Spread of rot starts at the top

IN most democracies, those in authority are expected to fall on their swords in the event of public scandals, repeated incompetence or loss of control. If not, they are fired.

Had the minister of basic education been sacked over the Limpopo text book scandal, or the police chiefs lost their jobs at the time of Andries Tatane's killing or the Marikana massacre, that would have been a wake-up call.

But head honchos feel safe from public wrath because we have a government that, in most cases, protects those appointed - more for political favour than efficiency.

There is no guarantee that the rolling of heads at the top would prevent wicked deeds such as the dragging of the Mozambican taxi driver to his death, but it is possible that this might not have happened. We must go beyond the foot soldiers to analyse who bears responsibility for a culture and mindset that have led some to believe they can disregard our constitution and Bill of Rights.

Such behaviour is created by a poisoned environment. I am not speaking about the macho conditions of South African life, which will not easily disappear. Neither am I invoking the tendency to find the reason in a violent legacy from the liberation struggle. Far more bloody conflicts over centuries of dictatorships, revolutionary upheavals or world wars have seen the emergence of civilised societies.

The peaceful transition we enjoyed in 1994 was illustrative of reasoned behaviour. If there is something in our water or testosterone to dispose us as a people - and the police force emergent from our ranks - to inherent brutality, then irrational mass violence would surely have erupted at the most sensitive points of our transition.

One of our key reforms then was to abolish the militarised "police force" and create a "police service" with strong civil oversight. In the face of a rise in crime, generated mainly from poverty, the "shoot to kill" exhortation was led by ministers and police chiefs in a populist bid to prove they were the hawks for the job in the post-Polokwane era.

At the stroke of a pen the police service concept was nullified and military ranks reinstated.

Following Sydney Mufamadi's tenure as police minister, attempts to transform the police ground to a halt.

The backward mentality of this leadership was demonstrated when an exercise to recruit young people in KwaZulu-Natal resulted in eight deaths at a fitness assessment trial. There are other instances of administrative incompetence, such as the shortage of DNA kits and delays in crafting the legislation to bring DNA technology to court.

Parliament needs to strengthen oversight through posing tough questions to ministers, reinforcing the effectiveness of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, improving legislation such as completing the anti-torture laws and, together with civil society and the public, demanding necessary reforms from the executive.