Silent NPA assists state capture

The convictions and jailing of Schabir Shaik and Tony Yengeni for corruption many moons ago should have served as perfect examples of what our legal system can do to those who have made careers out of looting public funds.

Unfortunately we have regressed to a point that people caught with their hands in the state’s cookie jar actually stand on podiums to demand “their day in court” in the knowledge they will not be prosecuted.

In fact, the one person at the head of it all might actually get his day in court, depending on what the Court of Appeals in Bloemfontein says in September.

The most worrisome thing is every time the media unearths what seems to be huge amounts of evidence against a well-connected band of people who appear to be the main cogs in kleptocracy, those with the power to do something sit so quietly doing nothing about these mountains of evidence.

When was the last time Shaun Abrahams uttered a word concerning the cases that opposition parties so dutifully report at police stations.

Not even one arrest? And therein lies the reason why Shaik still remains the most public face of a successful corruption conviction. Of all the elements that are considered vital signs of a functional democracy, the silence of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is of the most concern.

Although the Black First Land First clowns are doing their utmost to ensure the media is intimidated into silence, it is still the media that continues to give us the vital leaks that keep civil society fighting.

The NPA was very vocal against Pravin Gordhan even when there was no case for him to answer. They did their job so well that even reasonable people now think there might have been something to the often baseless accusations of him being in the pockets of monopoly capital.

Upstarts like Edward Zuma feel they can take potshots at one of the staunchest fighters against state capture. The war room behind the capture of the state must have worked really hard to ensure the NPA becomes as toothless as it is now.

Installing an NPA head who would keep silent in the face of these daily leaks pointing to criminal acts in state-owned enterprises would not be enough.

The most important part would be the hounding out of all the experienced people like Gerrie Nel, much in the same way that SA Revenue Service’s investigative capacity was destroyed to ensure that state capture is a success.

The departure of Nel from the NPA was underplayed in the media, but in the fight against corruption it signalled a major victory for those determined to loot.

In order to restore the population’s belief in the possibility of state capture being defeated there needs to be a concerted effort to restore the NPA’s ability to prosecute and send to jail those found stealing from the state’s coffers.

We urgently need to move past Shaik and ensure that these new and more effective kleptocrats are jailed.

As it stands, it is a scary proposition that the Appeals Court can rule that President Jacob Zuma must have his day in court.

Who or what will ensure that the NPA does not mess up the case so monumentally that it cannot be resurrected?

Opposition parties need to get focused to ensure capacity is restored at the NPA.

Sydney Majoko.