(MENAFN- The Post)
THOSE that are corrupt too often throw in“corruption” to taint adversaries.
There is a high possibility that very soon
corruption will implode and the corrupt will chase honest citizens, and law enforcement institutions and the judicial branch alike will be used to perpetuate corruption by those given the mandate of protecting the
constitution and advancing the cause of ordinary citizens.
Lesotho has come a long way from where state tenders were allocated at the State House and public officers embarked on self-driven measures of enrichment at the expense of the state.
The fresh indicators under the current administration point towards a highly explosive environment where members of the executive allocate and distribute tenders to either themselves or their cronies, leading to the marginalisation of some coalition partners
Some kind of restorative order is needed to reverse the actions of ministers as we saw with the Frazer Solar scandal.
The office of Attorney General launched a self-review application.
The country is witnessing serious infractions on public functionaries who openly and brazenly trade with the state with impunity, violating both the letter and spirit of the Public Procurement Act and, by extension, the Constitution of the land.
The utilisation of institutional power of the state to shield corruption can only be sustained for a limited time and both history and experience have led to those who assume state power for far too long plundering the resources of the state ending up either in exile or in prison.
In Asia, the People's Republic of China to be specific, a public official found with his hand in the cookie jar of the state uses the same hand to self-execute himself once caught
Our small kingdom is slowly gravitating towards that end. Many powerful men and women have experienced humiliating defeat at elections and this experience ought to have taugth politicians about the long arm of the law and, by extension, the reality that institutional politics is no more than a mirage.
Most importantly, institutional power of public office can only shield you to a certain extent but not far enough.
The reality is that state power is a temporary arrangement but the rule of law theme thrives forever.
A consideration of the relevant factors that reject the ideological mirage that rich people are not prosecutable is one worthy of debate.
We are all born of an equal society and the power is in the people and the politics they address and dominate
The bodyguards who serve to protect the incumbent office bearers protect the state not the individuals and this must be ingrained in all members of the executive starting with the First Minister and all those in their ilk.
Lawyers in the form of judges, magistrates, prosecutors and investigators cannot all be bought and sold although political pressure (whatever that means) still proves effective in Lesotho.
The narrative or misrepresentation that lawyers can be surrogates of politicians or be co-opted into illicit escapades cannot continue indefinitely in our times.
By extension, and most importantly, the commercialisation of institutional politics cannot sustain Lesotho's politics for far too long and it may collapse much earlier than anticipated.
The narrative that for you to assume public office you must be a wealthy person is a serious threat to democracy itself and this much was admitted by President Harry S. Truman who concluded that a man who attains wealth through politics is a thief
Did he not say crook?
Most millionaires and billionaires the world over have been arrested by low-income earning law enforcement officers and sentenced by often under-funded judiciaries.
The full-scale theft and corruption by the political elite attracts the anger of the masses and is a serious indictment that the political elite must caution themselves against.
Many rich men who have rendered their states bankrupt have had to flee their home-countries and live in exile and only come back home in coffins.
Their children (beneficiaries of the large-scale looting) often find themselves on the bitter-end of the world
Isabella Dos Santos is one such an example.
There are simmering tensions amongst the intelligentsia where the creation of public expense and the single-sourcing crusade is doing the rounds in the country.
Lawyers and law enforcement officials are studiously perusing the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act, Prevention of Corruption and Economic Offences Act, Criminal Procedure and
Evidence Act No.7 of 1981, Penal Code Act No.6 of 2010, Speedy Court Trials Act and Public Financial Management and Accountability Act.
These laws are central to the theme of corruption in the country
Lawyers well-acquainted with the laws mentioned are taking stock of all that is done in utter breach of these laws and they are eagerly waiting for an opportune time to prepare themselves for the moment of prosecution.
There are many lessons to be learnt from our South African neighbours.
The ANC sought to use its majority in parliament and, by extension, its domination of the executive branch to shield the President of the party and state from prosecution but he ultimately spent three months languishing in jail.
This is both a signal and a warning for those enjoying the temporary euphoria of electoral victory.
In a cloudy environment of a polarised political environment prevailing at the moment, the protection and insulation of the esteemed offices of Director of Public Prosecutions and DirectorAdvertisement
General-Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences against abusive and self-serving behaviour of our politicians becomes a necessary weapon that must be used to sustain the rule of law.
The Revenue Services Lesotho and DCEO have jointly told us about their shared plans of conducting lifestyle audits.
There is a clarion call suggesting that the wealthy people across the political divide should be profiled for the purposes of conducting a lifestyle audit.
The legal profession must laud the significant strides by the DG-DCEO which aim to combat the wave of corruption.
The push by Adv. Knorx Molelle to ensure all procurement managers in government ministries declare their assets is highly commendable
To realise this objective, we have to raise the level of consciousness among all state functionaries to understand and appreciate the importance of declaring their assets.
The measure employed by the head of DCEO reflects his vision to fight corruption in an environment where members of the executive are openly trading with the state and doubling-up as traders and public servants all at a go.
The abuse of single sourcing on public procurement has now left Basotho with no fertilisers, seedlings and pesticides in this summer ploughing season.
There has always been a strong public reaction against this illicit measure, but to add pain to the wound the government advisedly or by design elected not to empanel officers responsible for manning the Procurement Tribunal to create a vehicle for people to lodge complaints when the tenders are allocated to companies linked to public officers and MPs of the ruling class.
The courts are taking the view that where the government had decided to go single sourcing, any other person wishing to challenge that initiative has no locus standi because no tender bids have been invited
This is one argument which has the potential to give procurement managers leverage to do the bidding of compromised public functionaries directly or indirectly trading with the state illicitly.
The cheerleaders in corruption syndicates must be very careful because there is no honour among thieves.
The current administration is now entering into major undertakings or contracts with MPs and procurement managers have assumed the status of auxiliaries of these odd arrangements under the auspices of single sourcing.
The assets of the people who distribute state tenders under the pretext of single sourcing and the assets of the beneficiaries of single sourcing enterprise must be preserved in terms of section 88 of the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act in the interests of justice, otherwise the idea of causing procurement managers to declare their assets would be rendered otiose.
The question is not therefore whether declaring assets has a tangible impact, but whether it is the most appropriate step aimed at regulating society and future conduct of public functionaries
This potentially contentious step of starting with the declaration of assets belonging to procurement managers, taken in the context of proposed lifestyle audits paint a fairly clear picture why the domain of thieves may collude to cause a stir in the office of the head of DCEO to ameliorate the adverse effects of his contemplated investigations into the award of controversial tenders so far allocated.
The procurement units of government ministries have been inhabited by unethical practices for a long time.
And when confronted about this, the result is agitation by members of the executive in the current administration who are the architects of this great heist of public funds have seen how Cabinet positions have been used as instruments for the conduct of illicit and corrupt state deals.
The institutional vulnerability of the esteemed DCEO and Director of Public Prosecutions therefore goes without saying.
If the DG-DCEO and DPP refuse to prosecute the active public functionaries on well-orchestrated economic offences, they risk being later joined when insurable interest of protecting these dignitaries expires
This is bound to happen as a preferable means of resolving the known crisis of state tenders being allocated and distributed at the executive level.
Khomo ea Moshate represents a particularly unusual controversy in the circumstances where DG-DCEO and DPP prosecute on behalf of the state without fear or favour but decide to spare certain suspects who authorise their international trips to workshops.
It is for this reason that the existence of a coalition agreement that is interpreted to mean that specified coalition partners should be immune from prosecution has no impact upon the constitutional mandate of the DPP.
It is for this reason that the DPP legitimately rejected the government's criminal suggestion that charges should be dropped and refused to resign as well.
She remained in office and faced the challenges while hoping the courts of law would maintain the sanctity of her office
The country has obviously seen the current administration's open overtures of usurping the DPP's constitutional mandate of prosecution of crimes and the naked violation of the rule of law under the guise that the current administration intends to replace her with a genuinely independent, impartial and hardworking DPP with impeccable academic and professional credentials.
This is a ruse.
The effort to convince or as is being said“suggest” a constitutional appointee and prosecution authority to drop charges is a border line between violation of the Constitution and, by extension, defeating the ends of justice.
Firmer debates will be made to this subject and history will be the judge on the subject.
Given the background expressed already, can it be concluded that the removal of the DPP is a bona fide effort to enhance and support the prosecution authority's operational efficiency and the restoration of public confidence?
There is enough reason for ordinary citizens with minimal knowledge in the field of politics, history and law to conclude otherwise and the painful effects of these measures will be felt in years to come
The intelligentsia's skepticism about the current administration looks more justified than ever.
The marginalisation of coalition partners with Monyane Moleleki being the first victim, Professor Nqosa Mahao being next, and the only leader remaining being Selibe Mochoboroane, speaks to the“mafiosi” elimination-style of political adversaries and potential threats to a brewing power of the dominant RFP political party.
All these might appear trivial, and so far as the outer trappings of the matter are concerned it undoubtedly is, but deeper questions appear as soon as one looks for the reasons underlying it.
It seems inconceivable that the tacticians of this modus operandi of elimination of prominent politicians and leaders of potentially potent political parties at first brush is consolidation of power, but these tacticians are regrettably unaware of the logical weakness of their case.
Why then do they decide to use the one-ounce tactic of elimination as a method of consolidation of power instead of passivism and engagement?Advertisement
Now it is scarcely surprising that the current administration should take up this sort of political posture and attitude.
An election win or majority win seems an important affair to short-sighted political charlatans because each side sets a considerable store on winning it when it sometimes turns out that voters do not judge the matter with equal seriousness, and that trivialities affect the outcome, the candidates tend to develop a contempt for the general intelligence of the people.
The general discontent of the intelligentsia and the professionals who are aware of a series of activities without strategic policy direction and the escalating scourge of food scarcity and upscaling poverty is a cause for concern.
The governance of the Kingdom orchestrated on abuse of state power is a prime reason that played a part in the collapse of the mighty Roman Empire.
Institutional power of government accompanied by excessive plundering of state resources for the select few is in itself a poison that will lead to leaders either going to jail or exile with or without their wealth.
In some jurisdictions individuals commit suicide when public institutions scale an onslaught on their corrupt practices and abuse of state power.
The current administration is flanked by kingpins who strategically identify business opportunities in public procurement and steer the ship first as disguised public servants while on the other hand they are business persons with profit as the prime motivation
A classic scenario of“tender hustling”.
The contractors or public functionaries have created activities of infrastructure development to meet their corporate culture and in violation of laws regulating public procurement.
They hesitate to support the educated crop for strategic reasons in the process.
The educated and competent ones who are aligned to the administration are shadow boxers whose prime role is to give a semblance of legitimacy to the extension of the corporate culture that drives the administration and the open attainment of profit at the state's expense or, to put it bluntly, at the taxpayers' expense.
Senior public servants, with some being Chief Accounting Officers dealing with ministers, are devoting time collecting bribes from international companies (most of which collude with locals aligned to influential political figures) which they guarantee major tenders
The procurement process is often skewed in favour of the specified contractors who play an underhand with deals taking place and with civil servants participating in the procurement process given incentives to sway the decision in their favour.
The puppets carry out specific tasks of the administration and their relatives are posted to diplomatic missions.
The puppets serve to legitimise the business interests of interest groups masquerading as political comrades when in reality the notion of comradeship is steered by material gains of profit sharing.
The reality is that law enforcement needs to dismantle all these groups.
It requires a significant amount of political will and focus for this country to rid itself from the yoke of high-scale abuse of state power for self-serving ends.
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