Tshwarelo Hunter Mogakane
Political analyst Dr John Molepo has blamed a lack of strong leadership and what he has termed "cash cow mentality" for the rot that continues to plague State institutions.
Molepo was responding to a recent Special Investigating Unit (SIU) media statement in which the anti-corruption entity was granted a preservation order to freeze a R27 million property belonging to former National Lotteries Commission (NLC) boss Professor Alfred Nevhutanda.
According to the SIU, Prof Nevhutanda is the sole director of Vhutanda Investments, which allegedly used NGOs to purchase the luxurious property in 2018 using monies flowing from the NLC.
"The SIU has obtained a preservation order from the Special Tribunal to (the property). Our investigation has revealed that the acquisition of the property was funded by non-profit organisations with the money they had received under the auspices of grant funding from the NLC. The luxurious property therefore constitutes proceeds of unlawful activities," stated SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago.
Khanyago said the SIU will institute action against Nevhutanda in his capacity as former chairperson of the NLC.
Dr Molepo said the trend of corruption was entrenched in the country because there was no decisive leadership.
"We have greedy leaders who always look at their own pockets because of a recurring cash cow mentality. This is not something only happening in the lottery commission, but it is rampant in many institutions because of lack of leadership. We need leaders with credible credentials. As a country we need to do a proper reflection on leaders that are catapulted to key positions," he said.
The analyst, who is a senior lecturer in the department of public administration at the University of Mpumalanga, said he would not directly blame President Cyril Ramaphosa for the NLC corruption.
"In South Africa you have strong institutions including law enforcement agencies such as the Hawks. We only need implementation without fear or favour. President Ramaphosa is currently going up a serious steep because society is watching. The president won on a ticket of clean governance and anti-corruption. Society will start to lose faith whenever you do things that do not resonate with your campaign, especially when it comes to moral leadership. It is time that implementation of policies is taken seriously," said Dr Molepo.