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Reflecting on the state of corruption in South Africa

10 December 2021 | Story Sanet Madonsela | Photo Supplied

SanetMadonsela_web read more — Sanet Madonsela is an analyst and researcher for the Focus Group. She is a PhD candidate in the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies at the University of the Free State.

On 23 August 2021, bullets hailed down on the motionless body of Babita Deokaran, the whistle-blower who courageously agreed to testify in an alleged fraud investigation related to a R300 million tender for personal protective equipment (PPE) in the Gauteng health sector. This tragedy brought to life the dangers faced by whistle-blowers in South Africa. Given the fact that corruption has played a key role in the contraction of the South African economy by 1,5% and led to an investor strike, we need more whistle-blowers to come forward, as Babita Deokaran, Angelo Agrizzi, Nomvula Mokonyane, and Athol Williams did.

According to Transparency International, corruption is rampant in South Africa, as the country only scored 44/100 on the Corruption Perceptions Index in 2020, warranting further analysis of the phenomenon. To be frank, South Africa has been rapidly deteriorating on this index with each passing year. Despite the establishment of commissions, new procurement rules, and political commitments by the President, corruption continues apace.

At a book launch co-hosted by Defend our Democracy and the Centre for Sustainable Transitions, a panel of experts discussed the importance of understanding corruption, the role of whistle-blowers in exposing corruption, and the phenomenon of state capture. During this event, Anatomy of State Capture was also launched. This 427-page book sought to conceptualise and synthesise the origins, development, and manifestation of state capture in the country. The book explained the foundations for understanding state capture, provided an explanation on how the looting of state coffers was accomplished, discussed the maintenance of legitimacy and its human costs, and provided an explanation of how weakened accountability can endanger a nation. Moreover, it dealt with how state capture mirrored the global patterns of corruption. This book is indeed a meaningful contribution by academics, policy makers, and journalists and the authors have made a meaningful contribution to this pressing issue, which is robbing the state of legitimacy, demoralising the general public, and forcing investors to flee our shores, which results in greater impoverishment.

Works such as Anatomy of State Capture have been painstaking compiled, claims substantiated, and evidence sought to ensure that it reflects the most accurate reflection. It follows in the steps of other great scholarship on the subject. Think here of Pieter Louis Myburgh’s erudite Gangster State: Unravelling Ace Magashule’s Web of Capture, Jacques Pauw’s explosive The President’s Keepers: Those Keeping Zuma in Power and Out of Prison, Robin Renwick’s insightful How to Steal a Country: State Capture and Hopes for the Future in South Africa, or the illuminating The Bosasa Billions by James Brent-Styan.

Despite the overwhelming evidence presented in these tomes, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has been slow to act. Perpetrators walk free, safely ensconced in the knowledge that the NPA has been gutted by venal political elites who put party interests before country. The act of prosecution in South Africa seems to be motivated by political considerations and not criminality itself or legality. The recent resignation of Hermione Cronje, Head of the Investigative Directorate at the NPA, underscores the sad truism that those within the system seeking to make a difference, are increasingly frustrated by the lack of action and choose to leave … to the detriment of the country.

What international experience has reinforced, is that state capture is intimately linked to the issue of longevity of political power. It is only when a political party – which has been entrenched in corruption for so long – actually faces electoral defeat, that real hope emerges. In political defeat, the incumbent rot is jettisoned as cadre deployment ends and tenderpreneurship is given a bloody nose. The recent local government elections suggested that the country’s long-suffering citizens are prepared to turn their backs on a self-serving, incompetent, and ruling political class. It is hoped that this will be realised in the next general elections. We owe selfless heroes like Babita Deokaran nothing less.

News Archive

UFS breakthrough on SRC

2005-06-10

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) today unanimously approved the establishment of a Central Student Representative Council (CSRC) to ensure the democratic participation of students at its three campuses in the governance of the university.

In a major breakthrough and transformation step for student governance, the Central SRC will include representatives of the main campus in Bloemfontein, the Vista campus and the Qwaqwa campus of the UFS.

The establishment of the Central SRC follows the incorporation of the Qwaqwa campus into the UFS in January 2003 and the incorporation of the Vista campus in Bloemfontein into the UFS in January 2004.

According to Dr Ezekiel Moraka, Vice-Rector: Student Affairs, today’s decision of Council is the result of a lengthy, negotiated agreement between the three campuses. Independent experts facilitated part of the process.

With the establishment of a Central SRC, the UFS has adopted a federal student governance model whereby the CSRC is the highest representative student body on matters of common concern for all students.

However, the three campuses of the UFS will retain autonomous SRC structures for each campus with powers and responsibilities for matters affecting the particular campus.

This arrangement will be reviewed after a year to make allowance for the phasing out of students at the Vista campus, as was agreed in the negotiations preceding the incorporation of that campus into the UFS.

The central SRC will have a maximum of 12 members made up of members of the campus SRCs, including the presidents of these three SRCs. In total, the main campus will have 5 representatives, the Qwaqwa campus will have 4 representatives and the Vista campus will have 3 representatives.

From these 12 members a central SRC president will be chosen on a quarterly basis to represent the general student body at Executive Management, Senate and Council.

In another key decision and significant step forward affecting student governance, the Council also approved amendments the constitution of the Student Representative Council (SRC) of the main campus. These amendments were the results of deliberations of student organizations, the SRC and the Student Parliament of the UFS main campus.

The amendments to the constitution of the main campus SRC determines that nine of the 18 SRC members must be elected by means of proportional representation and nine on the basis of an individual, first-past-the-post election.

This decision comes in the wake of calls by certain student organizations on main campus for proportional representation to be included as a means of electing student representatives.

The following portfolios of the main campus SRC will be contested by individual candidates on the basis of first past the post:

president
secretary
academic affairs
legal and constitutional affairs
student development
arts and culture
men’s internal liaison
ladies internal liaison
media, marketing and liaison

The following nine portfolios will be contested by affiliated organizations on a proportional representation basis.

two vice-presidents
treasurerdialogue and associations
transformation
campus affairs and recreation
sport
international affairs
community service

It also is a breakthrough to have all constitutional changes processed and approved at the June meeting of the Council, with all relevant student organizations having been part of the process and accepting the outcome of the process.

According to the chairperson of the UFS Council, Judge Faan Hancke, today’s unanimous decisions on student governance are an indication of how all UFS stakeholders represented in Council are committed to finding win-win solutions in the interest of the university.

“Once again the UFS has reached another milestone in its transformation and has shown the rest of the country that we are pioneers in the field of reaching intelligent solutions to complex situations,” Judge Hancke said.

According to Dr Moraka, the central SRC constitution will come into effect from the start of the second semester this year.

MEDIA RELEASE

Issued by: Lacea Loader
    Media Representative
    Tel: (051) 401-2584
    Cell: 083 645 2454
     E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za

10 June 2005

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