The inimitable Justice Malala, anchor of the Justice Factor on eNCA, asked Minister Lindiwe Zulu directly whether or not her son was involved in the latest tender award of R631million to SIYENZA Group to install 66 000 toilets in the villages of the Amathole District. Beneficiaries of this award include names of family members such as Zuma, Zulu, and Mantashe amongst others. Zulu pontificated that her son is an adult and should be assessed in his own right and that she could not speak for him. With that wry smile, Malala said "thank you Minister for coming onto our show."

Apparently few toilets have been built and deadlines will clearly not be met but as reported by the DispatchLive the directors are seen driving around in grand cars such as a Porsche, Lamborghini, and Ferrari, living the high life, and having splashed out millions on a mansion. Cynical stuff so soon after the State of the Nation Address where Corrupt No1, promised that tackling corruption would be amongst his priorities.

This is a tough job for a leadership that is corrupt to the core. They fleece the 6 million taxpayers to the bone living lifestyles not even closely akin to those of our erstwhile apartheid crooks. Tom Burgess from the Financial Times, who recently wrote about how the extractive industries in Africa prop up kleptocratic regimes, says of SA, "some leaders fought against racist regimes only to preside over elites that resemble in structure minority rulers they overthrew."

Devoid of any moral fibre our liberation leaders remain unmoved by the poverty, inequality and unemployment that wrack this country. Recent images on TV of schools that have no toilets, of school girls having no ablution facilities to deal with menstruation, and schools having no windows against the elements are but some of the issues that stand in stark contrast to the profligate lives of our politicians who enrich themselves flagrantly, not only with luxury cars but with the most luxurious cars, driven by the uber-rich here and abroad.

More cynical is the new trick to accumulate wealth side-ways by involving their wives, partners and children in the awarding of tenders, thus keeping incest in the family. With this constant barrage of tender fraud, how are we ever going to inculcate an ethical moral code into our citizens that will instil in us as a nation the basic values of human decency, dignity, and respect for the rule of law and thus respect for ourselves.

Corruption, like a malignant tumour spreads, until it ravages the entire body. So it is with politics. Unless we stop now, this disease will jump from generation to generation until we become irredeemable. The logic now that propels those in the pound seats is: "take as much as we can while President Zuma is still in office, as our time to feast at the trough is running out."

Some of the sms responses to the DispatchLive article (ANC faces behind toilet tender scandal) aptly sum up the nation's disgust: "thieving seems to have become a way of life in the top ranks of the ANC - and Number One ...seems to have a finger in every pie."

"Even the most naïve people should now see why the ruling party rallies behind the chief thief. They benefit from the large scale kleptocracy that is now the norm in the country. The so-called communists are having a field day looting, looting and looting." "So sad for this great country that yet again a chance to improve the lives of the needy is squandered by the greedy."

The lack of respect for our president is palpable. People no longer hesitate to call him a "thief" and the current regime a kleptocracy. 

This article first appeared in The Citizen.

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