There has been a parroted proverbial adage which says, “South Africa is a crime scene” —after what spine-tingling revelations this morning, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that assertion is at least somewhat true.
Corruption has basically reached levels of apocalyptic proportions, and the head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, General. Godfrey Lebeya shared some riveting information with regards to the investigation they have been conducting.
Lebeya held a press briefing this morning shedding light on the progress of among others the State Capture related crimes as per the recommendations by Zondo commission.
The numbers he gave regarding the sum of money they are chasing that was stolen through dishonest and illegal means were astonishing.
He revealed that they have atleast 22,000 cases before their table, with more than 500,000 charges, which takes the value to an incredible R1.5 trillion.
Although the Hawks have promised not to leave any stone unturned, they will have to work tirelessly, because prominent ANC figures are among those accused of serious wrongdoing.
And we have witnessed how incredibly difficult it has been for law enforcement to deal decisively with political figures.
Since the commission released its recommendations, none of the people who are implicated in the state capture report have been charged just yet, and one expects Lebeya and his team to start charging people.
How much difference would R1.5 trillion have done to a country with so many challenges?
Such an amount of money could have been used to fund projects that would have reduced poverty, created jobs, and otherwise helped us resolve our energy dilemma at a time when Eskom appears to be in dire straits.
It is quite sad that as a nation we have allowed corruption to reign supreme for a quite some time, and that there have not been many consequences for those involved. We, therefore, implore Lebeya and his team to prosecute successfully those implicated without any fear of contradiction.