Some of this generation of politicians are apparently unable to recognise conflicts of interest between their public duties and private interests; between the pursuit of the public good and rent-seeking malfeasance.
We are in a moment which requires a willingness to re-examine and rethink some basic assumptions about the functioning of democratic societies in a globalised capitalist system which have been beyond question and scrutiny over the last 30 years.
South Africa exemplifies trends towards democratic dysfunction, not in the form yet of growing authoritarianism, but rather of decay and incapacity evident in many countries both in the global North and South.Democracy everywhere is damaged by the epidemic of corrupt and self- serving leaders. Various familiar forms of dishonest conduct worthy of condemnation occur every day at all levels of society in all kinds of private institutions and at all levels of the public service. But this is not the kind of corruption revealed by the Zondo Commission that has so scandalised us.
And nominally democratic political processes, which are captured by vested interests, will not produce decisions and outcomes which are in the public interest. The inevitable result is the loss of public trust in their leaders and the atrophy of our democratic institutions. Influence-peddling corrupts our democratic institutions even if the elements of a specific crime are not all present or provable in a court of law.
This should include disclosure requirements and prophylactic rules governing “gifts”, for instance, enforced by an independent agency or ombud. Experience has also taught us that where high-level wrongdoing is concerned, additional safeguards are required over and above the current constitutional provisions to ensure that prosecutions are instituted without fear or favour, and that dishonest politicians are not able to use their power or popularity to insulate themselves from accountability.
The Zondo Commission has also revealed how corruption became entrenched over time in many state apparatuses and the interface with the private sector, and involved multiple highly placed and well-resourced actors engaged in a pattern of systematic abuse.
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