Stop preaching morality! Corruption needs action, not a sermon
Image: Sunday Independent/Ron AI
'Soundlessly collateral and incompatible: World is suddener than we fancy it.' — Louis MacNeice
THE lines from Louis MacNeice's poem *Snow* highlight the complex and contradictory nature of reality. The image of snow and pink roses seen together yet separated by a window illustrates how disparate elements coexist silently, yet clash in unexpected ways.
This metaphor sets the stage for examining corruption — not as an isolated phenomenon, but as a deeply political concept.
Corruption is not merely an economic or legal issue; it is fundamentally political. It emerges from development discourses that shape social realities through powerful narratives and material interventions. Academic perspectives often describe corruption as an exchange mechanism between social position, economic wealth, and political status.
Economic wealth functions as a tool to access political systems, allowing marginalised groups entry into otherwise closed arenas. Whether such actions qualify as corrupt depends on their alignment with prevailing norms of legality and legitimacy.
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Corruption also operates as a transformationary force — what some scholars call a 'conveyor belt' — mediating between incompatible logics like tradition/modernity, local/national, and formal/informal. In this sense, corruption acts as both a medium of inclusion and exclusion. The stability of political orders reliant on such mechanisms hinges on societal structure, governance systems, and redistribution practices.
Thirdly, there is an implicit assumption, most notably by Scott, that modern professional associations have unproblematic access to political power. More simply, corruption is often a means of survival or enrichment. As Karl Polanyi observed, modern economies elevated gain as a central motive, legitimising profit-making as a social norm.
Exclamations like 'if you're poor, you're stupid' reflect this mindset, suggesting that failure to enrich oneself when opportunity exists is a personal failing.
Until the late 1980s, corruption in developing countries was often seen as an inevitable, even beneficial, part of modernisation — a lubricant easing transitions and fostering growth. Harvard scholar Samuel Huntington once described it as a welcome aid to development.
In 1963, Wraith and Simpkins famously wrote: 'Throughout the fabric of public life in newly independent states runs the scarlet thread of bribery and corruption… which flourishes as luxuriantly as the weeds it so much resembles.'
Bribery was accepted, legal, and even tax-deductible in many OECD countries — essentially, business as usual. It wasn't until the 1990s that global institutions began treating it as a systemic threat. Then-World Bank President James Wolfensohn labelled it the 'cancer of corruption', placing it at the centre of development agendas.
Corruption is now understood as a structural problem tied to the sources, uses, limits, and accountability of power and wealth. It affects individuals and societies collectively, especially in contexts where professional autonomy is constrained by public-sector dependency.
The African Union (AU) declared 2018 the African Anti-Corruption Year under the theme: *Winning the Fight Against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa's Transformation.* AU Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat emphasised the need for collective action, stating: 'Corruption hinders democratic governance, socioeconomic transformation, and peace. We must redouble our efforts; it is a scourge that cuts across all societies.'
Adam Smith's moral philosophy offers insight into human behaviour. In *The Theory of Moral Sentiments*, he argued that humans desire not only to be loved, but to be lovely — to be morally attractive. He warned against blameworthiness, even when unnoticed.
Smith's ideas helped build the foundation for cooperative societies where mutual benefit drives progress. Yet corruption contradicts this ideal. It reflects indifference to moral judgment, where shame vanishes even when caught, what Moeletsi Mbeki calls a particularly insidious form of decay.
Corruption is a complex, cross-border crime requiring collaborative solutions. As the proverb says, 'one finger cannot kill a louse'.
Philosopher Kwame Gyekye, in his book *Tradition and Modernity*, proposes a *commitmental moral revolution* (CMR) as the solution to political corruption in Africa. CMR involves recommitting to existing moral values rather than overhauling them entirely. Gyekye distinguishes CMR from *substantive moral revolution* (SMR), which seeks to replace old moral frameworks. CMR assumes current values are sufficient but require renewed commitment.
Critics argue that CMR may be insufficient without addressing the social normalisation of corruption. While valid, CMR remains a necessary step toward change — even if not sufficient alone.
Gyekye defines political corruption as illegal, unethical exploitation of public office for personal gain. JS Nye echoes this, describing corruption as deviation from public duties for private ends. Unlike general wrongdoing, political corruption is committed by those in power — rulers, politicians, and officials. It includes not just bribery, but graft, fraud, nepotism, kickbacks, and misuse of public funds.
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The representation of Cape Town or South Africa as violent is a characterisation they have fuelled themselves with their dubious and subversive international relations with the United States (which undoubtedly is qualitatively comprised of enmeshed relations oscillating between 'white genocide' and expropriation legislation). At times, as other political commentators have noted, their party members worked against the diplomacy and international relations of the national government. So, if there is any characterisation of South Africa as an unredeemable violent state then they have had a hand in moulding such representation. Now of course, when Rupert commented that gang violence in the Western Cape, especially in the Cape Flats, he did not lie. We, those who live in the Cape Flats and townships of the much celebrated and highly unequal Cape Town, know of this violence. We witness it every day. It is our bodies, young and old, who lay dead in bushes or streets. Our lives are intimately destroyed by family members and friends with drug and substance abuse problems. No amount of words can qualitatively describe the experience of living here in such violence and seeing your governing party continuously developing the city centre and adjacent according to neoliberal (private) development. Which brings me to my second point. Much social science research, especially in sociology and criminology, has pointed out how police response to high crime especially gang-related violence, is an inadequate response and strategy. There are not enough SAPS guns, training or presence alone that will "end" gang-related violence or high crime. Our people need jobs, jobs with fair wages that can sustain them. Our residential areas need more leisure and recreation space, we need housing, and the townships created under the Group Areas Act need spatial reformation: better transport and economies. 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Given this, it is important then, Gotsell, that we understand what is happening on the Cape Flats about how the City of Cape Town itself prioritises 'neoliberal development' and resources. Our city is one of the most unequal in the world and that inequality manifests and spatialises itself upon the metrics of apartheid spatial planning. I know you and your like disassociate the moment apartheid is mentioned (because apparently, we need to get over it now), and yet the factual evidence is irrefutable. The quality of life in the Mother city greatly differs across racial, gendered and class lines. The DA's continued denial of the structuring power of race in post-apartheid South Africa makes them particularly inept to govern over city and even countries that see worsening levels of inequality especially in relation to the metrics such as race. To add fuel to the fire, it is not only their denial of the structural power of race but their efforts to oppose measures which are geared towards creating a more equal society in South Africa. This is clear in, for example, their efforts to oppose new equality legislation. Let us be clear: the high crime, the violent nature of said crimes, and gang-related crimes in Atlantis and the Cape Flats and other townships surrounding the prosperous Mother city cannot be addressed with more police presence or better training. What social scientists have been saying for years is that the underlying socioeconomic and cultural factors such as unemployment, spatial injustice, lack of adequate housing, substance abuse etc., have to be addressed. This requires political will, knowledge and resources to transform societies seriously. Through your denial of post-apartheid racialised realities, continued pandering to (neo)liberal logic of development and preoccupation with legislatively fighting equality measures in court, you already lack the political will and knowledge. Yes, Atlantis wants answers and deserves safety and opportunities. So too do the rest of the cape flats and townships where many of us are relegated to a dismal quality of life while our city is continue lauded as the best city in the world. I look, hope, dream and work towards a future where people like me do not have opportunities like this taken away from them. Especially as a result of failed governance and structural poverty and inequality. Our communities need urgent and structural change, not political gimmicks such as that press release. To Atlantis Secondary and the rugby team who have had their match cancelled, I would say to continue doing the vital work you have been doing. I have certainly enjoyed immense growth supported by my high school and the tireless work those educators have done to holistically support me. The real injustice is the denial of a dignified quality of life and the opportunity of growth for those of us located at the periphery of Cape Town's wealth and in the aftertaste of Verwoerd's spatial apartheid. Brindley Fortuin ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
IOL News
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If we are serious about building a thriving and inclusive South African economy, then we must place solidarity at the heart of our growth strategy. Why solidarity matters for the economy A society that is deeply divided cannot grow sustainably. Investors are wary of instability. Businesses cannot thrive in an atmosphere of protest, insecurity and fractured trust. Workers cannot be productive if they are demoralised or excluded. And young people cannot innovate if they are shut out of education and employment. Social cohesion, the outcome of solidarity in action, is not a 'nice-to-have.' It is an essential input into economic stability and performance. Countries that grow in a healthy, sustained way are those that invest in their people, share the gains of growth and keep inequality in check. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The price of division South Africa knows too well the cost of a divided society. We see it in service delivery protests, violent crime, polarised politics and a declining sense of national unity. An economy that continues to serve only the elite while the majority are left behind is not only unjust, it is unsustainable. 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It is what enables a country to move from survival to shared success. The National Dialogue offers a rare opportunity for South Africans to come together and rewrite our future. Let us not waste it. Let us understand that if we are to build an economy that works for everyone, we must start by committing to each other. Because solidarity is not just the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do. * Daryl Swanepoel is the Chief Executive of the Inclusive Society Institute. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
IOL News
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Things are not going well. The glue that once held us together has lost its power. The fabric of trust has been shredded. Dishonesty, corruption, crime, deceit, and maliciousness have infiltrated almost every aspect of our reality. Family breakdown, crime, moral and economic deficits, and other pathologies are incompatible with what we fought for. We measure questions in terms of political correctness rather than democratic inquiry. We trivialise our difficulties instead of addressing them. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ If these trends continue, our republic will cease to exist. The current trajectory is dangerous and potentially catastrophic. There is an avalanche of negative self-images profoundly altering how South Africans view their government. Winston Churchill once said: 'It takes courage to stand up and speak, and it takes courage to sit down and listen.' Sadly, the second kind of courage seems scarce globally. We lack leaders with the courage to stand up and speak, as well as the courage to sit down and listen to what the people want. Our leaders need to listen because, as things stand, people view politics like leprosy — they want nothing to do with it. Our government no longer enjoys the overwhelming consent of the governed, from which it should derive its only just authority. This lack of sense threatens our freedom and fuels the current apathy among the governed. Freedom will not be secured, apathy will not end, and our government will not regain the moral authority it needs unless it earns the consent of the governed. Denial of this reality will not make it disappear. The erosion of government trust is staring us in the face. As Montesquieu pointed out, dictators fall when people no longer fear them. Monarchs fall when people no longer revere them. Republics fall when citizens no longer respect them. They lose respect because those republics no longer adhere to the human values and common goals on which they were founded. Personal integrity and civic responsibility are not options in a free society — they are requirements. These are hard truths, and I believe they need to be said. Democracy stands or falls on mutual trust between the government and its people. Yet democratic culture and politics have always existed in a strange blend of credulity and scepticism. Indeed, a certain degree of enduring scepticism about human nature lies at the foundation of our representative democracy. Democracy does not mean unity in the body politic. People have reasonable differences. Human ignorance, pride, and selfishness will always prompt divisions and conflicting ambitions. Having five slates for the KZN provincial conference should not be an issue. Even if there were ten, it would still be acceptable. This is what democracy is all about. There is a notion that should be discouraged — that if there are five candidates contesting for the position of chairperson, it indicates tensions and differences within the party. The opposite is true: it is a sign of a healthy and vibrant democracy. The day members of the ANC think alike, akin to cattle going to a dip, will be the day the ANC ceases to be a credible political party. Similarly, there is a wrong perception that if one avails himself or herself without the backing of a constituency, they are counterrevolutionary. It is time the slate approach is buried once and for all in the ANC. It robs the ANC of its talented cadres and opens the door for arrogant, shallow, and inexperienced ones. Once elected, our leaders must remember that the freedom we attained in 1994 came with responsibilities. We need leaders with ethical and moral qualities. 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What ticking bomb are we sitting on when communities still lack clean water almost forty years into our democracy? What ticking bomb when inequality widens? What ticking bomb when poverty stares many in the face daily? Am I pessimistic? Do I think we can pull it out of the fire? The answer to both is yes. I am pessimistic; things are serious. But I also believe we have the men and women who can extricate the country from this quagmire. We have faced and overcome enormous challenges before, but this one is different — it is about the soul of the country. Yes, I believe we can overcome this challenge. It is the mindset of our leaders that must change to turn the situation around. If this country is to prevail, it will not be due to historical or deterministic forces, but because of the collective effort of everyone, especially our leaders executing the role they were elected for — to change lives. US Justice Holmes once said: 'The mode in which the inevitable comes to pass is effort.' It is through the efforts of trustworthy leaders that we will make a difference. A few years ago, the Czech leader Vaclav Havel wrote: 'They say a nation has the politicians it deserves. In some sense that is true: Politicians are truly a mirror of society and a kind of embodiment of its potential. At the same time, paradoxically, the opposite is also true. Society is a mirror of its politicians. It is largely up to the politicians which social forces they choose to liberate and which they choose to suppress, whether they choose to rely on the good in each citizen or on the bad.' The problems facing South Africa are bigger than Ramaphosa. They require a collective of diverse minds from diverse backgrounds. The African proverb brilliantly captures this idea: 'A single hand cannot cover the sky. It takes many hands to cover the sky.' We need eminent and diverse people with great action and thought to raise the torch and make the pathway of a better life free of load shedding smooth again. When the torch of Olympus is lit and passed from one to another, it creates warmth and brings light in the midst of darkness. Darkness covers the country, as if an archetypal case of a Sophoclean tragedy, and demands a meeting of bright minds. These are the minds that will ignite the Olympic torch without political favour or prejudice. These are the minds that will illuminate the country by taking a stand instead of a bribe or profit. The question is: If we were to let freedom slip through our fingers, who will pay the price again to restore the democracy for which many gave their lives? We need to elect leaders with moral integrity who can help the downtrodden rise to a new and better level. When that happens, it will align with the ideals of US President Teddy Roosevelt, who spoke of the nobility of those in public life — the ones who step up and make a difference. As the French poet said, 'Life is a hospital in which each patient believes he will be better if he is moved to another bed.' We need to elect leaders who will move the downtrodden from shacks to proper houses and provide them with necessities of life normally catered for in a democratic state like ours. Before I conclude, I find the following words from Pope John Paul II profound and relevant: 'We do not live in an irrational or meaningless world. On the contrary, there is a moral logic built into human life, making dialogue between individuals and people possible.' But a country that falls under the spell of moral relativism puts itself in peril. He warned that if there exists no ultimate truth to guide and direct political life, ideas and convictions can easily be manipulated for reasons of power. 'As history demonstrates, a democracy without values easily turns into open or thinly disguised totalitarianism.' After it has been said and done, we need to keep hope and faith alive. Interestingly, faith and social justice have long been deeply entwined for US Reverend Jesse Jackson: 'Vanity asks the question, 'is it popular?' Politics asks, 'would it work? Can I win?' Morality and conscience ask, 'is it right?' In the end, if an issue is morally right, politics and popularity must adjust to the unyielding power of the moral centre.' As posited by Chris Hedges in his address, *Hope, from Now On*: 'Hope has a cost. Hope is not comfortable or easy. Hope requires personal risk. It is not about the right attitude. Hope is not about peace of mind. Hope is action. Hope is doing something. The more futile, the more useless, the more irrelevant and incomprehensible an act of rebellion is, the vaster and more potent hope becomes. Hope never makes sense. Hope is weak, unorganised, and absurd. Hope posits that people are drawn to the good by the good. This is the secret of hope's power. Hope demands for others what we demand for ourselves. Hope does not separate us from them. Hope sees our enemy as our own face. Hope is not for the practical and the sophisticated, the cynics and the complacent, the defeated and the fearful. Hope affirms that which we must affirm.' Indeed, hope is not just a source of comfort for the afflicted; it is a wellspring of energy to fight for a better tomorrow, no matter the odds. We hope the elected leadership will have the moral compass deep in their hearts to fight every day for the hope that tomorrow will be better, for all of us, not just some of us. Let them lead with humility and optimism, telling the truth, learning from history, and removing every obstacle to progress for all the people of KwaZulu-Natal and the country at large. Let their moral compass show us the way ahead. Every South African elected into a position of responsibility should heed the words of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson: 'There are extraordinary capabilities in ordinary people, given the opportunity.' This is true because the goal is not to turn South Africa into a welfare state but a developmental one. Opportunity is key. To the extent that each one of us can develop our capabilities to the fullest to seize opportunities, we will cause worth and work ethics to come true in our lives and in the work to which we might be dedicated. Allow me to share a parable about the tortoise and the leopard as told by the celebrated African writer, Chinua Achebe, in one of his novels. The leopard meets the tortoise on a lonely stretch of road. The leopard has been trying to catch the tortoise for a long time. The tortoise is a trickster and has been escaping. On this day, the leopard finally catches him and says, 'Ah-ha! Now I've got you. Prepare to die'. The tortoise says, 'Can I ask you one last favour?' The leopard replies, 'Yes, why not?' The tortoise says, 'Give me a short time to prepare myself for death'. The leopard looks around and says, 'I don't see why not. Go ahead.' Instead of standing still and thinking, as the leopard had expected, the tortoise begins to dig and scatter sand all over the road, throwing sand in all directions with his hands and feet. The leopard says, 'What's going on? Why are you doing that?' The tortoise says, 'I'm doing this because after I am dead, I want anyone passing by this spot and seeing all these signs of struggle on the road to say: A man and his match struggled here.' The moral of this is the importance of struggle. We cannot expect guaranteed outcomes. Nobody can promise that if you struggle, you will succeed. But even if we are unsure of the outcome, we still have the obligation to struggle. Let us keep hope alive!!! * Dr Vusi Shongwe works in the Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture in KwaZulu-Natal and writes in his personal capacity. ** The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, IOL, or Independent Media. Get the real story on the go: Follow the Sunday Independent on WhatsApp.
