Challenge corruption in all sectors

19 January 2010 - 23:59 By S'Thembiso Msomi
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S'Thembiso Msomi: Zethu Khumalo, by all accounts, is a woman struggling financially.

She recently joined the ever-growing ranks of the unemployed when the company she worked for was forced to retrench her and some of her colleagues due to the tough economic conditions.

But it is what she did with her severance package that has set tongues wagging in her small Chesterville community and elsewhere.

This single mother of three is reported to have donated her entire R78,000 package to a popular, and apparently wealthy, KwaZulu-Natal pastor. She deposited the entire sum into pastor Nkosinathi "NJ" Sithole's personal bank account, leaving herself and her children without a cent.

The incident would not have hit news headlines were it not for outraged members of her family who, on finding out how she spent the money, publicly demanded Sithole return it. What angered them the most was that Khumalo was not even a member of Sithole's God's Army Evangelistic Ministries. She belongs to a different denomination.

She had attended an interdenominational gathering where The Caterpillar - as Sithole is popularly known - had left a lasting impression on her with his preaching of the Prosperity Gospel.

Both Khumalo and Sithole defended their actions when the story first broke. Khumalo insisted that the Holy Spirit had told her to make the offering to Sithole's church if she wanted to be blessed.

Sithole, on the other hand, blamed the entire controversy on "rival" preachers whom he said were "jealous" of his success.

But the pressure from the public, including from political parties, soon became relentless.

And, by the end of last week, the Caterpillar had capitulated. He grudgingly paid back the money.

It was a good ending to a shocking story, thanks to public pressure. However, there must be scores of similar cases around the country that go unreported.

Without doubt, the majority of evangelical preachers out there are well-meaning men and women who serve humanity with dedication and humility.

But there is a tiny minority of religious leaders who thrive on exploiting the poor and vulnerable.

Like the politicians who abuse their elected positions for selfish ends, such religious leaders need to be exposed.

If we are to make South Africa a better and more humane society, we have to speak truth not just to political power - but to all other forms of authority.

Religious institutions are as open to abuse and manipulation as the state and the corporate world.

The Sunday Times this weekend reported on allegations of nepotism and malpractice levelled at former cellphone-giant boss Alan Knott-Craig. Among other things, he is accused of having approved a R9-million budget overspend to support a company run by his son, Alan Knott-Craig junior.

While he was Vodacom's chief executive, an agency owned by his niece and nephew was allegedly awarded a lucrative contract without going through a tender process.

Knott-Craig has since denied all the claims, blaming it all on "disgruntled" former Vodacom employees. Be that as it may, the Vodacom saga should serve as a reminder that we must be as vigilant against the abuse of power in the private sector as we are in relation to those who hold public office.

For South Africa cannot hope to rid the public sector of corruption, greed and abuse of power if these issues are left unchecked in other sectors of society.

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