Madonsela: ‘Who will tell those implicated in state capture that SA sees them as enemies of democracy?’

Former public protector Thuli Madonsela has set tongues wagging after taking aim at those implicated in state capture. 

Madonsela questioned whether those who have been implicated are aware they are enemies of democracy. 

“Who will tell those implicated in state capture the truth that seems to elude them, which is that the majority of the people of South Africa, black and white, young and old, do not support them and see them as enemies of our hard-earned democracy?” she asked. 

Madonsela said the government should put laws in place to avoid a “Potemkin constitutional effect”.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the meaning of Potemkin as "an impressive facade or show designed to hide an undesirable fact or condition."

“Government must prospectively assess all planned laws, policies and social schemes to predict whether they will reduce or exacerbate existing inequalities to avoid a Potemkin constitutional effect regarding the promise of social justice and transformative constitutionalism.”

Madonsela's question drew mixed reactions, with many saying "the problem is not in the telling, it’s in the listening".

Madonsela previously weighed in on crime and corruption in the country, saying “a lot of it stems from blocked channels of honest access to societal opportunities, resources, benefits and privileges and structurally skewed distribution of burdens”.

She said all these “conspire to undermine a fair chance for social mobility”.

Madonsela denied the corrupt are simply “victims of an unequal society”.

In July last year, Madonsela called on state capture whistle-blowers to name and shame those who are corrupt.

“We know those implicated in state capture are exploiting the pain and hardships many people are suffering as the aftermath of state capture, Covid-19 regulations, digitalisation and the Ukraine war. Don’t let them turn our country into a wasteland again. Be a whistle-blower.”

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