TO
OUR HOST,
PLEASE
BEHAVE YOURSELF…
By Maulana Khalid Dhorat
South
Africa is the only country in the world where you can proudly eat half raw
meat, and call it biltong. You can dry apricots, and call it Meebos. You can
even experience pathetic service in all eleven official languages at the Post
Office; and when in an accident, the tow-truck will arrive long before the
police or the ambulance! Our illegal immigrants actually leave the country due
to crime, and pedestrians normally run at the sight of rain, but not at a huge
truck. This is the glorious Rainbow Nation which we have come to enjoy and
which we call Home.
For
minorities living in South Africa, we are the guests of our African brothers.
There is no better place to be in the world than SA today. There is freedom to
worship, to congregate, to trade, to do humanitarian work, and to even speak
out against injustice. We are all enjoying the sweet fruits of freedom. All of
us are being hosted in the Grand Palace of the land of SA, and our hosts, the
government, is administrating this palace and seeing to it that everyone is
comfortable and happy.
When
the door to this Grand Palace opened in 1994, everyone was optimistic of a
bright future. Admittedly, administrating a Palace is no mean task and a few
problems can be expected. However, the people of this country have noticed that
some of our honourable hosts are beginning to behave like they didn’t see food
for the past 100 years, and they are just stuffing their mouths and eating up
all the food in the kitchen, before it can even reaching the starving people at
the table. Twenty years down the line, everything is still being blamed on
Apartheid. We tell such officials: “Please behave yourself.”
CorruptionCrime affects individuals, but corruption affects the whole country. At the moment, SA is bleeding from corruption. Every official, from top downwards, seems to be on the Biryani Train. Corruption has become so bad that it has become very difficult to even put the figures into words. How do you spell out R45 329 970 334-98? Today, most of the people in our Grand Castle are sick because of a scarcity of medicines in the hospital, their children are illiterate because teachers never show up for duty, and criminals are the happiest as the police actually fear them. The only people happy to be on duty are the traffic cops who gleefully look for bribes, officials at the Dept. of Home Affairs who are busy legalising the aliens in this country, and of course, our E-Toll gantries which will never fail to snap you even on the stormiest of nights!
As
our top officials are always having meetings in their plush boardrooms or
having parties in the cosy Royal Garden, so they may not be aware of how their
Castle is crumbling. Soon, our children will inherit a Castle that has no walls
or plumbing, and it may be too late to save ourselves from complete ruin. Out
of 176 countries, SA is ranked as the 69th most corrupt in the
world. Research shows that the foremost form of corruption in SA is “Tenderpreneurism”
- enriching oneself by means of government contracts, procured through bribery,
personal connections, or by way of appointing family members and friends on
positions of trust that makes it difficult for them to refuse the awarding of
lucrative contracts. A tender to repair a roof will be given out that would
normally cost about R20 000-, however over R600 000- will be charged
for it. Billions of rands have been lost in this way.
The
Arms Deal, finalised in 1999, became known for the bribery involved to gain
contracts that enriched many high-ranking ministers. The Schabir Shaik trial
arose partly from this scandal. Then we had the Travelgate Scandal in which 40
members of parliament were found to have illegally used parliamentary
travel-vouchers worth R18 million for personal use, followed by former National
Police Commissioner, Jackie Selebi, who was convicted in July 2010 for
accepting R120 000- from alleged crime-syndicate boss, Glen Agliotti. And
now we have Nkandla, where the President’s private house has been given a
gorgeous R247 million facelift, when millions of people don’t even have a
decent shack to live in!
The
second most common form of corruption in SA is “BEE-Fronting.” This is a
process whereby qualifying “African” persons are given a seat on the Board of
Directors of a company who have absolutely no decision-making powers on the
Board. Their purpose is only to qualify the company for Black Economic
Empowerment (BEE) contracts from government, and enjoy certain corporate and
tax benefits. Corporates and large businesses have profited in the millions
from this, and continue to do so. Whilst the rich have become super-rich
through this, the working class continue to pay their dues diligently and
become poorer and poorer.
How
Does Corruption Affect our Country?1. High prices to consumers: When businessmen are required to pay exorbitant duties, bribes, and taxes on their goods, they pass all the costs on the consumer - me and you. When the palms of officials are not “greased,” then their goods are delayed, which also leads to higher costs. Both ways, the consumers pay the price of bribery and corruption.
2.Reduced
foreign investment: When investors
notice bad governance, their confidence in the said country falls. This leads
to reduced goods and services, which in turn, pushes up inflation and the cost
of living. People or companies with the required level of skill and competency
hesitate to do business with the said country, which leads to entire country remaining
backward.
3.Reduced
commitment from donor agencies: In times
of crises or debt, international donor or monetary agencies fear helping the
said country, as the funds will most probably land up in the pockets of
officials, rather than the intended recipients. As corruption increases, the
State fails to finances it’s deficit expenditure, and the little savings it has
is now also absorbed by the deficit. Interest rates go up and the government
has no capacity to respond to social and economic needs. As a result, the
general standard of living of the people decreases and the country as a whole
suffers unnecessarily.4.Reduced tax revenues: Many people routinely practice tax-evasion due to poor service-delivery, whilst corrupt officials tend to award improper tax concessions to many. Many do not make a full disclosure of their income and their assets, whilst some may claim refunds on unclaimable expenditure such as grocery shopping and personal holidays. All this leads to less money in State coffers for health, education and social security.
5.Poor maintenance of public infrastructure: Because of corruption, maintenance and repairs to old roads, buildings and projects always take a back seat to new projects. For fear of being exposed, corrupt officials prefer awarding new contracts, rather than spending on old projects which they messed up. The more the corruption, the less the economic growth. Corruption thus steals the wealth of a nation and impoverishes it. It leads to oppression; unjust decisions are made and just ones are blocked. Undeserving people are given chances, whilst deserving ones are not.
A corrupt society is a selfish society which no amount of wealth can satisfy, and a selfish society does not know the meaning of dutifulness, faithfulness, loyalty and accountability. Is not our society headed in the same direction? Don’t public servants complete the work of one day in two weeks, just to get paid better? Don’t our employees take unnecessary sick leave or look forward to their tea-break, rather than their work? Don’t our doctors first look at the Medical Aid limit before looking at their patients?
As we see the fish rotting from the head, everyone suddenly wants a share of the “forbidden pie.” Anyone with a little power wants to abuse their authority, even if it’s only for a can of coke. This disease has spread to every race and segment of society. Eating the next man’s wealth unlawfully has become the norm, whereas the Qur’an in verse 2:188 tells us not to “seek access to judges in order to wilfully usurp the wealth of others.” Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) cursed the one who offers a bribe, the one who accepts it, as well as the one who arranges it. Once, the noble Prophet sent ‘Abdullah ibn Rawaha to estimate the amount of tax owed by the Jews on their palm trees. They offered him some money as a gift, and he told them: “What you have offered as a bribe is not permissible for us, and we do not accept it.” (Muwatta Imam Malik) Thus, all public officials are bound to make a full disclosure of their assets and of any gifts received. If the State feels that such gifts may lead to favouritism, then it can ask for its return.
In
Islam, we believe that the roots of bribery and corruption are greed for
wealth, lack of God-consciousness and forgetting that we will be held
accountable before God on the Final Day consisting of 500 000 years. No
amount of surveillance, audits, checks and balances can ensure honesty and
transparency, only accountability to our Creator. Verse 21:47 of the Qur’an
tells us that on the Last Day, the scales of justice will be laid out so that
not a soul will be dealt with unjustly. A person with an atom’s worth of
goodness will see it, as well as a person with an atom’s worth of evil.
Lastly, as elections draw close
upon us, I urge everyone to vote for the party that is the most upright and
sincere: those who will not give in to their passions and lusts, who cherish
the ideals of justice and peace. Don’t choose the party that can be easily
corrupted. As to which party this is, it’s up to you to
decide. 
