March against corruption a fight for soul of the state
Graft has been identified as a spiralling pandemic that hits poor particularly hard
SOUTH Africa would be much richer without corruption. South Africans would be much better off, morally and materially. Our social fabric would be less torn, our economy fairer and more robust, fewer people might be begging on the streets, more children might be in school.
This might seem far-fetched, but with tens of billions of rand lost each year to corruption, what else could we do with that money?
On June 16, this year an alliance of nine trade unions and 37 civil society organisations announced the formation of Unite Against Corruption (UAC), a new campaign that would make its demands felt with mass marches to Parliament and the Union Buildings. Those marches are tomorrow. Our dream was of tens of thousands of people from all classes, races and religions, but particularly the poor, unemployed and the marginalised finding their power again, and declaring that enough is enough. We have to work to try to realise that dream. We spent three months canvassing, cajoling, persuading, leafleting, speaking in factories and churches, researching, preaching, teaching, convincing.
Now we are on the eve of the marches. On paper, UAC has grown to be the biggest civic movement in post-apartheid history. Two of three major trade union federations now endorse the march. Cosatu opposes it but many of its members support it. More than 500 NGOs and civic organisations have joined hands. The churches have rediscovered a conscience. In the words of Reverend Moss Nthla: “If the church does not use the trust levels that it has to call for a different way of being South African, of respect for the constitution and basic responsibility, we may lose the opportunity to stop the country’s downward slide.” We will march! Sadly, only the private business community has been non-committal. By doing so they further erode their public legitimacy. This is not the first time. They kept quiet about apartheid while they could exploit it to their own advantage. They left it to the workers and young people to take the risks on the streets, face the guns and fill the prisons. And they are doing it again.
Over the past three months, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has been at the forefront of UAC, organising its members to join the marches. They applied by legal means to Nedlac for a protected strike under Section 77 of the Labour Relations Act. But now an unholy coalition of business, government and a community who represents only itself at Nedlac have conspired to block workers’ rights to participate in the marches through a protected socioeconomic strike.
Numsa members and other workers have a right to be part of the movement against corruption. A day of lost production, a strike against the corrupters, will cost the economy a fraction of what is taken by the thieves. UAC calls on Business Unity South Africa, the Black Business Council, the Steel Engineering Industry Federation of South Africa and other business organisations to declare publicly that workers who join the marches will not be victimised.
But why pick a fight against corruption you might ask? The reason is straightforward. Corruption has exploded out of control. It is a pandemic that touches each one of us, but hits the poor particularly hard.
We know it is huge, but because it is deliberately hidden, estimates of its scale vary. Several years ago public-interest law centre SECTION27 commissioned research on the nature and size of corruption in the health system. We calculated that an estimated R20 billion is stolen a year in both the private and public health systems. That is R20bn stolen from you. Imagine if similar levels of theft are going on in other departments and businesses, then you get a sense of the scale.
This level of corruption leads directly to social instability, unemployment and despair. The billions of rand in irregular and unauthorised expenditure that the Auditor General reports in our municipalities is often corruption. Corruption is why sanitation and water systems are corroding. It’s why we don’t have money to employ people in necessary public service, ensuring that we fulfil the constitution’s mandate for local government that is “transparent and development oriented”.
Fighting against corruption is fighting for the constitution and social justice.
Theft is illegal. It should be investigated and prosecuted. But corruption is about so much more than theft.
It is about the murder of people who expose corruption. Has anybody even bothered to collect their names?
To prevent the investigation of corruption, the criminals have to hobble the police and the courts. In high profile cases like that of Brett Kebble, we have seen how organised crime infiltrates the National Prosecuting Authority. With the arms deal we saw how politicians were bought. Critical crime fighting institutions are being captured. If we don’t act together, the nuclear energy purchase will be Arms Deal II.
The fight against corruption is therefore a fight for the soul of our state. If corruption is not arrested we will become a failed state with a failed constitution; a dog-eat-dog state.
I am angry about this. I am threatened by it. I see corruption as an assault on the poor. Because of that I will be part of the march to the Union Buildings tomorrow.
Many people ask whether a march will change anything? Yes, it will. Tomorrow’s march is intended to be a peaceful demonstration of the scale of anger we feel. It is sending a signal to politicians, the government and business of the size and power of the anger that is gathering about the way they conduct themselves.
Tomorrow we will hand a set of demands to the president, or his representative, as well as to a leader of the business community. You can read those demands at www.uniteagainstcorruption.co.za. We will demand a detailed response to each of these demands within 30 days. We will also request each political party to respond to the demands. If our demands are not met and plans published as to how they are going to be acted upon, we will announce other forms of action, including an unprecedented mass march to the opening of Parliament in February.
In the meantime we will not be idle. Unite Against Corruption is becoming an organised network of people’s power, a place where people talk and organise together for social justice. We are calling on people to identify places and people involved in corruption, to expose it publicly, to report it to the police and report whether the police act on it.
There is a lot of work to be done. We invite you to join us in doing it. See you at the march!
Mark Heywood is the director of SECTION27