Smelting

Day by day, we count the cost of this kleptocracy that rules our nation: we count it in terms of the bodies of those who die silently week by week of Aids, malnutrition and poverty; in terms of the disruption of family life, and the misery of the millions of economic refugees; in terms of the desecration of the environment; and, as here, in terms of the cost to the economy brought about by the plunder of national assets. What will be left once this evil is at an end, and the culprits are finally brought to book?

With no real democratic institutions in existence, and no law enforcement, there is no culture of accountability, which leaves the ruling elite free to loot and plunder as they please. When their heinous crimes do come to light, instead of heads rolling, and the government falling into disgrace - as would happen in a working democracy - the rulers treat those over whom they rule with utter contempt, of which the refusal to answer to parliament is a symptom. Without accountability, those in power simply decide amongst themselves what path to take in the latest and largest incidence of national fraud - some are even using it to further their own political agendas!