South African - Elections

This is taken from a site Family Values Institute.
Corruption – South Africa's Biggest Threat!
The campaigning leading up to South Africa's fourth democratic elections are in full swing. The various political party election manifestos have been launched with much fanfare and many more promises.

However, the exposure of corrupt politicians & corrupt political practice is fast becoming the nation's favourite pastime.

Corruption has the ability to unravel the nation's democratic gains while systematically undermining the development of a sustainable economic foundation upon which our social objectives can be achieved.

In Zimbabwe a corrupt and thoroughly discredited politician gets to retain the presidency despite losing an election - while his nation suffers devastating losses.

Despite its rhetoric about human rights & democracy, the African Union (AU) elected one of the continents worst human rights abusers and supporters of terrorism as its new leader - who promptly condemned democracy in Africa.

South Africa's leading presidential candidate faces 753 serious criminal charges including corruption, fraud, money laundering and racketeering.

It now emerges that Zuma's spokesperson, Carl Niehaus who valiantly defended his leader at his corruption hearings is now defending several fraud charges of his own.

Apparently, Gauteng Premier Paul Mashatile failed to report Niehaus' corrupt activities while he was a member of the Gauteng provincial legislature.

Five out of six senior police officials have been suspended & investigated for corruption in a nation with some of the highest crime statistics in the world.

South African travelers to the UK are now required to obtain visas as a result of the massive fraud & corruption in the department of Home Affairs.

South African Airways, our national carrier is now trafficking drugs to foreign nations while the airline's CEO is under investigation for corruption

Yet the ruling party responsible for all of this runs its election campaign on a corruption busting and clean governance ticket.

When one considers this on top of the hundreds of reports and investigations of corrupt and fraudulent activity in government & the private sector, the future certainly looks bleak.

Tragically, South African society seems to be growing increasingly desensitized to corruption.
Every new revelation of corruption receives adequate air time - which is met with the appropriate amount of public outrage - only to settle down till the next sordid exposé

Alarmingly, fraud and corruption seems to be settling into the national psyche as an embarrassing but tolerated part of the political life of our nation.

Significantly however, there are millions of South Africans who understand that to tolerate corruption & corrupt leaders means we have chosen, by default, the path of Zimbabwe and the many other nations destroyed by this cancer.

Corrupt and sleazy politicians can never be tolerated in a nation serious about overcoming injustice, addressing urgent social needs and building a strong united South Africa.

On 22 April 2009 South Africa arrives at a crossroads that will determine whether we join the ranks of the world's most corrupt nations or whether we reject crime, grime, sleaze and corruption and fulfill the destiny of God for this nation.

The Cross set you free, use your cross this election to set the nation free!

Standing

Errol Naidoo