Amnesty may be the way

THE TENTACLES of state capture and corruption are deeply inserted in all parts of South African society, with far-reaching consequences. In Zulu the common saying is inhlanhla yami (my luck) when one steals.

It’s unfortunate that some of those screaming the loudest in the corridors of power are the problem themselves, directly or indirectly complicit in having allowed this to continue unchecked. Corruption is fast becoming part of our culture and it will be a challenge to address this in a secular system of government.

What might help is a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to invite those involved in these misdemeanours to come forward and confess. It needn’t be a general amnesty, but one confined to certain categories of crime which could be decided in private chambers.

The confessors would automatically qualify for a plea bargain deal in terms of which appropriate corrective measures would be taken.

I say this mindful of the fact that it would be virtually impossible for the state, with its limited resources, to cut the crippling umbilical cord, coupled with endemic corruption in the justice system itself.

Unfortunately, our constitution is so designed that power is the order of the day. Those who have the means can drive the court process endlessly, challenging a poorly resourced justice system. Amnesty is nothing new; there have been tax amnesties in the past, with a fair amount of success.

We now need to reinforce our commitment to ubuntu in the healing of our nation in this very sore chapter in our fledgling post-apartheid history.

Under the chieftain system of governance, corruption was unheard of in black society.

This drives me to the point that the adoption of exclusive Western value systems based on class classification is by no means the only way forward. Retreat, Western Cape