ALBERTON – Yes the house has voted to accept the findings of the Nkandla report, but not without a battle from the opposition MPs. Parliament was chaotic as the debate raged back and forth about the liability of the president in regards to the upgrades at his private residence, but as was expected the ANC flexed its majority muscle and outvoted the opposition. Proving that we are not a country of just laws, but rather a country where the laws just apply to us mere mortals.
I have had the opportunity to meet with business owners and city officials from our fellow African countries, and couldn’t help but ask what their opinion of the whole Nkandla issue was. What strikes me is that the representatives from Kenya, Uganda and Namibia where all confused and shocked that in a country that is billed as the most developed and progressive in Africa allows this to happen. In their opinion the president should be removed. I am reminded though that their countries haven’t fared much better when it comes to the corruption front. But that’s just the thing, they come from countries that have experienced the net effect of corruption and are desperately trying to rebuild from it, so if they are shocked and confused, how should we be?
What bothers me the most isn’t just the corruption or the blame shifting or the idiocracy of the whole issue. What bothers me is the negative effect that it has on the population as a whole. It makes people feel powerless and hopeless. At a time when we are facing real social and economic challenges, we should be pulling together to find solutions and not being pushed apart by problems.
