Corruption a tightening noose around South Africa’s neck:
“Ultimate disruptor” was how Forbes Africa dubbed Covid-19 in June 2020 for its sweeping impact across global business and society. Yet, for South Africa, a far more threatening disruptor has long been tightening its grip: corruption.
Corruption is once again under the spotlight. This time it’s for allegations made by Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, against senior members of the South African Police Service (SAPS), including Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu.
The endemic corruption “virus” has ceased to operate in the shadows. It is visible, active and strangling our nation’s future. As revealed in great detail in the state capture reports at the Zondo commission, corruption has morphed into multiple guises and its insidious tentacles have penetrated every layer of our society. From tax evasion, fraud, bribery, nepotism, misuse of government funds, maladministration, extortion and the recent allegations against the upper echelons of the police service, corruption’s destructive reach undermines South Africa’s political, financial and societal sustainability.
Each rigged contract, sold degree qualification and policy that is manipulated for personal gain, does not merely siphon funds, it chips away at society’s moral fibre, erodes human dignity, hinders economic growth and, more critically, puts lives at risk. And it is the most vulnerable, those already burdened by poverty and poor service delivery, who suffer the most.
Worse still, corruption has become normalised. Wrapped in phrases like “our turn to eat” and “we didn’t join the [freedom] struggle to be poor”, it cultivates a false sense of entitlement and impunity. This embeds criminality into the social and institutional fabric of our society. As communities, particularly the youth, watch unpunished looting unfold, faith in leadership and public institutions collapse and moral decay spreads.
The cost of corruption
Although difficult to quantify, corruption undoubtedly places a huge burden on the country, financially, institutionally and socially. Financially, the damage is staggering. In the World Bank’s 2023 report, Safety First: The Economic Cost of Crime in South Africa, senior economist Bénédicte Baduel showed how crime was shaving about 10% from South Africa’s GDP. She estimates the loss to our economy at R700 billion a year. Coupled with South Africa’s placement on the Financial Action Task Force’s “grey list”, the message is clear: South Africa must manage economic crime more effectively.
Institutionally, government structures buckle under the weight of corruption. State-owned enterprises such as SAA and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) basically collapsed. “Ghost” government employees siphon off millions of rands, and extortion mafias sabotage infrastructure projects, demand protection fees and exploit public works for personal enrichment. As budgets are drained, service delivery deteriorates, leaving people without reliable services.
Socially, the consequences are equally dire. Corruption betrays the democratic ideals for which so many of our political leaders fought and died for. These values should define who we are as a nation because they are enshrined in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. But, when political leaders and public officials abuse their roles for personal enrichment, not only do they mock the values that underpin our democracy, they also signal to our society that greed trumps integrity. Hence, hard work becomes devalued, ethical leadership is undermined and the seeds of cynicism, apathy and deviousness are sown.
Where corruption is rife, fear, trauma, low productivity and institutional collapse are common. These make up the toxic mix that become the push factors for skills migration, and loss of investor confidence.
From criminal crisis to moral collapse
The tightening grip of corruption on our society is no longer just a criminal crisis, it is a moral and sustainability catastrophe. The hollowing out of what were capable state institutions and the dire effect on the economy will rob our youth of a viable future. In addition, it corrodes the ethical foundations of society and it weakens social bonds. Furthermore, when institutions fail and unemployment is on the increase, it breeds hopelessness and fuels a vicious cycle of poverty and despair.
Restoring South Africa’s moral fibre
Despite efforts by successive government administrations to curb corruption through initiatives such as the Mpati and Zondo commissions, most of the perpetrators remain unpunished with no consequence management. In fact, many of those implicated officials still hold public office. And as accountability stalls, corruption mutates, adapts, becomes emboldened and multiplies.
Uprooting corruption requires more than commissions of inquiry. It needs a two-pronged approach: justice through the rule of law by strengthening the judicial organs of state and Chapter 9 institutions, and soft power — cultural and paradigm shifts, and personal agency.
Civil society should embark on an intentional moral regeneration campaign. Families, educators, faith groups and civil society all have a critical role in shaping a generation that values honesty, integrity, service and the common good. A corrupt-free society is not the responsibility of the government alone, it is everyone’s responsibility. The heart of our recovery lies in values-based civic renewal. In addition, whistleblowers should be commended and protected, and more effective systems that govern procurement and financial transactions must be implemented.
Even though corruption has left deep and indelible wounds in the body politic and economic fabric of our society, it is not invincible but it needs to be tackled with the same zeal that defeated apartheid. Therefore efforts to eradicate it requires inner resolve and commitment to bring about the requisite change.
We should all collaborate to grow a stronger, ethically driven society. Our society must reignite the values that built our democracy — justice, accountability and ubuntu, so that everyone stands to benefit from a more sustainable future.
We owe it to the future generations to build a legacy of peace, prosperity and harmony. This should be our national calling. A society that works to defeat corruption together, builds hope together.
Rudi Kimmie is an independent higher education and organisation development specialist. He writes in his personal capacity.
Africa’s freshwater fish crisis: 26% of species threatened with extinction:
From the tiny galaxiids of South Africa to the 2m-long Nile perch, Africa’s extraordinary biodiversity of freshwater fish have evolved to thrive in the various habitats in the geographically, climatically and topographically diverse continent.
They are found in sediment-rich rivers, shallow ponds, the great lakes, caves, canyons, mountain streams and forests. Yet they are often overlooked in global conservation conversations.
This is according to a new report on Africa’s forgotten fish, which WWF Africa released in the lead-up to the Ramsar COP15 — a major United Nations wetlands conference — which gets under way in Zimbabwe from 23 July. There, countries will set the course for safeguarding and restoring vital freshwater ecosystems.
The report reveals that 26% of Africa’s assessed freshwater fish species are threatened with extinction, but there are large data gaps so the true number is likely to be much higher.
Africa is a global hotspot of freshwater fish diversity, home to more than 3 200 species — more than a quarter of the world’s total freshwater fish. It’s also a “hotspot of risk”, said Eric Oyare, the freshwater lead for WWF Africa.
“When these fish disappear, we lose much more than species: we lose food security, livelihoods, ecosystem balance, and resilience to floods and droughts. These declines are a red flag for the broader health of Africa’s freshwater ecosystems, which are the very life support systems for people and nature.”
But these lifelines are collapsing under the weight of multiple threats. These include habitat destruction from dams, deforestation, mining and land conversion; pollution from agriculture, urban areas and industry; invasive species and overfishing, including with destructive gear like mosquito nets; and climate change, which alters rainfall patterns, dries out rivers and heats lakes.
Freshwater fish populations are in freefall across the continent. In the Zambezi floodplain, catches of key species have dropped by up to 90%. At the same time, Lake Malawi’s “chambo” tilapia, a staple food and national symbol featured on the Malawian kwacha, has declined by 94%.
When people think of the continent’s biodiversity, few consider Africa’s astonishing diversity of freshwater fish, “yet they have swum through the continent’s communities and cultures for millennia, and are still critical to the daily lives of tens of millions of people — as well as to the overall health of their freshwater ecosystems”, said the report.
Africa’s rivers, lakes and wetlands are home to at least 3 281 freshwater fish species — a
figure that includes Madagascar and “that is almost certainly a significant underestimate”.
This is because so many species have not yet been described by science and new species are being discovered in Africa every year — 28 during last year alone.
These fish are vital for people and nature, supporting ecosystem functionality and the provision of ecosystem services across the continent, enhancing food security and nutrition for millions. They support countless livelihoods, particularly in vulnerable communities and landlocked countries.
More than three million tonnes of freshwater fish are caught each year on the continent, representing nearly 30% of the reported global freshwater fish catch. This figure, too, “is “definitely a major underestimate”, the report said, again because of a lack of data, especially for small-scale fisheries.
The continent boasts 12 of the top 25 inland fish producing countries in the world, with Uganda coming in highest in sixth place. The annual catch feeds the highest per capita consumption of freshwater fish of any continent in the world and employs more than three million people.
It plays a central role in the cultures of many indigenous peoples. And some fishes are economically important either as the lure for recreational anglers or as dazzling aquarium fishes.
Weird and wonderful
The continent’s freshwater fish are much more than just food or economic resources. The report cited how possibly the most famous of Africa’s freshwater fishes are the incredibly diverse cichlids, with at least 1 600 endemic species found in the Great Lakes – Victoria, Tanganyika, and Malawi.
“These cichlids are one of the most spectacular examples of speciation in the world and provide scientists with a unique opportunity to better understand the drivers of species evolution.”
Livingstone’s cichlid or kalingono from Lake Malawi has developed a unique hunting style; it plays dead to attract other fish to eat it, then it turns the tables by “coming alive” and eating the would-be predator.
There are “so many other weird and wonderful species to discover”, the report said, like Africa’s elephant fishes, which use electrical pulses to communicate with others about sex, size, predators and prey.
The cuckoo catfish gorges itself on the eggs of cichlids in Lake Tanganyika. “Like its famous avian namesake, this fish tries to palm off parental care on an unsuspecting species. The cuckoo catfish does this by creating chaos at spawning time and confusing unsuspecting female cichlids into scooping up its spawn, which the cichlids subsequently brood in their mouths.”
The African tigerfish can leap from the water to catch barn swallows in flight while the African lungfish breathes air and can survive years buried in mud during droughts. The ancient bichirs are often referred to as “living fossils” for their lineage that predates the dinosaurs.
Under-reported, undervalued and under pressure
But despite their dazzling diversity and critical importance, the continent’s freshwater fishes have remained “largely invisible” to decision-makers with the benefits they contribute “hidden and ignored” — and are now facing increasing threats to their survival.
Globally, freshwater species populations are in freefall – crashing 85% since 1970. Nearly a quarter of the world’s freshwater fish species are threatened with extinction. Africa’s freshwater fishes are no exception.
The report noted that of the 3 281 freshwater fish species, 712 are classified as threatened — with 170 listed as critically endangered, 243 listed as endangered and 299 listed as vulnerable.
But the true number is higher because 536 of the continent’s assessed freshwater
fish are classified as data deficient, “which means they are so poorly known that their threat status can’t be assessed”.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species classifies nine freshwater fishes as extinct — three from Morocco, two from Madagascar and one each from Kenya and Tanzania, Rwanda, Tunisia and Lake Malawi.
“However, the true number is likely to be significantly greater. For example, many species have almost certainly been lost in Lake Victoria alone.”
The report said: “When we tip the scales by drastically reducing freshwater fish populations, we undermine the functioning of freshwater ecosystems — our very life support systems. The decline in freshwater fish populations is the clearest indicator of the damage we have done — and are still doing — to Africa’s rivers, lakes and wetlands.
“And that collapse of aquatic ecosystems across Africa only exacerbates the continent’s freshwater fish crisis. Freshwater fishes need healthy freshwater ecosystems. And so do we. But we’re losing them both far too fast.”
Spawning protection
The report said that very rarely are the full economic and social values of freshwater fishes and fisheries factored into decisions about hydropower dams, the draining of wetlands and dredging for navigation or sand mining, for example.
“However, there are indications that some decision-makers are finally starting to take the fate of freshwater ecosystems and fishes into account – and that the momentum for action is building.”
African countries signed up to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in December 2022, which explicitly includes the commitment to protect 30% of inland waters and restore 30% of degraded inland waters.
The report said this ambitious agreement paves the way for a new approach to safeguard freshwater biodiversity, highlighted in the country-led Freshwater Challenge.
Championed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Zambia, 20 countries on the continent have already joined the challenge — the largest freshwater protection and restoration initiative in history. Meanwhile, 51 countries are members of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
WWF is urging African countries to adopt the Emergency Recovery Plan for Freshwater Biodiversity as a framework for action. This science-based, practical roadmap has been developed by leading experts to restore the health of freshwater ecosystems and the communities that rely on them.
The plan outlines six urgent actions including letting rivers flow more naturally; improving water quality in freshwater ecosystems; protecting and restoring critical habitats and species; ending unsustainable resource use; preventing and controlling invasive non-native species; safeguarding free-flowing rivers and removing obsolete barriers.
Justice delayed, grief denied: When the courts fail the bereaved:
When my father died in September 2023, our family’s grief was hijacked first by bureaucracy, then by betrayal, and now by the court system.
The first part of this story exposed how the Master’s Office in Mahikeng mishandled my father’s estate. It detailed how a will mysteriously surfaced months after a letter of authority had already been issued to his only biological child, my younger brother, without any notice or due process.
We are now nearly a year into our pursuit of justice. Our first court appearance was in March 2024, after we secured the services of a handwriting expert to analyse the mysterious will. The expert’s report confirmed what we feared: the signature didn’t match my father’s.
We thought we were finally on a path toward truth. We were wrong.
On that first appearance, the case was postponed. The other party, comprising several of my late father’s siblings, wanted time to find their own handwriting expert. Understandable, perhaps. But what followed would be laughable if it weren’t so painful.
The matter was then postponed to September 2024, almost six months later. The date, painfully ironic, falls at about the time of my father’s death.
Their report arrived. It didn’t outright contradict ours, but tried to soften the blow, citing my father’s neurological condition to explain the discrepancies in his signature. They presented medical documents as proof.
Our legal team requested another postponement, this time to February 2025. Why? Because both reports needed to be reviewed and discussed. No progress. No closure. Just waiting.
Then came the real gut punch. In early 2025, the case was postponed again because the matter wasn’t “trial-ready”. Of the six siblings contesting the will, only one had been served. The others? The court’s sheriff couldn’t find them.
So we grieving family members became private investigators. We searched for addresses. We made phone calls. We drove to their homes.
In the end, we managed to track down most of them, but May 2025 came, and the case still couldn’t be heard. A new date must now be requested. And the process of serving all six must be restarted. Again.
At this point, we are not just fighting for an estate. We are fighting for the right to be heard.
Ours is not an anomaly. It is a reflection of the civil court system, a system riddled with delays and inefficiencies.
In 2021, the then justice minister, Ronald Lamola, said in parliament that the country faces huge court backlogs, particularly in civil matters, citing staff shortages, ageing infrastructure and high caseloads. But for families like mine, those explanations offer no comfort.
In our case, justice has been postponed five times. Not because of complex legal arguments. Not because of lack of evidence.
Section 34 of the Constitution promises that “everyone has the right to have any dispute … decided in a fair public hearing before a court”. But when cases are delayed indefinitely sometimes for years that right becomes theoretical.
In a country where estate fraud is rising and wills can apparently materialise months after burial, these systemic failures embolden the very people who should be investigated.
We have the reports. We have witnesses. We have intent. But the court has yet to even hear our case.
We don’t talk enough about what this does to people.
Every court date is a trigger. Every postponement reopens the wound. You prepare yourself emotionally, mentally, financially. You gather paperwork. You re-live your loss. And then someone says, “Come back next year.”
This is not just about money. It’s about dignity. It’s about the truth. And it’s about what kind of country we want to live in: one where the dead are protected and honoured, or one where silence is bought with time and incompetence.
The delays in our case aren’t just emotional, they’re profitable.
While we’ve endured repeated postponements, judges and lawyers continue to draw full salaries every day the case drags on. Consider the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial: after three long years marred by delays and adjournments, Legal Aid SA said it had already spent R6.5?million on legal fees alone. Civil courts aren’t immune.
The burden falls on families. In our case, one uncle threatened to attach my mother’s R900?000 home to cover R64?000 in legal fees, which was the one time we saw the sheriff work.This was a scare tactic but we refused to back down. Through bribes, witch-doctors, logistical snags and endless formalities, we are determined: justice may be delayed, but it will not be denied.
I am writing this because the system has failed us. But silence would fail us more. We must document this for every South African who has had to sit in silence while justice crawled.
Because the real death isn’t the one we bury, it’s the one the system lets happen slowly, year after year, in courtrooms that never open.
Orateng Lepodise is a writer and communications specialist. She is documenting her personal experience.
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