It is today four years since South Africa mourned the passing of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the first President of the democratic and non-racial South Africa. And even though this is a short time in the life of a country, it seems much longer. This feeling originates from the fact that in the last four years, the country has moved almost a lifetime away from Madiba’s South Africa. During, and for some time after his presidency, South Africa was the country of hope, of reconciliation, of an active reconstruction and development programme, and of a public service with a motto such as batho pele, the people first. 

Even within his beloved ANC, countless leaders have asked the question of what Madiba would have thought of the South Africa of 2017. A South Africa where hope has all but left even the most patriotic of South Africans, where reconciliation has been replaced with racialisation and intolerance, where not even the most basic of government programmes are implemented and service delivery has grinded to a halt, where the motto of the public service is, with only a few exceptions, ke pele, me first. Those same leaders answered their own question: He would have been pained, sad and furious. Lack of leadership, corruption and state capture are far from the ideal society Madiba had envisaged for the nation.

In an affidavit that came to light last week, the evidence leader of the parliamentary Eskom inquiry, Advocate Ntuthuzelo Vanara, stated that the Minister of State Security, Bongani Bongo, offered him a bribe to derail the inquiry. It was specifically stated that Bongo told Vanara that he offered him the “blank cheque” at the request of the interim chairman of the Eskom board, Zethembe Khoza. Khoza has since denied that he had anything to do with the bribe or that he even knows Bongo.

All parties taking part in the Eskom inquiry were outraged by this, and the Speaker even reported this on Monday to President Zuma, as Minister Bongo is a member of his cabinet. The Presidency released a statement on Tuesday stating that the president is “attending to the matter”.

Undermining of the budget process and National Treasury threatens the stability of public finances and critical areas of government spending

The resignation of the Deputy Director-General of the Budget Office at National Treasury, Michael Sachs, is a further signal that the system of open, consultative and responsible decision-making – as required by our constitution – is being undermined. The deliberate weakening of state institutions and democratic processes, which we are in no doubt has extended to National Treasury, deepens concerns about policy uncertainty and fiscal management that is threatening South Africa’s existing social spending, let alone its expansion.

The FW de Klerk Foundation, with the full support of its founder, Nobel Peace Laureate and former South African President, FW de Klerk, calls on all parties in the Myanmar conflict to show restraint and wisdom in managing and trying to resolve what is fast become a globally recognised humanitarian crisis. When tens of thousands of people (some say hundreds of thousands) flee a country, whether it is to get away from “the violence” or from “the army”, it is reason for a government to pause and ask what should be done urgently.  What we and the rest of the international community see is that ordinary people are hurt the most.

In the Nkandla disciplinary hearing of an accounts management employee (on charges of misconduct for approving a construction tender to Moneymine Enterprises), it transpired that President Jacob Zuma, the “owner of the property” had appointed Moneymine and that the company “had already been on site long before the tender was approved”. The company was decided upon by a “negotiation process” and the tender awarding processes were rushed through – after the fact. This was the evidence brought to the hearing by Special Investigations Unit (SIU) chief forensic investigator, Christian Legwabe. By March 17, 2009, it had already been decided (by the then Deputy President) that Moneymine was the preferred construction company (and he brought them on site to begin work), but the tender was only approved on June 15, 2010.

Any owner can appoint a company to do work on his home – if he pays for it himself. If, however, the state pays for it, certain prescribed tender procedures must be followed. In this case, Moneymine was paid R6.1 million for the first phase of the construction project – from state coffers. And this to a contractor the President had chosen himself, infringing (yet another) constitutional demand that procurement should be fair, equitable and transparent (section 217).