South Africa’s former president Kgalema Motlanthe has spoken on the state of the nation, regretting that the law has made it easy for leaders to get away with looting the public till.
He made this known while speaking during a webinar hosted by the Centre for Development and Enterprise.
To drive home his point, the former president used the court case of former social development minister Bathabile Dlamini. The former minister had been sentenced to four years imprisonment with the option of a fine of R200,000.
He noted that, according to the law, if someone is convicted with the option of a fine, then the person has no criminal records. This gives wiggle room for corrupt officials. They simply pay the fine and continue in their transgressions.
The former president isn’t alone in his verdict about the former minister’s conviction with the option of a fine, however. Some South Africans were outraged when the student Sibongile Mani was sentenced to five years in prison for eating about R200k of about R17 million accidentally sent to her account as part of the NSFAS funding.
Well, the former president has shared his thoughts, but would they change anything? The coming days will reveal a lot.
