So many fake claims, so little done about them

WHAT is this peculiar South African sickness of boasting of dubious, or even nonexistent, qualifications? Dr Pallo Jordan might be the most influential member of the ruling party to be sucked into a “fake or not” scandal involving his credentials, but he’s far from being the sole occupant of the class. Others include perhaps the worst pig farmer in the country, former North West premier Thandi Modise (false claims that she was studying a master’s in economics), Chippy Shaik (false claims he had a PhD in engineering), Speaker Baleka Mbete (a fake driver’s licence) and Carl Niehaus (a general assortment of fibs and exaggerations on his CV).

Nor is it simply an ANC problem. The Democratic Alliance’s Phumzile van Damme, it emerged earlier this year, was born in Swaziland, not South Africa as her official documents claim — the importance of which is that any fraudulently acquired identity document could disqualify her from being an MP.

And in December, the plague of South African fakes who wheedle their way into prominent positions made its way onto news broadcasts across the world. Sign-language interpreter Thamsanqa Jantjie made nothing more than meaningless gestures at Nelson Mandela’s memorial.

Even in the business sector, it emerged in 2011 that high-profile liquidator Enver Motala’s real name is in fact Enver Dawood — a man convicted on 93 counts of fraud and one of theft back in 1978.

Are we worse than most? It’s true that across the world, exaggerated CVs and white lies are standard ploys that employers must encounter.

In South Africa though, the frauds and fakers seem to rise so much higher, and stay for so much longer, without being exposed.

Back in 1999, former Mpumalanga premier Ndaweni Mahlangu said it was just an accepted fact of life that “many politicians publicly deny they did certain things but then later admit to them”.

The blurred lines created by the political transition two decades ago haven’t helped. It became an accepted truth that qualifications obtained during apartheid were of questionable standing, so the scope to assert certain titles or qualifications was that much greater.

The sad effort to deceive people about your credentials, be it because of poor self-esteem or a consequence of a dehumanising political system, is meant to provide affirmation and recognition. Once exposed, it undercuts both these goals.

The idea of unswerving loyalty may have served the ANC well two decades ago when it was a liberation movement. Until South Africa weeds out the frauds and the fakers who have no right to be in our top offices, we’ll never seriously address mismanagement, let alone squeeze the oxygen out of corruption.