THE ‘SCORPION’ MUST STING IN-HOUSE

What do we make of the assertion that the fight against corruption in this country is not hindered by a leadership crisis but a courage crisis? Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Vice Chairman and Madlangempisi MP Sibusiso ‘Scorpion’ Nxumalo told a meeting of the PAC and controlling officers this week that the lack of courage to act against corruption stems from the fact that people of this nation were interrelated.

‘The Scorpion’ does not provide much to support this notion except to suggest that there should be an independent auditor general (AG) who reports to Parliament and serve as its public purse protector; an independent central bank to monitor financial flaws and red flags, a robust and independent media to be whistle-blowers as well as an independent and professional anti-corruption unit to deter and vigilantly fight corruption.

Courage

“The time has arrived to fear not as in our courage as parliamentarians lies our prosperity as a nation. This courage needs integrity, which is doing something right when no one is looking. It needs to rebuke our blood brothers and sisters and it needs true brother’s keepers and stewardship,” he said.
“As long as the Anti-Corruption Commission is toothless, we are as good as there is no law, we will continue to bootlick criminals, our Parliament refuses to be an accomplice to public theft or looting. Corruption fights back and it fights dirty. Are we prepared to bear the brunt?” he wondered. Good question? And the answers must start coming from Parliament.

He is correct in as far as the roles of the sectors he has cited above, but one disagrees on the part of Parliament refusing to be an accomplice to public theft or looting. For starters, corruption rests at the doorstep of almost every aspiring Member of Parliament (MP) who embarks on a political journey to the august House. Enticing voters with ‘goodies’ and tournaments in exchange for a vote is planting the seed for reward without merit and this is defined in Section 75 of the Elections Act of 2013 as bribery.

This practice has given rise to a fraudulent relationship between the people we expect to hold high moral values, pre and post elections and the voters. It is the lack of courage by the aspiring MPs to speak out and refuse to be part of the buy-a-vote scheme that has helped corruption find refuge among legislators and the electorate. It rises all the way to Senate, where cash is currency for the Senate and MP seats voted for by members of the House of Assembly.

Wave

How then can we expect a ‘house of dishonourables’ to wave a wand of integrity and expect society to miraculously turn into upright citizens who abhor and stand out against corruption? There is no such magic, unfortunately. Yes, we need courage. This country needs the sort of courage we have seen in the bold step taken by the Ministry of Finance to institute a forensic audit at the Central Medical Stores (CMS), prompted by the persistent drug shortages in our health facilities.

Dozens of lives are dependent on the efficiency of this critical unit, which makes the need for a permanent solution to the drugs crisis beyond urgent; failing which dire consequences await those queuing up at the dispensaries of our clinics and hospitals. Several attempts have been made, with the 2017 Sikelela Dlamini Commission making recommendations that were implemented, but evidently did not go deep enough. A subsequent proposal to engage private entities to help improve the drug management system was also put forward two years later, but the lack of funds derailed this move.
This time we have to do it right and see it through, transparently so. The drug procurement and distribution exercise involves about E650 million of taxpayers’ money annually, half of which is used to purchase ARVs. Therefore, the whole process should serve only the interests of the citizens and not individuals or private corporations.

Breeding

We also see some courage in attending to the infamous Central Transport Administration (CTA), which has served as a cash cow to many and became a breeding ground for corruption and abuse of taxpayers’ property. The Ministry of Finance suspended the trading account, a move that goes down the annals of the organisation’s history as a first since the  existence of CTA, as others either feared or benefited from avoiding this step despite a huge public outcry over the damning financial reports.

The challenge that persists, however, is the failure to address the bottleneck in corruption cases that are stuck at the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) due to a pending court matter. This case has dragged on for years without any indication of the urgency it warrants or the negative societal implications that the delay is causing. Perhaps it is time the current Cabinet team mustered enough courage to declare corruption a national emergency, because there is more than enough evidence to support such a move.

Government also needs to seriously look into the recommendations of the PAC regarding the office of the auditor general. It has to be independent; it has to be given more staff because 30 people to audit over 800 government schools, government ministries and departments and a E26 billion budget is nowhere near adequate. In the meantime, Nxumalo and company should sum up the courage to lead a campaign to root out corruption from the upcoming elections so that we can have a truly honourable Parliament for a change.

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