Amnesty is terrible idea

Advocate Thuli Madonsela is that one exceptional person who gave South Africans hope and a fighting chance at the height of the state capture shenanigans. Her State of Capture report set the ball rolling on the establishment of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. It has taken a while for any tangible results to come through, but come through they are.

And then Madonsela suggests a corruption amnesty to “reset the system and start on a clean slate”. The former public protector means well and the intentions of her suggestion are noble. But at this stage in this country’s development, a corruption amnesty would be sending all the wrong signals to all levels of society.

There is a clear connection between lack of consequences for corruption and many failed states in the developing world, especially on the African continent. The progression of corruption in this country since the inception of democracy has clearly indicated that the much-vaunted South African exceptionalism has not made it immune from going the route of a failed state.

Corruption is not merely an act of taking state money fraudulently. It permeates all levels of government and if allowed, spills over to various other institutions in the land making it impossible for the normal functioning of society. The population at large are then at the mercy of whoever is in a position to perform a task that they should ordinarily do for free.

In other words, if corruption is allowed to go on without consequences, all aspects of life are then adversely affected by it. Amnesty presupposes that the problem is so huge and widespread that the only way to get rid of it is by mass forgiveness of the perpetrators so that the clock is set back to zero.

The biggest victims of the various forms of corruption over the past two decades are the poorest of the poor. The systems put in place to ensure a fair and equitable provision of services by the state to the poor has consistently let them down. An amnesty for those people who stole money meant for the poor would be sending a clear message to the masses: “your suffering means nothing”.

Whether it is the farmer who did not get equipment or finance from the Vrede dairy project or the family that continues to live in a house that has a deadly asbestos roof in the Free State because the politicians conspired to steal their money, corruption has identifiable victims who must not have their painful experiences invalidated by giving the thieves a free pass.

The biggest thing missing from South Africa’s last mass forgiveness project, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, is restitution. The victims had to perform their pain in front of the cameras but those that victimised them could hide behind a team of lawyers and still be granted amnesty. There was nothing much in it for the victims after that.

If Madonsela was suggesting a system in which the starting point is for all the thieves to declare what they stole and then make amends by returning every single penny they stole from the poor, the suggestion would hold water. Forgiveness, in any setting, must be offered to those asking for it.

With the likes of Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina calling for “black unity” to defend what he calls an attack on black businesses, it is clear that there is an entitlement of sorts from certain sections of society. SA cannot make the mistake of offering protection to people who feel their looting is justified. They are not victims, poor people are.

Sydney Majoko.

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