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Who will get rid of the rats eating SA's state resources
Corruption, greed, and political parasites are siphoning money and state resources meant to help the most vulnerable.
A 2024 Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index ranked South Africa 82nd out of 180 countries for corruption, with 1 being the least corrupt and 180 the most. SA sits alongside Cuba, Hungary, and Tanzania on the ranking.
Ivory Coast, Botswana and Namibia are all less corrupt, according to the index.
“The global trend of weakening justice systems is reducing accountability for public officials, which allows corruption to thrive. Both authoritarian and democratic leaders are undermining justice. This is increasing impunity for corruption and even encouraging it by eliminating consequences for criminals.
“Corrupt acts like bribery and abuse of power are also infiltrating many courts and other justice institutions across the globe. Where corruption is the norm, vulnerable people have restricted access to justice while the rich and powerful capture whole justice systems, at the expense of the common good,” it noted in a previous report.
Rot in the police
While widespread corruption has become increasingly normalised, and the rot has set in across most of government, the spotlight has fallen on the SA Police Service in recent weeks.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has reportedly had a report on issues in the police on his desk for more than a year, but did not act on the crisis until KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi alleged that several high-profile officials, including Ramaphosa’s own cabinet member Senzo Mchunu, were involved in political interference, corruption, and collusion with criminal syndicates.
He has since announced a judicial commission of inquiry to look into the allegations.
