Johannesburg – The unrelenting Covid-19 pandemic has done little to quench the insatiable appetite for public resources by the corrupt in our midst – if anything, the charlatans have upped the ante in looting from the little the country has.
This year will be remembered for the fall from grace of erstwhile heath minister Zwelini Mkhize.
The Pietermaritzburg strongman who captured the imagination of the land when the deadly pandemic visited our shores in early 2020, seemingly didn’t waste time in lining up his and his family’s pockets.
If reports from the Special Investigation Unit are anything to go by, Mkhize is as greedy as ANC politicians come.
[membership level=”1″]What boggles the mind is the murmurs that Mkhize is willing to raise his hand to challenge Cyril Ramaphosa as ANC president.
What gives Mkhize and his supporters such effrontery? One doesn’t have to cast his eye far from Mkhize’s home province to see where he gets his inspiration from.
Jacob Zuma rose to power on the back of victimhood – by those he still alleges were handled by domestic and foreign spooks. Trust a spook to see spooks at every turn.
Mkhize’s presidential ambitions must not be taken lightly – the ANC has an appetite of electing rogues into offices of great responsibility – evidence before the Zondo Commission bears witness to this.
We have become a country that embraces crooks instead of shunning them. Palookas and those who make the loudest noise carry the day.
The pandemic-induced socio-economic shock is unlikely to be temporary, with scores of millions falling back into poverty, a shrinking middle class and growing social tensions.
Mkhize and his ilk should face the full might of the law. But one must not hold one’s breath unnecessarily.
The lack of capacity in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) means we will contend with breathing the same air as the corrupt among us. One of Zuma’s lasting legacies is the successful hollowing out of the NPA and other law-enforcement agencies.
The beneficiaries of state capture and corruption that took place in his presidency are still sitting comfortably, even daring to give advice to their successors in state-owned institutions they helped collapse.
The prosecution of ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule gave a glimpse of hope – but the numerous delays raise questions on the readiness of the embattled authority to take the matter past the finish line.
The lack of prosecution of those who facilitated the capture of the state and the lowlifes who stole monies meant to fight the biggest pandemic in a generation breeds more appetite for more looting from the poor.
Next year must see the tide against corruption take full force and the soul of the nation restored.
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