Fighting corruption in SA persistently fails because too many people do not see the wrong in it. Others have a poor understanding of what corruption is. Yet others underestimate its damaging impact on individuals, government and the economy.
Alarmingly, many people think that corruption has no costs. This means they do not see the urgency to tackle the scourge. Corruption is deadly. It takes lives, jobs and opportunities. It should be seen as a crime against humanity.
Many ANC leaders say they cannot understand critics’ hammering the ANC government on corruption because they believe corruption “does not kill”. Many a taxi that has been given a fraudulent roadworthy certificate by a corrupt traffic department official has led to accidents, injuries and deaths.
The corruption in government tenders to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) by giving contracts corruptly to incompetent companies means that substandard PPE offers little protection from illness and deaths.
It also means that legitimate companies that could actually deliver quality and efficient PPE may close down because they are priced out of the market, causing job losses.
Corruption is the reason before the Covid-19 outbreak for SA’s low economic growth rate, the recession and the country being assigned junk status by global rating agencies. Falling into a recession almost immediately cuts more than 200,000 jobs. Former president Jacob Zuma’s firing in December 2015 of former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene for allegedly stopping corrupt deals cost the economy more than R500bn and 148,000 jobs were lost by this single event.
Many ANC leaders, members and supporters wrongly believe that being in power gives the party and its leaders the right to use public resources for their individual or party use. Conflict of interests are often poorly understood by public and elected representatives, who cannot see the wrong in using state resources for party, personal and constituency use.
Corruption is deadly. It takes lives, jobs and opportunities. It should be seen as a crime against humanity.
Many, say that because colonial and apartheid governments were corrupt, it is now the opportunity for the post-apartheid government to do so. The so-called “it’s our turn to eat” phenomenon. In the same vein, many also say Western governments’ criticisms of African countries’ corruption should be ignored because the accusing countries also have incidents of graft; in fact, wrongheadedly arguing that African corruption should be excused on the basis that industrial countries also have incidents of corruption.
Some wrongly argue that in African “culture” corruption is allowed, saying elected and public representatives are expected according to African “cultural” precepts to look after their “own”, even if it means doing so corruptly. Former President Jacob Zuma infamously said corruption as a phenomenon did not “exist” in African “culture” and was a “Western” and “foreign” concept. Of course, corruption is wrong in any culture.
Corruption in business is often not seen as corruption either. Business figures critical of corruption in government circles abet corruption by colluding in graft practices. Giving a kickback for securing a contract, to appointing a token black or black politician to a board or in a senior position, to secure access to government contracts is corruption, but often not seen as such.
Collusion practices, where prices are fixed between companies to the detriment of poor consumers, are rarely seen by company executives as corruption. In many cases, mines have been found to operate without water licences. Social and labour plans mining companies signed up to in return for mining licences are in many cases not implemented.
Many banks have been accused of charging double interest in the first month of a mortgage loan, which causes mortgages to be in arrears from the start of repayment. It is illegal under the Usury Act to charge interest in advance. First National Bank, a few years ago, after being accused of doing so, refunded customers to the amount of R154m.
Since 1994, many fund administrators and asset managers have claimed for themselves interests on pension funds of unclaimed beneficiaries. There are more than R50bn in unclaimed pension fund benefits owed to four million people. Pension fund administrators make profits on the interest of unclaimed benefits. Again, this is corruption.
Many citizens are yet to link job losses, public service delivery failures and factories closures to government corruption.
Many South Africans complain about airtime balances that deplete even when their mobile data is switched off. Mobile operators rarely compensate consumers for such depleted airtime. Such practices, if done deliberately, are corrupt.
Many citizens are yet to link job losses and public service delivery failures to government corruption. Ordinary citizens often continue to vote for corrupt parties and leaders, yet expect not to see public service delivery, factory closures and job losses.
Opposition parties, civil society organisations and the media have also been unable to consistently make clear the link between higher corruption and job losses, business collapse and public service delivery failures. Unless citizens see the damaging impact of corruption and reject it and vote out corrupt leaders,, the fight against corruption will remain a losing one.
• William Gumede is associate professor, school of governance, University of the Witwatersrand, and author of Restless Nation: Making Sense of Troubled Times (Tafelberg). This is an edited extract from a recent presentation at an anti-corruption seminar of the SA Hindu Maha Sabha
