Cancer is widely considered the greatest bane of modern humans. It strikes with little warning, comes in all shapes and sizes, and is notoriously hard to cure. It is not an external problem, not an infection: external factors can trigger cancer, but the cancer itself is a breakdown in the order and rules that normally carefully control the incredible potential and power of every cell in our bodies.
South Africa, I’m afraid, is currently experiencing a severe and rapidly advancing case of debilitating cancer. External factors (the Gupta parasites, for example) helped this malignant, warping growth spring up inside our nation, but some terrible habits helped it along and hid its horrifying defilement of our normal functioning. The longstanding, overwhelming majority that the ANC once boasted is as deadly as a diet that contains nothing but greasy chips. The endemic corruption and inept governance that goes with the ANC’s culture of laziness and greed hid the symptoms of this malignant tumour for many years. Political apathy and a dependence culture in us as the people of the nation prevented us from taking a good look at our political and governmental health, or paying attention to the dire warnings of the experts who saw the problem growing.
Recently, between the exponential increase in public scandals and revelations about the extent of state capture, we as a nation realised that something was very wrong. We found ourselves without the energy needed to grow and mature our young democracy – in fact, so much of our resources (like government funds and natural resources like coal) and energy is being sapped by this corrupt cancer that has slithered its vile way into every branch of government and all but a few of our vital state organs, that we find ourselves in a recession with little hope of respite in the near future: the impending doom of a probable 20% hike in electricity price next year is much the same as a heart condition that is at risk of paralysing what function we have left.
Even worse than the way that this terrible, spreading state capture cancer is all too closely mirroring the way cancer gradually consumes, withers and kills a patient that is diagnosed far too late, our national malady shows horrific signs that are reminiscent of HIV, and the way it destroys all opposition by subversive action, misdirection and brute force of numbers. In South Africa’s case, the Infectious Corruption Virus sunk its teeth into every weak spot it could find: greedy politicians, like Jacob Zuma and his cabal that rules the National Executive Committee of the ANC; ruthless businessmen like the Gupta clan and the endless tide of tenderpreneurs; ambitious populist activists looking for a way to make a big score, like the Gupta-aligned Andile Mngxitama and his ilk. With the first footholds in the broader political stage and the government itself secured, the next stage of the assault on the very systems that keep us safe could begin.
The infamous Arms Deal provides us with examples of several of the common tactics by which this malady protects its spreading tendrils from the immune system of our nation, the structures that are mandated by the Constitution and our laws to attack that which acts against our nation: the capture of the NPA is a well-known fact, confirmed by multiple court rulings, and is a worrying analogy to the way that HIV attacks the cells that set in motion the body’s response to disease and pathogens; the so-called Seriti ‘commission of inquiry’ showed us how this malignant corruption uses a mockery of a judicial process (which is like an immune reaction in a human body) to disguise the spread of the disease.
The strategic eradication of the Scorpions, which were a threat to the spread of this corruption, is but another symptom of this gradual war against the very institutions that should have protected us from this spreading cancer. Much the same can be said of the way Zuma placed a blatantly corrupted and inept puppet in the office of the Public Protector, to leave South Africa ever more defenceless against the consuming evil in its very veins and organs. What is worrying and lends support to the theory that the EFF and the ANC are in cahoots, is that the EFF supported this appointment and that the EFF often get their hands on confidential documents before anyone else.
Much of what this corruption does can be well described by the metaphor of a cancer, though it is vital to consider that it also resembles HIV/Aids in the active way it attacks any threats to its existence. I shall thus continue the metaphor of a metastasised cancer – one that has long since started shedding small bits of itself to spread to other organs and spread the rot further. A mere glance at the antics of certain deployees at SOEs reveals the existence of this process: Dudu Myeni has done a thorough job of entrenching bad governance and irregular procedure at the once-proud SAA (recently, she has landed in hot water for going to the extent of blatantly lying to the Cabinet ), and the clownish mismanagement of Hlaudi Motsoeneng – a buffoon with the direct support of the previous Minister of Communication and supposedly our president as well – has caused the SABC to lose all credibility and resulted in endless court cases at the expense of the taxpayer. This cancer is long since metastasised to most SOEs, and most government branches down to municipal level.
I have some bad news: cancer, if left untreated, leads to suffering, debilitating illness and death. South Africa has a rather advanced case of cancer already – and we have reached that second stage and are seeing the debilitating effects of this twisted, malignant malady already. We are officially in recession, we are rapidly running into a situation where we will not be able to maintain the social grants that keep a large fraction of our population alive and fed. Institution after institution is falling. The courts, the last untainted vestige of our supposedly formidable judicial system, are straining under the load of protecting us from the increasingly severe symptoms of this cancer, and even the courts themselves are under attack by this evil that lurks among us. Not to mention that multiple public figures have made suggestions of changing the Constitution – changes that would cause this cancer to spread and destroy even more quickly. The Rainbow Nation, a South Africa with true democracy and an exemplary Constitution, the shining hope of Africa, is dying a painful, humiliating death.
It’s not too late – not quite yet. It’s already going to be a dark time ahead, even if we are willing to start clawing our way back to health right now. This recession cannot be ignored, wished away or legislated into unimportance. Unemployment is not going to go away overnight. However, if we are willing to seek treatment, there will be a time when our economy will grow again; a time when more people have jobs and pay taxes than live off social grants alone. There can still be a golden age for us – a recession in the cancer – but treatment is not a magic cure, and it isn’t easy or pleasant.
Now, cancer treatments have two basic steps (forgive the oversimplification): the first is to address the current tumours and growths, as far as that is possible, the second is to use more general measures to counteract the remaining tumours and prevent the cancer from re-growing and spreading further. In a human body, the first step generally means surgery to cut out as much of the malignant cancer cells as possible, even sometimes including some of the healthy cells in close proximity to prevent small parts from remaining and re-growing the tumour. The second stage uses targeted radiation or carefully formulated chemicals to attack the remaining cancer cells – though the treatments are designed to do as little harm to the rest of the body as possible, they are inevitably very draining, unpleasant and cause collateral damage (patients’ hair tends to fall out, for example, and their general health declines), but the alternative is worse.
For a nation, the process should be analogous: the existing problem must be cut out, as soon as possible and with no compromise. In practise, that means we should vote out the ANC in 2019 (they must not even be able to bribe their way back to a coalition majority, or this cancer will only grow back); we must get rid of Zuma and his cabal (they are the heart of the sickness in the government); and we must shun, isolate and suppress the Guptas (as part of the original cause and an aggravating factor, they would likely cause the evil to grow back or spread into new parts of the nation). The calls for a vote of no confidence via secret ballot, the vanishing ANC voter base and the banks’ action against the Guptas are all first steps towards treatment, but far from enough. While it is sad that the employees of the Gupta empire must also suffer, they are the healthy tissue that is too close to the tumours to save.
The next stage is to address the causes, the remaining problems, and the possibility of a recurring bout of this evil. As a start, the Public Protector, NPA and other compromised or captured institutions must be liberated and fortified against such encroachment (as an example, our current puppet Public Protector should never have even been allowed to be a candidate without long experience in legal matters). Furthermore, the Zuma cabal has shown all too clearly that the executive, whose mandate and powers were designed with Mandela and other executives with honour and integrity, has too much power and far too little accountability. The office of the president should not be able to single-handedly dictate the people who head the various vital state organs, control inquiries into even the president’s misdeeds, and give no reasons for even the most catastrophic of actions (like the infamous midnight Cabinet Reshuffle that pushed us towards the current recession). Transparency and accountability, no matter how inconvenient the executive finds it to explain their actions, must become a guiding principle of our government.
Whether you agree with me fully or not, the symptoms of our corrupt cancer are on display in their full malignant scope. Our seemingly inevitable end as a failed state is getting clearer by the day. Could you honestly pretend that we will just be fine, that going without treatment will lead to anything but a painful, slow demise as this spreading cancer eats away all that was once good about our nation? As any doctor can tell you, half measures do not work against cancer.
I call on all South Africans that care about the future of this country to do whatever we need to do to bring about the change needed – to seek treatment for this spreading, greedy evil that is destroying us bit by bit. We know what must be done, and we live in a democracy – from the Greek demokratia, which means the power and rule of the people. It will be our power that saves us or dooms us.
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