The many faces of corruption
READERS are obviously aware that corruption is in the headlines once more. The marches in Pretoria and Cape Town (belatedly supported by the ANC) had minor consequences.
Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe was roundly booed (but obviously not on the SABC).
Relations between the ANC’s Chancellor House and Hitachi and the high-level connections with Eskom were unconvincingly denied. In this context “tenderpreneurs” is a revealing local coinage.
Former minister of finance Trevor Manuel called for a Chinese-style clampdown on corruption. Perhaps President Jacob Zuma has such a plan in mind?
Corruption is, to use the cliché, hydra-headed. Banks are no longer places of security and trust. The 2008 banking catastrophe was caused by greed, fraud and collusion. The reputation of British and European banks continues to be damaged by collusion charges.
The belated criminal investigation into Fifa is proceeding and will presumably unearth the truth about South Africa’s mysteriously missing “donation”.
Volkswagen falsifying emissions data provides another extraordinary example of cynical fraud.
As Jonathan Swift commented in 1709: “Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.”
Geoff Hughes is an emeritus professor at Wits University.