18 hours ago
Corrupt public and private sector collaborators are taking us all down
Whenever I think of the rampant plundering of South Africa's public resources, a childhood story comes to mind.
When I grew up in Port Alfred, there was a Reverend Maguma who had a shop. On evenings and weekends, his sons manned the shop because he was running his church. As young boys who were the sons' friends, we would flock there every day because they sold us items at half price or sometimes just gave them to us for nothing. Some of us would even resell those to others and earn money.
In no time, Rev Maguma had to shut down his shop because it couldn't sustain the losses. Just like the public leaders and servants who plunder the public purse today, the sons were eating the very capital that could have made a material difference in their own and (later) their children's lives.
Similarly, the short-sightedness of the merchants of corruption blinds them from seeing how the resources they steal could help end poverty in South Africa. If things continue to deteriorate, South Africa Inc will soon close shop, thus exacerbating its already fragile state.
Every year, the Fund for Peace produces the Fragile States Index. In the 2024 Fragile States Index, South Africa ranks 80th globally out of 179 countries assessed, with an overall score of 69.6 (on a scale where higher scores denote greater fragility).
This marks a modest improvement from its 2023 score of 72, but remains well above the global average of about 64.6.
According to the Fund for Peace's methodology, the Fragile States Index assesses countries using 12 indicators grouped under social, economic, political and cross-cutting dimensions. For South Africa in 2024, several specific vulnerabilities stand out:
Economic decline: Economic instability is evident from recessionary pressures, high unemployment (especially among the young), and rising inequality;
Uneven economic development: Deep structural inequalities along racial and geographic lines persist, exacerbating social tensions;
Demographic pressures: Rapid urbanisation and population growth strain infrastructure and public services;
Public services: Service delivery challenges – especially in health, education, and municipal governance – contribute to governance fragility. This is attested by Good Governance Africa's own Governance Performance Index, which measures local government service delivery efficacy;
State legitimacy: Corruption, institutional mistrust and poor political accountability erode public confidence in the state;
Factionalised elites: Political factionalism and elite competition affect policymaking and cohesion; and
Additionally, human rights and rule of law issues, human capital flight and brain drain further elevate South Africa's fragility risk profile.
South Africa's relatively high Fragile States Index score — 69.6 — puts it in the moderate-to-warning zone. As the Fund for Peace characterises fragile states, these factors reflect 'an erosion of legitimate authority', inability to provide adequate public services and rising economic decline, demographic pressure and uneven development.
In the story of the reverend's shop, it was not just his sons who were involved in making the shop's financial position fragile. I, my friends and many others participated in the collapse of that business because we were simply greedy and selfish. All we cared about was our stomachs.
The same greed and selfishness are what drive private sector players to continue to collaborate with – and even wilfully enable – greedy government officials.
Private sector role
The private sector in South Africa has played a significant role in perpetuating corruption, often acting as a conduit for illicit activities that undermine good governance. The Zondo Commission Report highlights this troubling dynamic, noting that 'corruption in the private sector often facilitates public sector corruption, creating a corrupt symbiosis that hampers economic development'.
This is also a problem identified at the global level in Transparency International's Annual Corruption Perception Index.
The Zondo report also underscores how 'businesses have sometimes engaged in practices such as bribery, nepotism and fraud to secure contracts and influence government decisions'.
Influential reports, including the High-Level Panel on the Assessment of Key Legislation and the Public Protector's reports, further emphasise the depth of private sector involvement.
These insights reveal a pattern where the private sector's complicity in corrupt activities sustains a cycle that debilitates South Africa's democracy and economic stability.
Just like we never stopped until the shop closed, indications are that the corrupt private sector players will never stop until this country's public finances, economy and the state collapse completely. The shareholders of these companies often do not live in South Africa and so feel that they can simply offload the costs of corruption on to our society while laughing all the way to the (foreign) bank.
Reverend Maguma's hands-off approach, his blind trust in his sons, his distraction and lack of consequent management didn't help the situation. He let his sons continue working the till when they didn't have the moral clarity, commitment to the family business and maturity to handle the business.
It is the same with President Cyril Ramaphosa and his government. Many of the people in senior and influential positions have neither the ethical underpinnings nor the love for the people and commitment to the country's growth that is needed to lift us up from the morass we are currently in.
There appear to be no immediate and visible negative consequences for corruption for the most part.
Priorities
The distraction of so many priorities is another detrimental factor facing our country. Our country should have only six, namely:
Grow the economy;
Reduce unemployment;
End corruption;
Prevent and deal with crime;
Sort out the immigration crisis; and
Improve the quality of our education.
We don't need another dialogue. We need a focus on implementing strategies that deal effectively with these six priorities.
When I was growing up, we used to look after cows, and we also used to play with dogs. Cows and dogs used to have ticks.
Now and then, there was a certain type of tick that would go to some of the most hidden parts of your body and get stuck in, sucking your blood. They were very difficult to remove. Sometimes, even if you took a pair of scissors to cut it, the head would remain stuck. That was until you found someone with the patience to take it out completely.
The stubborn ticks that are sucking South Africa dry are corrupt public and private sector collaborators. They are embedded deep into the fibre of the state machinery. Until we have a leadership that will decisively remove them (and is not itself complicit), our country is doomed.
Both public and private sector corruption are serious problems in South Africa, and they are often intertwined.
While public sector corruption may have a broader impact on society and governance, private sector corruption can be just as damaging in terms of economic distortions and unfair practices.
Addressing both types of corruption requires a multi-faceted approach involving stronger regulation, increased transparency and greater accountability in both the public and private sectors.
As citizens, our responsibility is to expose both, first by not participating in it and second, by reporting it.
This is what Daily Maverick investigative journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh did when the suspended Independent Development Trust, Tebogo Malaka and her spokesperson Phasha Makgolane allegedly tried to bribe him.
