On Friday we heard the grandiose President Thabo Mbeki speaking (in sonorous phrases, with long pauses for effect) about the alleviation of poverty and the awesome gap between his poor black constituents and whites. He will not, of course, speak about the awesome per capita expenditure gap between himself and those same constituents. This is while expenditure on Mbeki includes:
Inauguration party, R50-million;
New presidential plane, R500-million with running costs of R100-million a year;
Interim upgrade of old plane in Switzerland, R30-million;
Hire of third plane while waiting for completion of interim upgrade;
Commandeering of first class on commercial flight because hired plane “too uncomfortable”;
Four new presidential air terminals at R12-million each;
Upgrade of presidential mansion at R50-million;
Increased security at R30million, not really relevant because of foreign hotel accommodation for 200 days a year for himself and entourage of up to 300 at a time. Etcetera, etcetera.
We have Lionel Mtshali commuting to Ulundi and Pietermaritzburg from Durban in a Lear jet. Last year his minister for “poverty relief” lived for seven months in top suites at Durban hotels at about R3 000 a day. King Goodwill Zwelithini’s 33 children are on taxpayers’ money at private schools, McCaps Motimele … Barney Pityana … Linda Xama … we have tens of thousands of government officials, in the country and abroad, spending money on priorities: themselves.
Some of us will recognise that uniquely African grotesque quality in many of the examples but none of it, at this stage, is corruption. Everything mentioned has been done with due regard for proper procedure. In the case of Xama (disbarred from attorneys’ roll for theft of trust funds and a receipient of R500 000 from the African National Congress for “legal expenses”) the proper procedure was her winning the tender for the job of “public relations” for the mayor of Durban(!), at R120 000 a month, with the two other tenders coming in at R60 000 a month. No corruption so far. These are all officials spending tax money on the execution of their duties. The youth commission consists of six people under 26 years of age each drawing R350 000 to R500 000 a year plus car.
What do these combined billions of ZAR mean in terms of investment? The answer is AFZ, which, if you consult the List of Abbreviations in three-point font below, stands for “Absolutely Fucking Zero”. And that is in fact the best we can hope for.
Let’s face it, the very best contribution that, say, Mtshali can make to the economy is for him to personally become the compost in somebody’s vegetable patch. That’s at least one fundamental in place. Stephan MRE