By Melusi Ncala
How we as a people elect to address corruption in all its forms is mainly determined by our understanding of wrongdoing in this regard.
Each person or grouping thinks of graft differently, based on our differences in upbringing, inculcated morals and values, adopted law and social conventions.
Dealing with contesting ideas and principles is part and parcel of the birthing of this new society – dubbed a rainbow nation, but battling internal and external demons, present and past ills and uncertainties of the future and togetherness, all seemingly hogged by alarming rates of malfeasance and greed. That said, we need to stand on common ground in pointing out the obviously wrong.
Based on Corruption Watch’s (CW) survey of 1 500 South African youths, conducted and published in 2020, we can surely agree that no ethical person should turn a blind eye to an official’s act of soliciting sexual favours for protection or opportunity. Nor should they ignore the bundling up of a criminal case when money has exchanged hands, or demands for bribes from the poor and vulnerable when they require basic services like the provision of water, housing and food.
As youth ourselves, we were deeply concerned by the number of corruption cases reported to CW that highlight corrupt dealings in the education sector, licensing centres, in recruitment for gainful employment, and the challenges in accessing basic services in their impoverished communities.
To provide some perspective, we found it troubling that almost a sixth of the more than 30 000 corruption cases received from inception to date – around 5 000 cases – speak to issues of the theft of education funds, procurement and employment irregularities in learning institutions, sextortion, and mismanagement of finances. For almost nine years, CW has also gathered between 50 and 70 corruption cases per month relating to bribes, fraud, and procurement and employment irregularities in municipalities and licensing centres.
There are several key points that we draw from the published youth survey report:
◆ The current economic climate gives rise to widespread corruption.
◆ There is general distrust of institutions, including big corporations, regarding their ability and intention to root out corruption.
◆ The sentiment about growing levels of impropriety affirms that corruption is endemic in South Africa.
◆ With the gap between the rich and poor ever widening, young people are buying into neoliberal economics of focusing on the self at whatever cost, and corruption is the solution.
We deem these elements to be integral to propping up the current state of cronyism, patronage and emptying of the public purse.
The findings in this report are not to be read in isolation. This sample of young men and women merely reflects that which we are all too familiar with.
If that is not enough, further testimony to this reality is provided by whistle-blower accounts that Corruption Watch highlights in its most recent Analysis of Corruption Trends Report – almost 2 000 allegations were received in relation to the same issues with generally the same institutions as those fingered by the youth.
Undoubtedly, the situation is dire and it would be remiss of us to not take heed of what is tantamount to a damning pronouncement on our society.
Melusi Ncala is a researcher at Corruption Watch.
The Star