William Huma must repay R21 million, but no court can restore the opportunities stolen from the poorest South Africans.
Sometimes, there are glimmers of hope that justice will be served in South Africa and that the country could become the prosperous, fair, place we all believe it should be.
One such was news former National Lotteries Commission board member William Huma has been ordered to pay back R21 million in stolen grant funds, which should have been used to empower women and children in villages in the North West.
The Special Investigating Unit and the Special Tribunal have been on the case of malfeasance in the structures of the national Lotto for some years now, following the dogged reporting of the corruption and theft by news organisation GroundUp.
Brave whistle-blowers in the organisation have also provided valuable information.
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Huma is but one of the examples of individuals in the lottery structure manipulating the system of grants to enrich themselves and their families.
As with many schemes concocted by our corrupt and immoral civil servants, or those working for state-owned enterprises and statutory bodies, these thefts can never be written off as “victimless crimes”.
Countless numbers of the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable in society have had any chance of a better life ripped away from them by these evil people.
