The recent surge of powerful earthquakes across the country has once again exposed the vulnerability of public infrastructures that were supposed to protect, not endanger, the people. The tragic reality is that many of these structures, built with public funds, stand as monuments to corruption rather than safety. Weak and substandard, they pose a deadly threat each time the ground trembles.
Every new disaster uncovers the same old truth—roads, bridges, schools, and government buildings collapse not because nature is cruel, but because greed has hollowed out their foundations. Funds for quality materials are siphoned off, leaving structures that crumble at the first violent shake. Engineers and contractors, hand in hand with unscrupulous officials, betray their sworn duty to uphold public safety. Their betrayal is not an abstract crime; it is one measured in crushed bodies and shattered communities.
It is not as though the country lacks technical knowledge or engineering expertise. The problem lies in moral decay and the absence of accountability. Contractors pad costs and deliver inferior work, while government agencies approve them without scrutiny. After every catastrophe, investigations are promised, but the cycle repeats—names are forgotten, cases are dismissed, and the same faces return to office. The rot runs deep, and until corruption is rooted out, infrastructure will be safe, no matter how massive the budget.
Earthquakes are inevitable, but human negligence is not. The destruction they bring becomes catastrophic only when infrastructures are built like ticking time bombs—weak columns, diluted cement, and poorly anchored foundations. Each collapsed building is a grim reminder that corruption kills as effectively as any natural disaster. The people’s taxes are not used to shield them from danger, but to construct their own graves. This is the cruel irony of governance that values profit over protection.
The solution demands more than mere repair; it requires cleansing of the system itself. Strict enforcement of building standards, genuine audits of completed projects, lifetime bans for erring contractors, and public trials for those proven guilty of graft must be pursued relentlessly. Integrity, not political loyalty, should define who gets to build for the nation. If the government truly values the lives of its citizens, it must ensure that every public structure stands not only on solid ground but also on the unshakable foundation of honesty and justice.
