A week or so ago, the President announced a series of proclamations he had signed, authorising the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) to investigate corrupt activities at various municipalities and government entities.
This got me thinking… and I reached the conclusion that the entire architecture around the investigation and prevention of corrupt activities at government level is fatally flawed.
To my mind, the entire system, rather than act speedily and decisively, is designed to delay, obfuscate and confuse.
If one had to take a cynical view, as I often do, I would propose that this is to protect the alleged perpetrators, who more often than not are the majority party supporters or deployees.
Let us unpack this a little more.
While many would argue that the endemic levels that corruption has reached in the country warrant the creation of ‘special’ units to investigate and prosecute cases, I will advance the argument that the existing laws provide more than enough legal ammunition to do the job.
So, currently, we have the Saps, the Hawks, the SIU and the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) engaged in the fight against corruption.
Apart from Saps, we have three sets of management, three head offices, other administrative infrastructure and an army of support structures, all pursuing one objective.
Returning to the President’s proclamation, some of the alleged corrupt activities date back to 2016, if not earlier.
Realistically, what is the likelihood that all incriminating evidence has not been tampered with or destroyed in the eight-year interval between alleged offences and the start of investigations by the SIU.
A fool’s errand of note, would you agree? And the individuals involved in the alleged malfeasance? Unlikely waiting for justice to be visited on them.
So, where is consequence management going to be executed?
Finally, if the cases eventually reach the courts, will the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) have the capacity to prosecute?
NPA head Shamila Batohi recently decried the loss of skilled financial investigators from her office, responding to criticisms from the parliamentary oversight committee that oversees her office.
Coupled with the strangling of the NPA budgets, the prospects are not good.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
