Corruption is eating our future, plus 5 highlights from 'Vrye Weekblad'

Every country in the world has been undermined by the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of them, including SA, are launching ambitious projects to get their economies back up and running, but in SA there is a hungry monster that will prevent our efforts from succeeding: corruption.

When Nelson Mandela became president in 1994, the expectation was that the country would be a beacon of morality and integrity.

We got off to a relatively good start.

Then we starting calling our troubles birth pangs. Then growing pains.

Fifteen years on, these excuses started sounding rather lame.

And then came the Zuma era of state capture: nine years of theft on a grand scale, tender fraud, patronage, self enrichment, abuse of power and mismanagement.  

The “correction” came in 2018 when Cyril Ramaphosa took over. But looking back at his two years at the helm it is clear that corruption has entered the marrow of our politics and his best efforts couldn't even make a dent in the culture of corruption.

Read more about the state of our economy, plus more news and analysis in this week's edition of Afrikaans digital weekly Vrye Weekblad.

Politicians are not the only culprits. Crooked businessmen enthusiastically jumped on the bandwagon, but the roots of corruption culture lie firmly in the ANC. Corruption and entitlement is an integral part of the ANC and Ramaphosa can do nothing about it.

There are a few ingenious ideas on how SA can survive the pandemic and lessen the affect of the weakened economy, but none of these plans will work if they are implemented by corrupt politicians and civil servants.

Next year's local government elections is the ideal platform for voters to say no to corruption. But who do you vote for if you find the DA repulsive? Could Herman Mashaba impress voters?

Currently, the only answer in the short and medium term is for civil society and investigative journalists to become even more active in sniffing out corruption and then pressuring police and the NPA to take the matters to court.  

Read the full article in this week's Vrye Weekblad

Must-read articles in this week's Vrye Weekblad

>> Browse the full June 26 edition

FREE TO READ — THE GOOD DOCTOR | He is the nation's doctor with the good bedside manner. The calm, strong hand in a time of crisis. But behind the white coat, Dr Zweli Mkhize is a formidable politician who could one day be president.

FREE TO READ — DON'T GET TOO EXCITED YET  | The latest economic data shows the positive effect of the relaxed lockdown regulations on the economy, but it is not enough to secure a sustainable recovery.

BOT WARS | Many of the activists on Twitter and TikTok are not of the flesh and blood kind, but automated bots who are propagating some sort of idea. How many of them are there, and do they really make a difference?

MUNICIPAL WASTERS | While most South Africans are tightening their belts to survive the economic blow caused by Covid-19, it looks like local governments are not seeing the economic realities.

A TALE OF TWO HOSPITALS | Cape Town's two largest hospitals, Groote Schuur and Tygerberg, are suffering due to the pandemic. We sat down with their top management to talk about how they are navigating these uncharted waters.