LETTER: Extortion by the public sector — not corruption by the private sector
SA has an extortion epidemic that is rife throughout those in charge of the public purse
Rarely a week goes by where I am not anxiously engaged by friends and fellow business leaders on the corruption epidemic that continues to blight this wonderful country.
For four decades I have owned businesses that provide products and services to the public sector. There clearly are corrupt businesses in SA, but corruption is not the major issue. It is an activity whereby suppliers offer their customers an incentive or bribe to secure the sale of products or services.
The opposite is what is mostly happening in SA. Those in charge of the public purse are trying to make criminals out of legitimate business people by demanding incentives and bribes — failing which the supplier will be excluded from those eligible to supply products and services. This is extortion by the public sector — not corruption by the private sector.
SA has an extortion epidemic that is rife throughout those in charge of the public purse and only seems (to my experience) to have been exacerbated by the hearings of the Zondo state capture commission. A negative consequence of its exposure of extortion and corruption appears to be that it has galvanised those further down the decision-making chain to join their bosses by demanding their share of the spoils.
Only two things can change this. The first is the perceived threat of prosecution. As someone who has experienced the ability of the authorities to act first and finalise their investigation afterwards, I am astonished at the failure to arrest individuals on the prima facie evidence available.
Second, and most importantly, those in charge of the public purse should have integrity and should care about service delivery rather than lining their own pockets. As things stand there is no indication that positive change is imminent on that front.
Dave King
Sandhurst
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