Ten Looting Commandments — a masterclass on corruption in SA

This time on Politically Aweh, South Africa’s wittiest online news show, comedians KG Mokgadi and Céline Tshika step into the roles of Mazibuko and an actress who accidentally stumbles into the wrong gig to present the Ten Looting Commandments “MasterClass”. 

Starting with Rule Number 1 (Never show how much dough you hold), they hilariously unpack the steps to State Capture and the mistakes to avoid for guaranteed successful looting of government funds. 

https://youtu.be/HZp_cjNy6P4

As the new government of national unity settles in, and South Africans are getting used to this new state of affairs, the Big Question is: will it be business as usual with corruption, just with a new set of faces, or will there be a turn of the tide towards governance that actually delivers on its mandate to citizens? 

Recent allegations linking Thembi Simelane, the minister of justice and constitutional development, to the VBS Bank scandal have brought this question to the fore.

“Remember, if you’re a tenderpreneur expecting a kickback, 

get basics right like trains fitting on the track

The multibillion-rand Spanish trains we bought 

were too tall and got us in hot water.

(Spanish) A veces el tamaño sí importa. (Size does matter)”

The Spanish train saga was just one of the cases in the Zondo Commission’s damning findings, but will the painstaking work of bodies like the National Prosecuting Authority actually lead to successful prosecutions? 

This, too, seems like a tall order, especially as State Capture-implicated individuals featured on party lists in the May elections and some have even recently been sworn into Parliament. South Africans who were sick of money being stolen that is meant for service delivery and infrastructure, and having to suffer the consequences, voted for change. 

In the novelty of a new governmental cast of characters, who are already testing the boundaries of what each is prepared to swallow to work together, let’s not forget how we got here, and the playbook that is still so effective. 

Although this Looting MasterClass is satire, it is still painfully close to the bone of what this country has been forced to live with due to corruption, and there are still great vulnerabilities – such as our policing, prosecution and procurement. 

There have, however, been some positive developments. 

In July the President signed the Public Procurement Act into law, and there have also been some recent high-profile State Capture-related arrests. But a corruption-free society is far from achieved, as Biggie Smalls Mazibuko assures his students:

“The good news is that looting is still a viable, lucrative and exciting career path if you’re willing to bribe hard, silence witnesses, pop a sleeping pill and f*** the societal consequences.”

Luckily there has been a thin line of people prepared to stick their necks out – some with fatal consequences – to bring what has been happening in the shadows to light, and to continue to hold our public servants to a higher account. The more we can all recognise the signs that a Master Looter is at work, and what we can do about it, the more we as a society can create the conditions in which corruption cannot flourish.

“The biggest threat to our industry is just the regular honest person, who has the courage to speak up… I just don’t get it, I mean, what do they get out of it..?!”

We get a healthy, thriving country, that’s what. DM

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