The year is 1992 and Zakes Mda has unveiled a fresh off-the-page theatrical offering, The Mother Of All Eating, at the Sechaba Hall of the Victoria Hotel in Maseru, Lesotho.
Set in Lesotho in the 1980s, this timeless classic explores the catastrophic impact of greed and unchecked corruption within the halls of government.
Fast-forward some 24 years and the play’s depiction of government coffers syphoned off by those even in the highest office has proven eerily prophetic for South Africa.
As good art should, the play holds a mirror up to our society and ought to make each of us squirm at how we have allowed its script to become part of the fabric of our nation’s reality.
We should all squirm because corruption has two parts.
There are the people who commit acts of corruption and then there is the rest of us - all of us who by deed or omission, have failed to guard against corruption, or failed to hold to account those responsible for it.
In this knowledge, I have committed myself and my administration to becoming agents for change.
For a time almost as old as our democracy, previous administrations in the City of Johannesburg have steadily allowed moral degradation to take root. As I have said before, the city’s bureaucracy has been gripped by a culture of corruption for far too long.
Anecdotal accounts, such as those I have heard from communities relating to how work opportunities were handed out on the basis of membership of the previous governing party, have sadly become commonplace.
Recently we saw the arrest of a former candidate valuer for the city on charges of fraud and corruption after allegedly colluding with other suspected criminals to reduce property valuations. This cost the city tens of millions in rates and taxes.
On entering government, I was appalled to see the number of investigations into alleged corruption within the city, most of which were swept under the carpet, kept away from the public eye and without any corrective action being taken.
I immediately declared corruption public enemy number one. I recognised that without rooting out the culture of endemic corruption and the looting of public money, we would never be able to fulfil our promise of creating a caring and responsive government that puts the needs of our residents first. As the saying goes, you need to clean the pot before cooking the stew.
It was with much excitement and hope that I established an internal anti-corruption unit to smoke out corruption wherever it may lurk. General Shadrack Sibiya, a man of sound character, integrity and with a wealth of crime-fighting experience, continues to direct the work of this unit admirably.
Through the efforts of his unit, the city has begun the serious and necessary work of holding wayward officials to account.
Of course, not all people would share this administration’s vision for a responsive, transparent and accountable government.
Fighting corruption means that those who have for years gorged themselves at the trough that is the public purse will no longer be permitted to eat.
Just last week, the ANC in Johannesburg lashed out at city manager Ndivho Lukhwareni and myself over an investigation into the alleged corrupt dealings at City Power. This followed serious allegations and information disclosed to me relating to suspicious dealing at the entity valued at billions of rand.
Having applied my mind to the allegations, I instructed that an independent investigation be conducted by a professional auditing firm to ensure that a report, free of any political interference or bias, is tabled on the matter. To do anything less would be an act of negligence.
Unfortunately, the recent contestation by the ANC only serves to shine a spotlight on the rot which has been allowed to decay what was once a noble organisation. That organisation is now, seemingly, captured by those who would hide corruption and continue to enrich themselves.
In Johannesburg it is clear that the ANC is doing everything in its power to protect the patronage network it was able to establish over the past two decades, a patronage network that allowed the connected few to eat and eat and eat.
Public service is a calling; it is a calling that is centred on ensuring that the needs of our people are met. Those who engage in corruption have wilfully abandoned this calling. Zakes Mda’s play continuously repeated the catchphrase “join the civil service and be a millionaire”. Tragically, this has become the mentality of far too many officials at local, provincial and national level. We must never accept this.
Society must be united in its condemnation of this moral decay in our society.
Indeed,“the mother of all eating” is taking place in our country right now and it is time for good people to stand up and say enough.
The future of our city and country depend on it. Politicians and officials who are shamelessly stating, “I refuse to be poor” while adding that they are “enjoying the fruits of our liberation” need to know that there will be no space for them in this administration.
Working together with dedicated city employees, of which I am convinced there are many, we will ensure that the city has a trustworthy, competent and professional civil service that puts the interests of our residents first. When our residents engage with our civil servants they must feel that they have been dealt with in a professional and caring manner.
Regaining the trust of our residents is vital to our success. Words are not enough to achieve this and it is essential that we act, and we act firmly, in our efforts to run a clean and transparent local government that serves our residents.
Corruption should be public enemy number one for all of us. Working together, we can ensure that this municipality’s funds go to those it ought to - its residents.
Zakes Mda’s The Mother Of All Eating is currently being performed across Joburg theatres. This production is part of the anti-fraud and corruption campaign in the city.