Thank goodness for the public servants who call it like it is

WHEN a top businessman like Johann Rupert says unambiguously that the country is in the dwang, the riposte is predictable. It’s along the lines: “Of course he would. He’s an old, white, wealthy Afrikaner, hankering for the days when his Nationalist Party mates ran things.”

Detractors miss the point that Rupert has over the past 20 years punctiliously tried to reassure international investors that his beloved country is open for business. They also miss the point that billionaires are largely indifferent to the inability of the state – any state – to provide what we, the hoi polloi, need to live moderately contented lives.

After all, when you are insulated from grim realities by the alternatives that wealth can procure, public goods such as effective policing, potable water, reliable electricity, a good basic education, and an honest, diligent civil service, are relatively unimportant.

So given the jeers, it is fortuitous that Rupert’s remarks came in the same week that Kimi Makwetu, the auditor-general, released his annual report on the audit of public entities, as well as national and provincial government departments, of which there are a staggering 469 – perhaps the world’s longest gravy train.

The next stunning statistic is that of the R1 trillion budget, close on 7% has been found to be inappropriately spent. Irregular expenditure amounted to R62.7 billion and unauthorised expenditure was R2.6bn.

Perforce, only a fraction of government expenditure is ever audited, so it is likely that the actual sum is at least double the R65.3bn that has been identified. Only 119 entities received clean audits and almost half of the irregularities occurred in previous financial years, but were only uncovered now.

As Rupert put it this week: “I’m concerned that we are not prioritising the right things... How can a person not have electricity? How can we create jobs?”

Or as Makwetu put it, voicing his “concern” that the worst offenders were the departments of Health, Education, Human Settlements and Public Works, the most essential public services: “(They) have largely failed the audit test.”

Or as the ANC MP who chairs the parliamentary oversight committee, Cedric Frolick, observed in castigating the officials in these failing departments who never face any consequences for their wastage: “It’s a symptom that will ultimately destroy the fibre of certain departments but also the social fibre of our country.”

That’s not too different from how Rupert sees things: “We picked low-hanging fruit for a very long time. Those trees are now starting to empty.”

Makwetu was riled, too, over the R386 million spent by the government on outside consultants to ready themselves for audit. These entities all have finance departments but when an audit is due “they are running around trying to find help… because there are accountants (in these departments) who cannot produce financial statements because they do not know how to”.

Or as Rupert put it: “The people who are running the country now were not given proper education. Wherever you look, we have got stagnation and really worrying signs.”

Essentially the same sentiments were expressed a few weeks back by advocate Richard Sizani, the acting head of the Public Service Commission, albeit more elegantly: “The aim of affirmative action was never to promote the principle that incompetent persons should be appointed merely because they are black.”

While affirmative action is necessary to redress the imbalances of the past, said Sizani: “It has never been the position that where there is no qualifying black candidate, you must not appoint an available white candidate… The notion of job reservation as part of affirmative action is not correct. It’s not allowed.”

Mired as we are in a constant drizzle of bad news, it is easy to forget that one of the saving graces of the new South Africa is its robustness. Most people speak forthrightly, with the exception of swathes of cowed academics and business leaders.

While it is pleasing that Rupert has broken ranks, he does have a certain immunity because of his wealth. It is far more encouraging that there still is an echelon of old-school public servants – Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, Makwetu and Sizani – who, despite being vulnerable to ANC browbeating, understand that they have a duty to call it like they see it.

Regarding the economy, Rupert also cited author Ernest Hemingway’s observation that “a man goes bust gradually… and then suddenly”. It is increasingly up to this small corps of admirable men and women, to prevent just that happening.

Follow WSM on Twitter @TheJaundicedEye