagnose his patient's disease before he can prescribe treatment; similarly, a political leader must diagnose correctly the ills of society. I have heard him time and again bemoan corrupt officials as the people making his government look ugly. He can choose to weed them out, if he is to revive its already bad image. That is the only way out otherwise they will keep "eating" and am worried one day they may "eat" their own people if only they haven't already started!