Define criminal

A few days ago the retired Judge Willem Heath addressed an anti-corruption forum held by the South African Communist Party (SACP); what he said was like a sucker-punch to my belly. He stated that in 2004 corrupt dealings totalled R40 billion and that the figure is increasing every year. FLIP!. He also made reference to the Auditor-General’s report that 6 in 10 government employees have business interests that conflict with their job. NO WAY! The shocking part for me was what he said next: Corruption in the private sector was more rife than in the public sector! YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS! The problem is worse than we thought.

However, I would like to take the Judge’s comments one step further… corruption among civilians in South Africa is reaching proportions worse than our government officials and business people.

How many of you can look in the mirror and say that you have not bribed a traffic officer or a policeman, that you haven’t given someone an under-the-table envelope in return for a contract, that you haven’t claimed more than was due to you from your insurance company, or lied about the value of the goods that you need replaced when stolen. If your answer is genuinely ‘no’ then my hat is off to you. If your answer was ‘yes’ then the truth is that you have no leg to stand on when complaining about corruption. You are part of the problem. Corruption is endemic in our country and is quickly getting to the point of no return. Instead of saying ‘well our leaders do it, why can’t we?’, let us rather make a bold statement to our leaders and show them what morality is and stand up for what is right!

Now define criminal.

If this is a bit close to home...GOOD!

What if I said that you are just as bad as corrupt politicians or organised crime bosses if you buy counterfeit CDs or DVDs? Don’t come with a justification! I have heard them all and they are superficial and self-justifying. The reality is that if no one bribed cops then it would not be happening, if no one bought counterfeit DVDs then no one would sell them. We have the power to stop this cancer, one person at a time.

Now, I am in no way saying that I am perfect, or expecting you to be. Nor am I saying that you cannot be upset by the state of corruption in our country. But what I am saying is that next time you hear a story of corruption and you shake your head, stop yourself, do some introspection, change your life… and then shake your head.

The problem lies with all of us, thus we all have the responsibility to fix it.

Define criminal.

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