Constitutional reforms needed to halt legal manipulation
Reports about Busiswe Mkhwebane’s R147m legal bill and the enrichment of adv Dali Mpofu refer. The bizarre goings-on in the suspended public protector’s section 194 parliamentary impeachment inquiry, in which her counsel, Mpofu, suddenly withdrew, are indicative of the state of this nation.
It is becoming a circus à la Jacob Zuma — the “Stalingrad” tactic — to delay proceedings as much as possible so that when her tenure ends in October 2023 she may well be “free” of impeachment, leaving the taxpayer footing the bill and the only winners her legal representatives.
Mkhwebane has a right to legal representation, as do we all, but spurious postponements are cunningly exploited at the expense of swift and fair justice.
It is a profitable business for lawyers to represent implicated politicians and public representatives. Mpofu has played legal gymnastics yet again, obviously in favour of his client’s taxpayer-sponsored longevity.
This sudden turnaround is as ridiculous as it is an affront to our parliamentary and judicial systems. This while millions of South Africans go to bed hungry.
We need urgent constitutional reforms to redefine methods and processes of dealing with such matters to prevent inordinate and, at times, irrational delays in proceedings. If we do not change aspects that allow such delays, we cultivate fertile fields of exploitation by miscreants of public service to deepen the abyss of legal manipulation.
Narendh Ganesh, Durban North
Koko must be only the start
The country rejoices because Matshela Koko, former acting head of Eskom, and seven others appeared in court on October 27 in connection with, among other things, R2bn in “irregular” contracts relating to the construction of the Kusile power station. The wheels to prosecute alleged statecapturers are finally turning.
However, Western Cape High Court justice Daniel Thulare’s October 17 judgment puts a damper on this joy. It appears members of the SAPS, some in senior management, are involved in gangsterism.
The province’s premier, Alan Winde, asked the provincial police ombudsman to launch an investigation into the SAPS and the 28s gangs.
It simply means the next round of state capture is in the making.
In a more than 200-page report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, it is alleged crime syndicates operate in at least 15 sectors and are linked to illegal miners, the taxi industry, truck hijackers, drug and game smugglers, rhino poachers, transit robbers and the construction mafia. In addition, they are involved in kidnappings, trading in illegal firearms, human trafficking, fuel theft, cyber and healthcare crime.
One of Eskom’s major bottlenecks is stolen copper cables. Billions of rands in losses are the order of the day. The stateowned entity budgets R1.6bn for security services to try to curb this theft, among other things.
Vodacom announced in 2019 that between 1,500 and 2,000 batteries are stolen from cellphone towers every month. Assassinations in the taxi industry are the work of crime syndicates, few of whose members are ever apprehended. The list goes on.
The biggest damage state capture has caused South Africa is the destruction of successful units that fought these crimes. They should have been re-established, but this has not happened. Nationwide, crime syndicates and gangs all have SAPS members on their payrolls.
The country needs dynamic leaders with vision and strategies. It needs much more than the arrest of Koko.
Joe Kleinhans, Annlin, Pretoria
Why the silence on Iran atrocities? Since Mahsa Amin’s death in the custody of Teheran’s “morality” police, Iran has been embroiled in protests in most major cities of the Islamic Republic.
Five Iranians have been charged with offences that carry the death penalty because of these demonstrations. Among their “crimes” are “corruption on Earth”, “inciting people to commit crimes against the country’s security” and Moharebeh (war against God).
More than 20 journalists have been arrested and denied access to lawyers, with many more “summoned” to appear for interrogation, while hundreds of protesters have been brutally killed by security forces.
Thousands of people, including women, have been arrested. Young girls have been beaten by police and many schools closed to prevent further demonstrations. Universities have been targeted and students beaten mercilessly.
While mainly women have been in the vanguard of the unrest, demanding freedom from the shackles of the ayatollah’s suppressive rule, the South African foreign minister and the ANC have been deadly silent on the plight of Iranian women, as has UN Human Rights Commission “arbiter” Navi Pillay.
Where is President Cyril Ramaphosa with his commitment to combat genderbased violence? Too busy visiting Saudi Arabia, whose women are among the most oppressed on Earth?
Allan Wolman, Tel Aviv
Meritocracy must prevail
Most problems in South Africa emanate from rent-seeking. Political killings that are common in KwaZulu-Natal are motivated by getting something for nothing because in politics you don’t earn rewards on merit. Those in the construction mafia are rent-seekers — they take money from contractors without contributing anything to projects. Eskom is failing to address load-shedding because of this — the deployment of partisans to strategic positions without the requisite skills. The system must be overhauled and meritocracy must prevail over partisanship.
Lindani Ngcobo, Bellair
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