New finance minister Tito Mboweni is right when he calls those behind the VBS Bank looting “thugs”.
Make no mistake, the revelation of looting at the VBS Mutual Bank is one of the results of the cloud of high-level corruption starting to clear.
I have previously said it is easier for minions to act dishonestly when they see their leaders lining their own pockets.
It seems that many moral codes were paused and it became open corruption season under Jacob Zuma.
It’s being described as the greatest bank heist in our country’s history.
In total, there were 53 businesspeople, high-ranking politicians and companies that received close to R2bn in gratuitous payments from the bank.
The man who uncovered it all Advocate Terry Motau has recommended that everyone involved be sanctioned and prosecuted, which would include Venda King Toni Ramabulana.
In fact, the first casualty fell last week, when Giyani Municipality’s Chief Financial Officer in Limpopo was fired for his involvement. His name is Hitler Maluleke.
The EFF has gone on the defensive about whether the party benefited through its deputy leader Floyd Shivambu’s brother, Brian, who was named in the report.
While his second name is “Answer”, we are still without any, when it comes to exactly how all of this happened.
Even President Cyril Ramaphosa has been drawn into the fray with accusations that he was told about the looting last year, but failed to act.
He is to answer questions in Parliament from the DA next month.
So while relatively small, VBS handled monies meant for infrastructure development and which belongs to children, the elderly and the very poor.
As with previous corruption, this looting happened without any shame, conscience or consideration for them.
It is doubly reprehensible when it is a politician leading the charge; a politician that is emboldened by the actions at the very top.
That is why we need leaders with a clear and obvious moral code who aren’t flexible under the pressure of temptation.