Hawks picking low-hanging fruit?

ONCE again corruption is dominating the headlines, but this time private individuals are involved.

The Hawks have now sprung into action to get to the root of the allegations of bribery and corruption.

Even pressure groups like the KZN medical school’s Progressive Youth Alliance have called for the removal of staff implicated in this scandal.

It must be understood that at the heart of this problem is the quota system that limits students’ enrolment on racial grounds.

An African student wanting to study medicine needs a 60% pass to qualify, while Indian students require almost 90% to be accepted.

Hence loopholes within the system are going to be exploited for aspiring medical students to obtain a place.

Generally speaking, students with distinctions, some above 95%, feel they are being short-changed by biased policies that keep them away from realising their dreams.

One wonders as to the true agenda of the Hawks and various political groups in according so much prominence to these cases.

This case broke last week, yet newspapers are still making a meal of it. Murder cases are not even dealt with with so much enthusiasm. Anybody who breaks the law needs to be prosecuted accordingly. Could this be an easy case to crack and a likely feather in the cap of the Hawks? The files of many high profile cases remain open and the crimes unsolved.

Selective prosecution by government institutions will always come under scrutiny.

The notion that the everybody is equal before the law is being questioned. The politically connected are evading prosecution, as some cases do not even make it to court.

Bribery and corruption have to be reduced. Perpetrators must face the consequences of their actions.

Selective prosecutions will dent the credibility of the state and result in the citizens viewing it with suspicion.

Let’s hope there is a speedy resolution to the selling of medical places saga.

This should not end here; the whole system of quotas needs to be thoroughly investigated. However, we will not see the end of this type of corruption.

As long as selections are biased and not based on merit, there will always be those who will use this as an opportunity to exploit the system for their own gain. Vijay Surujpal

Politically connected are evading prosecution