I hear the allegation increasingly that all politicians are crooks. Ordinary voters, black and white are appalled at the almost daily revelations about corruption. Can one blame them when they are repeatedly let down by the politicians elected to represent them and the civil servants paid to serve them?
After a career as an attorney stretching over forty-five years and a career in public life as a city councillor, provincial councillor, member of parliament and an ambassador extending over fifty years, I can state that I am not a crook. And nor were most of the people I encountered over my two lifetimes in the profession and the service of the public.
I was only once in all that time offered a “present” that I thought was improper: a very large property development company sent a case of whisky, addressed to “The Chairman of the Management Committee, Benoni Town Council.”
Since the council was closely involved in the approval of development projects, I thought it was appropriate to send the whisky back, with thanks. Almost all of the politicians, lawyers, clients and business people I came across, irrespective of their political parties, were honest and decent.
I continued to believe that was still the case for many years but my confidence and that of the public was shaken when the former minister of social development (and president of the ANC Women’s League, as well as being a convicted criminal herself) stated in 2016 that “all of us have smallanyana skeletons.”
Bathabile Dlamini was referring to the members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the “glorious movement”, the ANC. She added, “We don’t want to take out skeletons because all hell will break loose.” What is dismal about all of this is that five years later we are still not anywhere near the truth about the smallanyana skeletons of each of the members of the NEC. We have also not seen any of them going to jail for their criminal actions.
Even more dismal is the revelations continuing to pour out. The latest involve the minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize, his wife and his son. Not only did his department throw public money around in a reckless manner, benefitting two past employees of his to the tune of R150 million, paying R2.5million for “arranging the minister’s appearance on the news”, his son receiving R300,000.00 from the company concerned, and the electrician’s bill was paid on a townhouse owned by a trust controlled by the minister’s wife. It does not end there.
There are allegations of improprieties when the minister was an MEC in Kwa-Zulu Natal; of a road built with public money leading only to his farm; and payments made to enable the minister’s wife to buy the farm.
When the minister was an MEC, he, a doctor, kept quiet about his disagreement with President Mbeki’s views on HIV, showing a lack of integrity where his political job was more important to him than his principles and the Hippocratic Oath he swore on becoming a doctor.
President Ramaphosa was humiliated when questioned in front of President Macron of France. He was “waiting for the investigation to be completed.” Mkhize briefed the president and unless he lied, the president knows exactly what his minister of Health – during the approaching third wave of the pandemic – has done. Mkhize should not rely on the shop-soiled “innocent until proven guilty.”
The honourable thing to do would be to save the president embarrassment and tender his resignation. He is a minister, not a party official. Can he not be persuaded to show that even if there is little honesty around, there is still some honour even among members of the NEC? I would like to believe so.
Douglas Gibson is a former opposition chief whip and a former ambassador to Thailand. His website is douglasgibsonsouthafrica.com
This article first appeared in The Star newspaper.
