CORRUPTION BENEFICIARIES
MAGDA WIERZYCKA: Come clean and donate ill-gotten gains
Those who don’t should beware of what else may leak out of the Gupta e-mails and other disclosures not yet in the public domain
SA’s economy is drowning in a sea of corruption. It has become an institutional way of doing business, both in the public and the private sectors.
In my financial services career, I have come across a number of "temptations" — contracts offered in exchange for back-handers. I have always opted to turn those "opportunities" down.
I have often been told that "you don’t understand how business is done in Africa". My answer has always been the same: "I understand perfectly well. I just opt not to do business that way." The Gupta e-mail leaks have exposed a number of companies that opted to do business with those involved in looting state-owned enterprises and thus the South African taxpayer. That is only one example of what is happening in SA today. Corruption is not limited to the Guptas and their affiliates. Unfortunately, it transcends politics and bridges the divide between the private and the public sectors.Name-and-shame strategies that affect reputations and the bottom line, work. They etch the names of those involved into the minds and, more importantly, the hearts of the public. They force other corporates, possibly reluctantly, to act and do the morally right thing. Action can take many forms. It can be as dramatic as ending business relationships with those who are affected, or less public but equall...
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