Three steps to sort out corruption

THE amount of corruption in almost every government organisation in South Africa is astronomical considering that a lot of it is not public knowledge.

South Africa is not alone in this regard; the majority of Africa as well as many other countries all around the world have corrupt governments.

We are no longer living in the dark ages or even middle ages where countries were ruled by a king, queen or a self-appointed dictator who simply did as they pleased. We are now, supposedly, living in a “free, democratic” country with modern 21st century constitutions and laws to protect and empower it’s “citizen’s rights”.

But it still feels like our democratically elected leaders are not accountable to anyone but themselves.

We now have international bodies like the AU and the UN that should set in place the necessary structures to hold leaders accountable for their actions.

Considering the amount of corruption, crime and genocide in Africa, I would challenge the AU to consider implementing the following three requirements to be written into the constitution of each democratic African country that belongs to the AU:

◆ The president and the top leadership team have to undergo independent lifestyle audits annually.

◆ The president is permitted to stand for no longer than two terms in any form of leadership, and thereafter no direct family member can stand for the next term.

◆ Once the president has completed his/her term of leadership, he/ she must undergo a period of “peer review” by the AU where if they are found guilty of acts of corruption, mismanagement or genocide, they are to be prosecuted by an independent judiciary and all these costs will be covered by the AU itself.

LEON DE VOS | La Lucia