Tenderpreneurs thriving in new democracies

“Graft in the form of government contracts allocated to friends and family has become so common that a new term has been coined to describe its beneficiaries: tenderpreneurs”.

If that sounds like a report from a Panama daily think again. It refers to South Africa, which officially abandoned apartheid in the early 90’s and became a multi racial democracy,  just a few years behind Panama’s release from dictatorship.

In terms of corruption in government administrations in the intervening years, both countries  have managed to maintain a similar international image.

The focus of articles in multiple South African newspapers has been  thirty-year-old Julius Malema, leader of the youth wing of the National African Congress, once led by worls respected Nelson Mandela, when he was leading the fight against apartheid.

Malema was called "two-faced" in one headline and accused of profiting from a web of business interests relating to the awarding of millions of rands worth of government tenders.

Amnother  lead story focused on a thinly veiled swipe at Malema by Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who accused young leaders of "spitting in the faces" of those who had sacrificed their lives for freedom.

However, a bare narration of the charges levelled against Malema fails to account for the pages of newsprint that are regularly dedicated to him. After all, he is not the only ambitious politician allegedly on the make in South Africa today.

The newspapers  are full of stories of leaders living the high life at public expense including the1.2 million  rand spent on Malema's latest Range Rover. ($1 = R6.77)the R16 million allegedly earmarked to build a mansion for him in Johannesburg, and the bottles of champagne and scotch that he is reported to quaff in all-night drinking sessions don't really set him apart.

For his predecessor Mandela, there was no champagne, but 27 years in a jail cell on Robbin Island.

Indeed, graft in the form of government contracts allocated to friends and family has become so common that a new term has been coined to describe its beneficiaries: "tenderpreneurs". Sound familiar?