South Africans need to fight institutionalised corruption, greed and state capture through mobilised activism that leads to action in the streets - if we want change.
That was the advice from ANC MP and former minister of finance Pravin Gordhan. He told delegates at the ethics and energy conference at Stellenbosch University on Thursdaythe country had an economic system that "incentivised" corruption and "rewarded" greed.
"With the kind of economic system that dominates, the social standards by which people are judged actually incentivises corruption. Because greed is a key driver of economic behaviour,'' said Gordhan. "One of the biggest diseases we need to sort out is the disease of greed. That is what breaks institutions and turns individuals."
Gordhan was at the event to accept the Order of the Baobab from the Business Ethics Network of Africa. The award is given annually to a prominent individual for "going to extraordinary lengths" to promote organisational ethics in the Africa.
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