Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Ndungane warns of corruption ‘dissolving’ society
“CORRUPTION is a key element in economic underperformance and a major obstacle to poverty alleviation and development,” said Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Njongonkulu Ndungane at the third annual Call to End Corruption by the Claremont Main Road Mosque yesterday.
The call was made in line with the 11th annual International Anti-Corruption day as declared by the UN to focus the world’s attention on combating corruption.
Ndungane called corruption a corrosive disease and compared it to “rust”.
“If not arrested and stopped in its tracks, it will eventually cause the fabric of our society to dissolve,” he said.
He told the packed mosque, “Corruption hurts the poor disproportionately by diverting funds intended for development, undermining the government’s ability to provide basic services, feeding inequality and injustices and discouraging foreign aid and investment”.
Ndungane said he and the UN regarded corruption as the biggest obstacles in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development goals.
He added “corruption is an insidious plank that has a wide range of corrosive effects on societies. It undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to violation of rights, distorts the quality of life and allows organised crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish.
A message from the UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on the UN United Against Corruption site also condemned the rerouting of funds to line corrupt government officials’ pockets.
“By diverting domestic and foreign funds, corruption wrecks economic and social development and increases poverty. It harms everyone, but the poor and vulnerable suffer most,” reads the message.
During the address, Ndungane commended former public protector Thuli Madonsela and her office for taking a stand against corruption.
He urged all government departments to “act decisively to root out bribery and corruption. Not only among civil servants but among the political bosses to whom these civil servants report”.
According to the latest anti- bribery and corruption survey released two weeks ago, “39 percent of respondents (who took part in the survey across the globe) have experienced incidents of bribery or corruption in the last 24 months”.
The report also states that the majority (79 percent) of incidents were reported to have occurred in South Africa.