Close Constitution loopholes for looting

THE case of former speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula demonstrates, in the clearest way, how the transformation project was bound to fail.

All the policies enshrined in our Constitution, designed to correct the injustices of the past, were used as a vehicle to sabotage transformative processes by the ANC elite. The main objective of all with access to power being to become instant millionaires – and making sure that their friends and families were not left behind.

The millions meant for service delivery in most of the tenders, saw a large chunk of the money first going into the pockets of those who had won the contracts and a small portion reserved for service delivery.

We have heard how the most important department mandated to protect the country from its enemies – within and outside – has been hollowed out. It has become unable to fulfil its functions and keep its fleet of aircraft and vehicles functional because of insufficient funding. What we did not know was that the people who won contracts were enriching themselves to become millionaires while citizens suffered.

Now they are turning against one another to escape accountability for their sins – sacrificing Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula by turning

State witness when they actively participated in amassing millions in a well-planned looting project. South African law is so open to abuse that Mapisa-Nqakula becomes the sacrificial lamb while the corrupter walks free.

With the looming elections, how many skeletons will come tumbling out for powerful ANC members? All those basic BEE enterprises have achieved little. A new government to rescue SA from collapse is urgently needed, starting with an amendment of the Constitution. COMETH DUBE-MAKHOLWA | Midrand