The new economic hit man is black: In this season of infrastructure development tenders I think we are going to see the ugly face of black capitalism

John Perkins author of "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" paints a frightening picture of the machinations of the West in its bid to keep a hold on African leaders after political independence. It is a sad reality of our past whose costs to Africa can never be recovered.

There is however the new economic hit man in town, this hit man does not hide behind the facade of the IMF or the World Bank nor does he do complicated spreadsheets to justify development projects. He is a "kleva" who needs no theoretical understanding of economics and financial analysis. These are the tools of the weak.

He is black and very articulate; he supported the struggle and believes that he did not join the struggle to be poor. He is well connected in the political circles with very high taste of things conspicuous. He uses his position to "facilitate" deals and has an eye on each and every tender out there. He could be quite educated, savvy and informed and claims to know those who matter.  He also could be uneducated because all he needs is to call in favors from his comrades.

In this season of infrastructure development tenders, I think we are going to see the ugly face of black capitalism once more as all begin to position themselves for the big ones; after all they only come once in a lifetime.

The hit man will, of course, be well supported by funders and international sharks that have already smelt the blood and are in the country already circling to make a kill and are looking for a hit man who can get them an ear at the top. In fact this has already happened we hear at PRASA and also with regard to the grant payout contract at SASSA . There is more to come.

Our new hit man is a loyal member of the ruling political party and supports the alleviation of poverty but only after his has taken his dues. At the highest level he is a cadre deployed to a strategic position and lives the high life. At the lowest he is a liberation struggle veteran who must have his pound of flesh. He will be seen with those that matter, entertain at the right places and he has no qualms to use his smartphone and talk loudly so that you can hear how connected he is and which is the latest deal. He really is not bothered about economic transformation nor is he worried about non-delivery to the poor.

By the way this hit man can also be a white male, except the white economic hit man does it with style. He is a corporate animal and gets paid a fortune for a day's work. For him to be a success he must work closely with his black counterpart to smell the deal which he can arrange finance for and make a substantial sum in deal fees. His black colleague is his bird dog. In other cases, he is a white entrepreneur hungry for cash who ropes in black partners who are used as fronts and once he secures the BEE contracts, he pays a pittance to the black partner as he does not need him anymore. The courts are going to be busy.

The saddest part is that millions of South Africans are waiting for change, for their lives to begin to progress. It is astounding to hear the "facilitation fees" being demanded and paid  to the hit man for arranging a meeting or a lunch with so and so. Believe me there is more to come.

Most of you will have heard about the Kony campaign to flash out this uncivilized rogue causing mayhem in Ghana and other countries. The campaign aims to make him famous so he has nowhere to hide. I encourage us to do the same with all government contracts that are dicey. We should expose the hit man so that he has nowhere to hide.

As Bess Myerson the American author wrote in 1924; The accomplice to the crime of corruption is frequently our own indifference.

Vince Musewe is an economist he is promoting new thinking about Africa under the topic "New African Minds" and you may read his philosophies about change by going to vincemusewe.blogspot.com or email him on [email protected]

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter