Johannesburg - South Africans should take note of warnings
that the country could be on the path to becoming a rogue state, Nedbank Group
[JSE:NED] chairperson Reuel Khoza said in an opinion article published on
Politicsweb.
"We may not yet be a rogue state, but we could be on
our way there," he wrote in the article published this week.
Khoza blamed rising corruption, ethically weak leadership,
and the protection of state information bill for South Africa's plight.
"Not only is corruption rife at the top of society, but
convicted criminals with the right connections can get a sympathetic hearing
from the powers-that-be.
"Warnings to South Africans to wake up and resist the
spread of institutional crime seem to fall on deaf ears as the pace of
misgovernance by misdeeds hots up."
The protection of state information bill would be used by
"state scoundrels" to protect themselves.
"The rogue state in South Africa will take great
strides forward."
Political and business leaders reflected short-term and
ethically weak transitional leadership styles, he said.
"To speak of a 'second transition' when the first is
not even halfway accomplished is an admission of failing transitional
leadership status."
In Nedbank's annual report earlier this year, Khoza wrote
that South Africa's "strange breed" of leadership needed to adhere to
the institutions that underpinned democracy.
The political climate was not a picture of an accountable
democracy.
"Our political leadership's moral quotient is
degenerating and we are fast losing the checks and balances that are necessary
to prevent a recurrence of the past.
"We have a duty to build and develop this nation and to
call to book the putative leaders who, due to sheer incapacity, cannot deal
with the complexity of 21st century governance and leadership, cannot
lead."
ANC secretary general Mantashe later lashed out at Khoza at
a press briefing with the party's top six officials.
"I would be very worried if the business community begins to think that it has a monopoly of understanding of political leadership," he told reporters.
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