No need for a Thuli in an ideal SA

Published Aug 24, 2016

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WHAT a pity that Thuli Madonsela is our national hero. Before you get me all wrong, let me say upfront that I am a Thuli Madonsela groupie.

She is the kind of woman I would happily name my daughter after, as in “Thulisile Nomkhosi Madonsela Moya”.

What I find sad about her story is that she is a reflection of the sad state of affairs we have in our country.

She is the light that she is because of the darkness that currently envelops us as a nation.

I share with her detractors – mainly those who presently want to abuse their power without being answerable to anyone – the sincere hope that we will sooner, rather than later, live in a country where the public protector does not occupy centre stage in our national discourse.

My reasons are, however, different from this group.

I want an obscure public protector because I would like to live in a society where those who wield public power are generally upright men and women who know that being in public office is a privilege, not an opportunity to feather their own nests.

I am not as naive as to think we will ever have a time when someone who wields public power will not want to abuse it for their personal gain or wealth.

I'm certain the vile will always be with us, but I do hope that they will be the exception rather than the norm, as seems to be the case at the moment.

I am painfully aware that such societies do not come about because one wishes or prays for them to exist. They are created at every structure of society, starting with the home, repeated at schools and in the workplace.

For example, every time former Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Senzo Meyiya’s father accuses the police of corruption, relating to what he sees as an undue delay in solving his son's murder, I cannot help but remember that this is a man who, when it suited him, was happy for his late son to publicly carry out a fraud.

Surely Meyiya senior knew his son was five years older than he claimed to be when he was turning up for age-limit teams.

By turning a blind eye to his son's quest for opportunities by any means, Meyiya senior fed the corruption that he now bemoans because his son's
killers remain at large.

Surely his former schoolmates would have known that he was either a child prodigy, or was lying about his age, if he had been in school with them when he was five years younger than the average learner.

The same applies to all parents of youngsters who are lying about their ages, or taking illegal substances, to unfairly boost their sporting performances. Those parents must see their hypocrisy every time they accuse politicians and the law enforcement officers of corruption.

I by no means seek to equate corruption with murder, neither do I want to appear insensitive.

It is unacceptable that citizens speak freely about bribing traffic and law enforcement officers. It is a blight on our collective conscience that cutting corners in business and in tax matters is seen as normal.

If we want a public protector who is not as prominent as Madonsela is, we must take care of the small acts of ethical behaviour in our own spaces.

Political parties and activists who hate that the media and the public loves Madonsela must root out the corrupt from their own outfits, and instil a
culture of accountability and respect for public office and purse.

Only when we have cleaned up our own mess, as individuals and as organisations, can we afford to have a public protector as obscure as the National Defence Force chief.

I would not be surprised that you did not know that General Solly Shoke is chief of the army. That is because we have not needed to because, thankfully, we are not at war and therefore he hardly needs to hog the media limelight.

Even children, and the generally indifferent to news and current affairs, know who Madonsela is. That is because we are at war of sorts.

We are engaged in a battle against a real threat to the security and sovereignty of our republic – corruption and abuse of public power. Thuli Madonsela is the chief of our army.

That is why she, and not General Shoke, is saluted by all and sundry.

It is not usual to say this, especially about one who has done herself proud and given her office the standing it enjoys, but it would be wonderful for South Africa if we did not need the type of public protector that Thuli Madonsela has been. I am afraid I will not be holding my breath.

@fikelelom

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