Students of history would certainly have developed an acute awareness of the devastating role played by corruption in the affairs of man since time immemorial.
Some would argue that we are dealing with and are all a part of “Fallen Man”, and it is just the degree of its prevalence that distinguishes countries and societies from each other.
Regarding SA, the sweep of our history records the story of indigenous, largely nomadic peoples occupying mainly the southern parts of the country, colonisation by Europeans, importing of slave and indentured labour, migrations of peoples from central and sub-Saharan Africa, and a melting pot of skirmishes, wars and conflicts over land ownership and rights.
While the merits of the claims of different interest groups are beyond the scope of this article, the reality is that the political circumstances have always been a fertile breeding ground for alarming levels of devastating corruption in our country … and there seem to have been extremely enthusiastic participants.
Lord Acton’s 19th century contention that: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely “, has been seen to apply irrespective of which political party or group has been in power throughout our history. Greed, disregard for human rights, self-enrichment and clandestine, underhand dealings have been the norm. But many believe — and ongoing commissions, whistleblower revelations and investigative journalism discoveries support the view — that corruption has gone particularly rogue and become disturbingly rampant during the 21st century.
The rot seems to have permeated all levels to the extent that much of our state is alleged to have been captured, state-owned enterprises have been severely compromised and service delivery continues to deteriorate at an alarming rate.
The very infrastructure of our country is at serious risk; load- shedding, contaminated water supplies, a bankrupt national airline, roads in dangerous disrepair, bankrupt municipalities and many poor people going insolvent … the disturbing list goes on. And the evidence of alleged top-level government officials’ involvement is frighteningin the extreme.
Equally disquieting allegations of obfuscation, obstruction, cover-ups and outright dishonesty by law enforcement agencies and arms of the judiciary, ring alarm bells as never before in our country. An observation by this writer seems to have relevance: “When the law takes a back seat and corruption drives the car, we are heading for unmitigated disaster.” — R M Hewett
As history and current processes play themselves out in SA, leaders and concerned citizens would be well-advised to examine some of the literature regarding corruption:
“Corruption is a cancer, a cancer that eats away at a citizen’s faith in democracy, diminishes the instinct for innovation and creativity.” — Joe Biden, former vice-president (and current president) of the US.
