SOUTH AFRICA'S CESSPOOL OF DEGREE/DIPLOMA FRAUD

South Africa has its share of public sector employees lying about their academic qualifications. It has been awhile since the likes of Pallo Jordan, Ellen Tshabalala and Mahau Pheko misrepresented their qualifications. Some fraudsters have the good sense to resign their positions, while Hlaudo Motsoeneng, SABC's COO, who lied about his qualifications, stubbornly refuses to do the right thing, aided and abetted by his bosses. In or about March, 2015, government undertook to flush out public servants with fraudulent qualifications. Whether it has done so is unclear. What is clear, however, is that public servants who have secured government jobs through fraud deprive opportunities for those who merit such jobs. These include bona fide university graduates who are increasingly unable to find employment. It is an issue of fundamental fairness requiring the government to unrelentingly root out and prosecute the fraudsters. Failure to do so negatively impacts the country's reputation, in addition to contributing to the 'brain drain'. The focus in South Africa has been centered on exposing fake academic credentials. But, there is more to the problem. One simply has to look at the pervasive prevalence of academic fraud in Russia, riddled with plagiarism, dissertation ghost writers, corrupt dissertation boards and faculty rubber-stamping stolen, or shoddy work. Affirmative action by the Russian government and a volunteer organisation "Dissernet" is exposing academic fraud using plagiarism-detection software. Authorities in South Africa must follow Russia's example in auditing and publicly exposing fraudsters. It will restore the country's tarnished image by closing growing qualification and academic fraud. A broad spectrum audit should commence with existing public sector employees. Expect job vacancy rates to dramatically increase, due to immediate resignations, public shaming and prosecution of those who achieved professional positions through dishonest methods. It is time to clean up the cesspool of academic fraud.

"A MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE"

MINIMAL effort is all that is required to understand multiple deprivations many vulnerable South African children confront from birth. These include, but are not necessarily limited to, poor nutrition, disease, violence, abuse, neglect and squalid living conditions. The social ills children face decidedly affect literacy rates. According to the Minister of Basic Education the national average performance in 2012 among Grade 3 children in literacy was 35%. Performance rates have not meaningfully improved since 2012. How then do we attack the deleterious effects of illiteracy and its unwanted progeny of low educational achievement, wasted human potential and resources? One solution lies in providing additional individualized support for children having difficulty with English as a second language. There are plenty 'at risk' children who struggle in a large class environment. Individualized tutoring serves as a bridge for these children to get up to speed. In this respect, Shine Centers, a non-profit organisation, bridges the gap, using trained volunteers, who tutor English reading, writing and speaking skills in keeping with its ethos that each individual matters. Having tutored at a primary school affiliated Shine Centre for some months, improvement in learner performance is achievable. One learner, Fikile, (pseudonym) who could otherwise charm the birds out of their nests, presents a challenge. Suffice to say, he is a child with special needs and requires the intervention of a special education professional. Here is the rub: the school does not have a special education professional on staff, nor is it likely that one can be provided by the Education Department for the foreseeable future, if at all. The need for special education especially for children in their formative years cannot be over-emphasised. Their lives do change for the better. My son is a case in point - he needed special education at a very young age to open his window of understanding. Today he is a Ph.D in molecular biology. Refusing to accept the status quo, I contacted Fikile's grandmother, his care person. She was unaware of her grandson's lack of progress, or the need for further inquiry into his learning disability, pointing out that she has never been contacted by his teachers. The family will take exigent corrective action, but what about the many children whose learning disabilities are never detected, or addressed by school teachers, administrators, or bureaucrats either through neglect, disinterest, ignorance, or lack of funding? Educating children with learning disabilities is not considered a priority when compared to the myriad of overwhelming problems facing the country's educational system. The lack of priority raises the implication that children with special needs are regarded as incapable, and lacking in potential. Nothing is further from the truth as "a mind is a terrible thing to waste". The dialogue surrounding special education must be personalised, encouraged and respected. It is emblematic of a society that values equal opportunity, in education, in human dignity and hope. South Africa's educational system can and must embrace all of these qualities.

NO SHORTAGE OF MORAL COWARDS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Local television channels recently reported on the outcome of two court decisions, one involving Nomgcobo Jiba, National Prosecutions Deputy Director, and the other, Hlaudo Motsoeneng, SABC COO. The court dismissed the DA's application for the suspension of Jiba. It was cheers and hugs all round at the NPA. Jiba's jubilation will be short lived as the decision will be reversed on appeal. Motsoeneng, on the other hand, failed in his appeal setting aside his permanent appointment as SABC's COO. However, one would have thought he scored a huge victory when addressing his misguided supporters on the steps of the courthouse. To a bystander nothing was more amusing than an arrogant man on the path to nowhere. Jiba and Motsoeneng both share a common trait: moral cowardice - "the necessary consequence of discarding morality as inconsequential" - Ayn Rand. Their actions have raised serious questions of wrongdoing going to the very heart of their fitness to cling onto their positions. Nonetheless they persist in obfuscation notwithstanding a mountain of evidence to the contrary. Moreover, they do so with the morally indefensible support of their bosses. Surely it is time for the country to demand that Jiba and Motsoeneng (and others) accept responsibility, do what is right by embracing moral decency and the courage to confront their misdeeds. Regrettable it will not happen as shame and contrition have no place of prominence, if at all, in the public sector.

SHAWN ABRAHAMS - ZUMA'S OUTED LACKEY

Shawn Abrahams recently announced that the NPA will seek leave to appeal a high court decision reinstating corruption charges against President Zuma. My initial reaction was one of resignation followed by a sense of sadness as I previously believed that Abrahams was, as he has repeatedly stated, his own man. He is not, and like his predecessors must be added to a long line of Zuma lackeys. An objective review of the high court decision leads to one inescapable conclusion: a unanimously sound judgment based squarely on the facts and the law. The NPA's decision to appeal is blatantly frivolous, and no more or less than a delaying tactic. Abrahams did not need to appeal - he knows it as does the nation. When Abrahams was appointed Director of the National Prosecuting Authority, I welcomed his appointment. In hindsight I naively placed emphasis on Abrahams being a career prosecutor, and in a position to withstand political interference. One thing is clear: the political machinations of the NPA preyed on my naïveté. From hereon skepticism and incredulity will be the watchwords of choice.

MALEMA'S ROAD MAP TO THE UNION BUILDINGS

Julius Malema and the EFF couldn't be happier with conditions plaguing the country. A moribund economy, dire poverty, increasing unemployment, a corrupt and grossly inept ruling party are but a few examples creating a win-win combination for the EFF at the coming local elections. To the millions of the marginalised, desperately poor and unemployed, the EFF pitches hope for a better life. If one adds up the myriad of social ills facing the country Malema and the EFF appear unstoppable in mobilising the disenchanted into a sea of red overalls as far as the eye can see. Malema is riding the crest of an enormous wave of mass anger and change. He understands the hopelessness of the masses, and readily manipulates their despair to fulfill his political ends. In doing so, the ANC and the DA impotently look on as the EFF gains increasing support at all levels. Malema will continue to attract followers, not because of leadership qualities, but as a demagogue. He has no interest in empowering the powerless by giving them voice, respect and opportunity. He is simply preoccupied with fortifying his power and eventually securing state control. Hold onto your freedoms as we are in for a rough road ahead.

HAPPY TRAILS PROFESSOR JANSEN

Dear Professor Jansen: I recently learned that you will leaving UFS. It will be difficult, if not impossible, for the university to fill the vacuum created by your departure. You are one of those rare individuals who, without question, meet the 'indispensability' test in your field of endeavor. In fact, your departure leaves me with a sense of loss in that one of the very few remaining guiding beacons in education in South Africa will be turned off. I hope your successor will follow your example in attempting to improve one of the worst school systems in the world. The odds are against it in light of the political dynamic that smolders within the Basic and Higher Departments of Education. Although I have from time to time disagreed with your writings, I have, on the other hand, learned a great deal from you. To this end - thank you! Having spent the greater part of my life in the U.S., and familiar with Stanford's cutting edge excellence, you could not have made a better choice. Academic life at Stanford will be a welcome and well-deserved change.

RED, WHITE & BLUE UNDER EVERY ANC COMRADE'S BED

South Africa under the apartheid government coined the phrase " a red under every bed". Fear of Communism haunted the white minority government. Anti-Communism was inextricably linked to government's foreign policy and much of its domestic policy in furtherance of institutionalized racism and minority rule. The regime's anti-Communist stand found support by most of Western Europe and the US due to their confrontation with the Soviet Union. The ANC has long contended that some Western countries during the Cold War covertly collaborated with the apartheid regime. Such collaboration, according to a recent report, led to the arrest of Nelson Mandela following a tip from a CIA operative. That was some 54 years ago. Nonetheless ANC spokesman ZIzi Kodwa and Secretary General Gwede Mantashe, contend that the CIA is still interfering . . . "to undermine the democratically elected ANC government". The narrative has dramatically and irreversibly changed since Mandela's arrest. The collapse of the Soviet Union altered the political dynamic for the US and South Africa. South Africa no longer has the strategic relevance that previously existed except in the context of the war against terrorism. Kodwa and Mantashe's allegations of US involvement in regime change is a classic example of a red herring - spurious allegations meant to detract from the real and important problems facing the country - unemployment, corruption, crime, dire poverty, wasteful spending and maladministration. No amount of obfuscation by the ruling party will prevent inevitable change taking place within the country. The upcoming local elections will underscore growing disaffection with the ANC. So much for food parcels and free T-shirts.

ANC GOVERNMENT'S WASTEFUL MISSION TO NOWHERE

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa recently led a large delegation of ministers and business leaders to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Kigile, Rwanda. The delegation's primary purpose was to attract potential investors under the trite slogan that South Africa was open for business. It did not resonate at the WEF in Davos earlier this year, and very likely has fallen on deaf ears in Kagile as well. Realistically what did South Africa's delegation have to offer potential investors? Certainly not a thriving economy replete with viable economic indicators for attracting direct foreign investment. So, on what facts was Ramaphosa able to hail the WEF mission as "fruitful?" Also, on what facts could he represent to investors that positive returns on investment "are almost guaranteed in the infrastructure and ICT sectors" of South Africa? Answers to these questions remain unanswerable - no facts, no data, except Ramaphosa's proclivity for rhetoric over reality. What does not escape one is the wasteful cost to taxpayers in sending a delegation on a mission doomed to fail.

RACIST RANTS & MORE. . .

First it was Sparrow, then Theunissen, and now Jansen, besides being white, have one more thing in common - racist comments against blacks. The response from organisations and community activists was furious and swift, reminiscent of medieval times, but in a figurative sense akin to burning villains at the stake, or hanging them in the public square. Knee jerk lynch mentality may offer some vengeful relief, but it will not lead to a change in racist attitudes. It will take more than visceral reaction to change the mindset of a racist. The creation of South Africa's constitutional democracy offered white South Africans an antidote to racist attitudes. Instead of embracing the "elixir vitae" they paid lip service to the "Mandela miracle" and never accepted the fallout: the end of their privileged existence. The antidote could not penetrate the deeply embedded ramparts of white racist attitudes against blacks. It has continued unabated, but in discreet mode. No more - white racist comments against blacks are now increasingly evident on social media and elsewhere. There are a myriad of reasons that fall under the umbrella of demographic marginalization or representation triggering overt white racism. We cannot ignore them inasmuch as we cannot ignore the causes for black racism. We have yet to learn the need to walk and talk together to close the racial divide. There must be no delay as nation building hangs in the balance.

DEADPAN DAVIES & BBC's HARDTALKING SACKUR

To many viewers Minister Rob Davies must have showed signs of a "deer in headlights" syndrome when aggressively interviewed by BBC's Hardtalk anchor Stephen Sackur. Davies displayed classic traits of transient lack of motor reactions. To those of us who are used to annoyingly deadpan ramblings of ANC government ministers, it was no surprise. Sackur, on the other hand, was clearly taken aback, incredulous, and bemused at the minister's robotic responses couched in ANC collective jargon. Sackur is to be excused for not knowing the ANC's political structure embedded in group collectivism. Individuality is an anathema to the functioning of the collective. The collective comprises a hive-minded group mentality with a loss of individual identity. Watch a group of bees as they coalesce to move as a committed unit to prevent splitting up the hive and losing the queen. Is it any different from the ANC executive coalescing around Zuma, of which Davies is one of the more prominent coalescing comrades? One must conclude that Davies televised performance was well received by his comrades. Not so by international viewers as the cringe factor has yet to dissipate.

OPEN LETTER TO JACOB ZUMA

Dear President Zuma: In the past, through print media, I have excoriated, admonished and castigated your government for incompetence, neglect and corruption, to mention a few systemic problems within your administration. For purposes of this open letter to you, I will assume that you do keep your finger on the pulse of the nation through media outlets. That being so, I write, not to berate your government (as I regularly do), but to urge you to take cognizance of the plight of thousands of citizens living in abject squalour on the doorstep of our cities. You, like many of us, travel on the N2 highway to and from Cape Town. Townships abound on both sides of the highway, abominably unfit for human habitation. It boggles the mind that your government, in more than two decades, has taken no meaningful steps to improve living conditions for these desperate people. Before you protest too much, the installation of fire hazardous electrical connections, and satellite dishes on tin shacks do not qualify as meaningful. For these voiceless, forgotten people the misery and despair continues unabated, despite promises of a better life post-1994. Inasmuch as there is a government program to provide housing, it is a drop in the ocean. You may say that funding for housing is limited, and is insufficient to meet demand. This is not so, as all you need to do is earmark the money saved from stamping out rampant government maladministration and waste. This could be a positive legacy in the making for you - think about it.

FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT & PRAY

South Africa's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is a stand-alone government agency responsible for civil aviation safety. The agency is concerned with ensuring that aircraft flying in South African airspace are airworthy. Although a government agency, CAA is considered independent, manages its own activities, and does not depend on larger government for approval. Its independence is pivotal to civil aviation safety and security. CAA's independence was brought into question after it grounded SA Express for serious systemic problems that were putting passengers' lives at risk. Just one day later, after being grounded, SA Express was Inexplicably again flying South Africa's skies. How could a decision to ground SA Express for serious systemic failures be reversed overnight? One possibility for the reversal was Department of Public Enterprises intervention on behalf of SA Express - a critical source of passenger revenue for the money-losing national airline SAA. Whatever the reason for reversing the no-fly order certainly does not engender confidence in SA Express or CAA. One thing, however, is clear: forewarned is forearmed as simply fastening one's seat belt may not be enough.

RAMAPHOSA DROWNING IN DENIALISM

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa must take us for fools. Replete with empty platitudes, he recently told South Africans that the country's sovereign credit rating would not be downgraded to junk status. One can only conclude that he did so with the upcoming World Economic Forum on Africa in mind, where he and the country's delegation will likewise take foreign investors for fools. They, like us, see through Ramaphosa's self-serving talking points. What Ramaphosa will discover, however, on his visit to Rwanda is that the world is no longer interested in us. True to form Ramaphosa did not back up his "firm belief" that South Africa would avoid a downgrade to junk status. No facts, or statistical data, or divine intervention - nothing at all! This is not the time for Ramaphosa to deny reality, and an uncomfortable truth - the country's credit rating will be cut to junk. All economic and political indicators point to a downgrade to junk status, underscored recently by Moody's confirmation of the country's credit rating at Baa2, but adjusting the outlook from stable to negative. Surely Ramophosa should rather prepare the nation for the onset of extreme economic hardship instead of creating a false sense of hope. Churchill must have had Ramaphosa in mind when he said: "There is no worse mistake in public leadership than to hold out false hope soon to be swept away".

ABRAHAMS BETWEEN A ROCK & A HARD PLACE

When Shawn Abrahams was appointed national director of public prosecutions, I welcomed his appointment.  At the time I wrote: "At long last, a career prosecutor assumes the position . . . in contrast to previous political appointments".  However, recognising that naïveté can come back to haunt one, I concluded:  "In light of previous appalling incumbents , the appointment of Abrahams, although encouraging, must be viewed with some skepticism".

Others who commented on the appointment unequivocally rejected Abrahams as simply one more in a long line of Zuma lackeys.

Abrahams will now be put to the test following Pretoria's High Court decision on the dropping of charges against Zuma several years ago.  It now remains to be seen if Abrahams is, as he has repeatedly stated, his own man, mindful of faithfully carrying out his duties effectively and without favour.

The prosecuting authority's reputation is in tatters owing to political interference that has severely compromised its integrity.  Will political interference prevail, or will Abrahams have the independence and fearlessness he professes to reinstate charges against Zuma for corruption, fraud and racketeering?

On principle not a difficult decision, but a politically untenable one for Abrahams.