Successful corruption prosecutions vital for economic recovery

There is an avalanche of available data coming out of SA which covers the devastating effects of corruption in a society. The books and papers being written right now will do meaningful work towards demonstrating the reprehensible thing that corruption is for all generations.

History will display the despicable deeds of those who stole under the shadow of liberation politics. Their names must be forever emblazoned on the memorials of shame so that we may never forget.

“It is very concerning because the government is there to ensure people get the services they need. A few weeks ago we heard evidence about the asbestos project. I heard evidence that the job could have been done for a cost of R21m but the provincial government gave the job to a joint venture for more than R250m.”

These are the remarks by deputy chief justice Raymond  Zondo after hearing evidence at the State Capture commission about the asbestos project which has become known as the asbestos scandal.

Consider the size of the price inflation for this one project, an estimated R229m, more than a 1,000%. Imagine discovering that the company awarded this asbestos contract, Blackhead Consulting, made payments to politically connected individuals to the tune of R34m. Implicated in those payments or, eh, donations, is also the ruling political party. Except we don’t need to imagine it.

Former ANC president  and head of state Jacob Zuma once exposed this foot-shuffling, political street-smart fundraising method. I am sure some of his comrades cringed at the blatant manner in which Zuma blurted out what was essentially an expose on the ANC’s “ethically challenged” funding strategies.

“I always say to business people that if you invest in the ANC, you are wise. If you don’t invest in the ANC, your business is in danger. The TG [ANC treasurer general] is a nice and handsome young man. When he knocks, open the doors. If he says we need something he will ask one thing only. If he says support the ANC, just write a blank cheque with the instruction that it should be six digits.”

I am sure Zuma was being his old charming self when he said these words, imagining that he would rule until Jesus came back. But it seems the man knew what he was talking about. With a 1,000% price inflation on a single project, who would sweat a small donation to “the party”? With that kind of mark-up, you could literally pay lists upon lists of people and still have lots left for Bentleys and mansions.

The asbestos scandal of the Free State government is just one the many painful stories of corruption and how it destroys our fledgling society. Not only did this scandal take state resources and put them in politically connected individuals’ pockets illegally, it puts the lives of SA citizens in danger.

We have yet to hear how many people suffer poor health because of the asbestos roofs which were never replaced. We need to know how many people have died because of these dangerous asbestos roofs since the project was supposed to have been completed. Will the money be recovered? Will the roofs now be replaced?

However, it is comforting to note that the Hawks have started arresting people in an effort to combat SA’s out-of-control corruption. We will have to wait and see if the prosecution of these apparently powerful individuals will be successful. That the arrests have started, and that there are possibly high-profile politicians on the list, has lifted the mood in the country.

Ultimately, if we want to act decisively against corruption, the National Prosecuting Authority has to do a thorough job and prosecute these corruption cases successfully. This will go a long way into deterring similar criminal activities in the future.

At the same time, if President Cyril Ramaphosa hopes to make any progress in the economic recovery initiative, it is imperative that the state succeeds in prosecuting corruption. This will increase confidence both domestically and internationally in our abilities to run a stable democracy, with enough trustworthiness to grow businesses and organisations.

This is the type of confidence we need r to apply ourselves in the effort to make something out of this country. It is the same type of confidence required by domestic and international investors to invest in our country. The time for the type of investment espoused by Zuma in 2015 has hopefully come to an end.