'Stop blaming apartheid for corruption'

<p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Lax and corrupt public officials should stop blaming apartheid for their misdeeds, a senior government official has been quoted as saying in the ANC journal, Umrabulo, featured in The Sunday Independent.<br /></span></strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXAa8d0HPpx4pKhdHg3NNk3yCT8ErAbtmyUbJq073EKVIUYzC24Sn2ckb1sGQmavSYU6eNVl1MbW276tTW6-G4Df2CSEfJ1VEwDxpMKhXnZMCZVq39oXiP5EgNNz2rNA8zdRtFkgqok2H9/s1600-h/ANC_FAT_CATS.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNRXRU0N3cAGT4zARs2M8oqAeX-fylj4lNz5BAHgDWLcBjV4T-Cjn3A9WOrUcZy1o-njgKwQrIzAQXTuR5RQ1gLp1ID6l1GihNEvYDo-QcvSra0fHHelSVoCiqQQbDWjh3DSAms_t-Z7ct/s1600-h/ANC_FAT_CATS.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441203687885977186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNRXRU0N3cAGT4zARs2M8oqAeX-fylj4lNz5BAHgDWLcBjV4T-Cjn3A9WOrUcZy1o-njgKwQrIzAQXTuR5RQ1gLp1ID6l1GihNEvYDo-QcvSra0fHHelSVoCiqQQbDWjh3DSAms_t-Z7ct/s400/ANC_FAT_CATS.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>"Apartheid cannot be blamed every time some among them fail to discharge their responsibilities or get involved in corruption," said the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba.<br /><br />Gigaba, who is also an ANC national executive committee member, said laxity in executing public service duty constituted corruption, but this could not be blamed on apartheid.<br /><br />"Most of the public servants employed in government today are not from the apartheid era, but were engaged during the democratic dispensation," he said.<br /><br />Apartheid was inherently corrupt because it "was founded upon a corrupt value system that supported, spawned and was itself, in turn, sustained by corruption".<br /><br />"Sure, the legacy of apartheid could be blamed, but for how long?" he said.<br /><br />Gigaba also rejected the argument that poverty caused corruption. "Even where they participate in corrupt activities, the poor are often the victims rather than the propellers of corruption."<br /><br />"Corruption is, after all, a conscious abuse of power for personal enrichment by those who have such power," he said.<br /><br />"The largest incidents of corruption in the public service occur among the senior management services among those that earn satisfactory salaries; where large accounts and budgets are controlled, and decisions taken.<br /><br />"It is at this level that huge tenders and contracts are issued and where kickbacks are often demanded for contracts and offered."<br /><br />Gigaba called for a new type of public servant who could manage the conflict between private and public interest. Public servants' private business projects should not interfere with their duties as public officials.<br /><br />"We need to prevent and punish what is morally wrong and to encourage and reward all that is morally right," he said.<br /><br />"There is a need for the establishment of a professional meritocratic public service that is able to uphold the values and principles of democracy, good governance and Ubuntu, whilst sharing the ideology of development."<br /><br />Gigaba's words come amid a series of service delivery protests - the latest in Siyathemba township in Balfour, Mpumalanga.</span> -<em><span style="font-size:85%;"> Sapa</span></em></span> <p></p>

'Stop blaming apartheid for corruption'

Lax and corrupt public officials should stop blaming apartheid for their misdeeds, a senior government official has been quoted as saying in...

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