The word "corruption", so dominant in most of our political conversations, is being abused and soon it will lose its meaning. Though we appreciate the work by various agencies to fight corruption both in the state and in the private sector, more still has to be done.We are encouraged by elected officials and other leaders who have finally found their voices and are beginning to speak out about the devastating effects of corruption.Minister of Local Government Pravin Gordhan warned on Tuesday that, if the government fails to deal urgently with corruption, other political parties will capitalise on the situation.Gordhan said reality was finally hitting home."Corruption is like cancer. It starts in one cell of the body and then spreads to the next. If you don't catch it early, it spreads to other parts of the body. Let us stop it while we still have the opportunity to do so."Let us change our systems, and control behaviours and cultures, in order for people not to get the impression that all of us are corrupt."We need more voices and leaders to be open about the corruption that is eroding the freedom for which so many paid the ultimate price.Gauteng's premier was even more direct when he said that corruption and wasteful expenditure in the government were "not a rumour, it is real".The challenge now is to move from words and actually begin to dismantle the corrupt system.The time has come for action to be seen to be taken, and for the guilty to be exposed and made to pay back the money.If we have institutions and systems that can detect corruption, why are we failing to stop the rot?It does not help us if we continue to point at President Jacob Zuma and say he should lead by example when we ourselves find it so easy to swindle the state and our employers...