Zuma, ANC fail their first ethical test

Bess Myerson, a 1950s beauty queen, once said: “The accomplice to the crime of corruption is frequently our own indifference.” The shameless regularity with which acts of impropriety re-emerge at every station of life has certainly numbed the collective conscience of society. Even those who lament the erosion of morality and ethics in all spheres of society and rampant corruption and maladministration can often be heard vociferously clamouring for proponents of justice to move on and let bygones be bygones.

Victims of atrocities of apartheid who still nurse open wounds inflicted over the years are often told by their former tormentors to simply move on. It appears that some believe for society to progress to normality we must all suffer from collective amnesia and disregard the principles of fairness and justice.

We must be conscious of the fact that good governance is fundamental to achieving our developmental objectives of liberating the general populace from the clutches of poverty and underdevelopment. Is must be our obligation to uphold principles that are requisite to achieving these objectives. Self-enrichment, corruption and maladministration have robbed the poor of the opportunity to escape from dehumanising conditions. Good governance and fiscal propriety are indeed essential conditions for development

Africa wishes to realise the goal of good governance, in all its elements, Thabo Mbeki had said, “not because we seek to improve our relations with the rest of the world as a first objective, critically important as this is, but to end political and economic mismanagement on our continent, and the consequential violent conflicts, instability, denial of democracy and human rights, deepening poverty and global marginalisation”.

The South African government under the former president had played a pivotal role in transforming the political and economic landscape across the continent. The vision of the rebirth of Africa can be said to have been rooted on upholding the principles of democracy, good governance, peace and security by all governments on the once “hopeless continent”. South Africa had an instrumental role in preventing and combating corruption — conscious of the reality that the success of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development hinged on good governance by all member states of the African Union.

The Jacob Zuma government has committed itself to combating corruption despite the cloud of former allegations hanging over his head. What remains uncertain is the commitment by the new ANC government to prevent corruption. The latest scandal on the Minister of Transport S’bu Ndebele’s lavish gifts exposes the insincerity with which this new ANC government approaches this important issue of corruption. Though it had been widely reported that the Executive Members’ Ethics Act of 1998 and the Executive Members’ Code of Ethics of 2000 had not been violated by accepting gifts such as a luxury Mercedes-Benz sedan, petrol vouchers, a plasma TV, two head of cattle and other gifts including glassware and cutlery, surely the spirit of the law and the code were breached.

The Executive Members’ Ethics Act of 1998 prescribes that cabinet members at all times act in good faith and in the best interests of good governance. It further prohibits them from exposing themselves to any situation involving the risk of a conflict, of using their position to enrich themselves and acting in a way that may compromise the credibility or integrity of their office or government. Though the Executive Members’ Code of Ethics allows members to accept gifts with a value of more than R1 000, if the president has granted his permission, it does not excuse them from the responsibility of ensuring that they will not be improperly influenced. It does not take a rocket scientist to arrive at the conclusion that by accepting these gifts Ndebele was compromising the credibility and integrity of his office and government. It is commendable that after much soul-searching he arrived at the decision to return some of the gifts.

Did Ndebele truly believe he was offered these gifts as charitable benevolence from government contractors who had benefited more than R10 billion over a period of 10 years? There are no free lunches! In the course of business, as the wheels of capitalism turn, companies offer gifts to their clients with the intention to influence future decisions in their favour and obtain a business advantage over others. It would be naïve and stupid for any government official to believe otherwise. Generosity on such a grand scale is driven primarily by self-interest and business imperatives. It would fly in the face of common sense to think these gifts would not have generated a sense of obligation on Ndebele’s part to those government contractors.

What is of great concern is the fact that the president had granted Ndebele permission to keep these obscene gifts. Though many have demanded that Zuma’s critics offer him a second chance and allow him to prove himself as president, it is these kinds of lapses of judgment that have compromised him in the past and prevent some of us from sitting quietly on the sideline hoping for a miracle. Zuma came into office with a glowing track record of accepting favours from his questionable associates and one would have expected that his understanding of the unflattering perceptions of society about him would have guided him to assume moral and exemplary leadership in this instance. He has chosen not to make a concerted effort to redeem himself.

The principles of good governance will continue to be compromised if the president and ANC become indifferent to the possible influence exerted on members of cabinet through such practices. Economic development depends on governments pursuing prudent policies and being led by officials who are of unquestionable integrity and credibility. The success of the government will be measured by the speed with which it begins to demonstrate its commitment to preventing and combating corruption. Without good governance the Zuma government will fail hopelessly in managing our social and economic resources and promoting accountability and the rule of law.

The Ndebele debacle was the ANC and Zuma’s first ethical test and they failed dismally achieving a “GG”!