An open letter to President Jacob Zuma from Desmond Tutu
Dear Mr President
I greet you in the powerful name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in this holy season of Lent and hope this letter finds you in sound health and good spirits. I commend you on the moral stance of our government in the recent voting over Libya at the UN.
I have taken note of the decision of the Constitutional Court regarding the lack of independence of the Hawks, which has led to the striking down of the laws creating this less-than-effective corruption fighting unit of the police.
I have also learned with disappointment that the Hawks have closed their files on the allegations of wrongdoing in the deals under which the country procured armaments – which it has not used and for which it does not have adequate personnel – with money it had to borrow.
It is heartening to hear of the efforts of civil society organisations to “red card” corruption and to see that prominent members of civil society and even some people in government support the efforts of these organisations to fight the scourge of corruption.
There can be no doubt that corruption is a cancer in our society, one which robs the poor – to the undeserved benefit of the well-connected.
It is encouraging to note your own repeated commitment to root out this pernicious weed in our public life.
As you know, I wrote to your predecessor, President Kgalema Motlanthe, in 2008 requesting that he appoint an independent commission of inquiry into the arms deals.
He declined to do so, suggesting that it would be more appropriate to report malfeasance to the police. Now the highest court in the land has ruled that the unit of the police tasked with dealing with corruption is not properly equipped to do so in cases of grand or political corruption. I have decided to renew my call for a commission of inquiry by asking you to give your urgent consideration to this request.
The reason for refusing the previous request has fallen away.
There is no police investigation of the numerous allegations of corruption surrounding the arms deals. The government’s efforts to deal with corruption cannot be regarded as genuine and sincere until such time as the arms deal corruption is fairly and squarely dealt with in public hearings conducted by an independent commission of inquiry presided over by retired judges or other suitably qualified eminent persons.
You are the only person who can appoint such a commission of inquiry and doing so is the only rational response available in the circumstances which now prevail.
All manner of people and institutions have over time asked for this inquiry. Its time has come.
If it transpires that the arms deals are indeed tainted by fraud and corruption, then they can be set aside and the billions of rand in public money spent on them can be recovered to the benefit of the public at large.
Many houses, clinics and schools could be built with the amounts involved.
The return of the unused and unwanted arms will not be prejudicial to ordinary people.
And if no wrong has been committed, the innocence of those who may be suspects will have been established beyond any doubt.
The innocent have nothing to fear from such an independent inquiry.
I appeal to you to do what is manifestly the right thing. Appoint a commission of inquiry now as a first step toward rooting out the cancer of corruption in South Africa.
Until the root of the problem is addressed the weeds will continue to choke progress towards that better life for all.
I reserve the right to publish this as an open letter, if I do not receive what I consider to be an adequate response within a reasonable period of time.
God bless you.
l Desmond Tutu is the Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town.