I’ve been pondering recently how the brazenness and scope of corruption seems to be expanding almost exponentially. It is common to hear the phrase ‘industrial scale’ used to refer to the looting and pillaging.
In the case of public (government) sector corruption, in most cases it is inevitable that the malfeasance is going to be uncovered, usually within a 12 month period, by either the Auditor General or some other internal/external process or entity.
Yet this does not stop the perpetrators from embarking on their crooked enterprise. I have concluded that there are two factors that are to blame for this rank impudence and arrogance. The first being the justice system, and the second being current labour laws, particularly those relating to disciplinary procedures.
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The justice system, represented at its core by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is beset by incapacity and apathy, and is itself infected by the cancer of corruption it is tasked with prosecuting. In terms of capacity, prosecutors and investigators are often no match for the high-powered, driven teams the defendants are able to muster with their deep pockets.
Every technicality and loophole is exploited to the full….leading to cases taking years to even get to an actual court hearing. This gives the culprits all the time in the world to spirit away their ill gotten gains, or hide them behind layers of shell companies or family trusts. If they are eventually brought before a court, they appear close to penniless, with next to no assets in their names.
Then we have the labour laws. First comes the letter of ‘intention to suspend’, where the accused has the opportunity to make representation as to why they should not be suspended. Then comes the actual suspension, almost always on full pay. And here the fun starts: disciplinary hearings take anywhere from one to seven years to reach a conclusion. Dismissals are vigorously challenged, either with a view to reinstatement, or to leverage ‘golden handshake’ terminations.
In many cases, the culprits end up with a veritable jackpot: the actual spoils of their corruption, years and years of paid suspension, and termination payouts if their contracts were still in force.
With all of this, who would care about reputational damage, or the inability to be employed again?
If we are serious as a country to arrest the scourge of corruption, a comprehensive revision of the labour laws as they pertain to disciplinary procedures, and urgent improvements in the justice system are needed, lest the culture of impunity and brazenness lead us over the precipice.
Vijay Naidoo is the CEO of the Port Shepstone Business Forum. He writes in his personal capacity. The views expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.
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