Kleptocracy is a word that’s been more and more associated with the South African government, throw in crony, capitalism and thief and you have an award winning novel. Author Bryan Britton wrote the book ‘Stepping Stones’ published in 2010. He says the book addresses the 17 million people in South Africa considered to be young. His aim was to bring wisdom from the past to the youth, for them to build a viable morality for their future lives. He looked at Nigeria as a case to be learned from to avoid the pitfalls of a kleptocratic government, which he says took Nigeria forty years to learn from. And one wonders if Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan will be able to address the scourge of corruption in his Budget Speech. Below is the extract from the book, an insightful read, six years on. – Stuart Lowman
Extracted from Bryan Britton’s 2010 book ‘Stepping Stones’
‘Today it is regarded as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. In the past number of years, the leaders of this country have stolen more than two and a half trillion rand. The average citizen, on the other hand, today only receives about R100 in income per week.
Recently, administration has been making concerted efforts to tackle corruption. Ministers have been dismissed and the government is committed to change. The money is being ring-fenced to tackle poverty and this spending is very closely monitored. The government has committed that the money should go to the very poorest. The country, with the most dangerous slums in Africa, is seen as having the greatest natural resources on the continent. It is also the one with the highest potential for development.
One can be excused for thinking that we are talking here about South Africa.
The country in question is, of course, Nigeria. South Africa has yet to go through the quagmire that is Nigeria’s recent history; a history of untold shame, sorrow and suffering – all at the hands of the kleptocrats.
Kleptocracy derives from the Greek words kleptes, meaning ‘thief’, and kratos, meaning ‘rule’. It is a word used to describe a government widely engaged in corruption to extend the personal wealth and political power of individuals in the ruling class.
A corrupt and dishonest government, characterised by greed, is described as kleptocratic. Such a government is typically run by rulers who are thieves and who pillage public funds to the detriment of the poor, sometimes without the pretence of offering any form of honest public service. These kleptocrats then exploit a country’s natural resources for their own greedy benefit.
Read also: Vavi on SA: ‘A kleptocracy led by thieves’ – corruption cost R700bn in 20yrs
The money on which these evil managers of men prey is almost always funds earmarked for the building of public amenities, schools, hospitals, roads, parks and public facilities. Thus the ordinary citizen is prejudiced, inconvenienced and deprived by these selfish kleptocrats.
The term ‘kleptocrat’ was first used in the 1960s to describe the activities of the ruler of the independent Congo, Colonel Joseph Mobutu, who plundered the rich natural resources of that country for his personal benefit. However, the term could equally have applied to his colonial predecessor, King Leopold II of Belgium. It is said that the megacity of Brussels, a European Union bastion, was built with the kleptocratic proceeds of the resources of the Congo Basin.
The story of Africa is one of the Europeans plundering the natural resources of the continent and then, when caught with their hands in the cookie jar, hastily effecting a democratic handover to the most likely African kleptocrat.
This book has urged you young South Africans to develop your own sense of right and wrong, your own morality, your own ethics and your own zone of indifference. This is in the absence of a reliable schooling and education system. It is a ploy of all kleptocrats known to man, to restrain the emerging youth from education, thus guaranteeing for themselves a strata of humanity upon which to prey. Be warned. Be alert. Be careful. Be your own person and be democratic. It has taken Nigeria 40 years to learn this painful lesson.
