Apartheid legacy carries on in South Africa: Analyst

South Africa’s corruption watchdog has released the findings of a probe into corruption allegations against President Jacob Zuma. The investigation probed accusations that Zuma allowed a wealthy Indian business family to influence some cabinet post selections to benefit its own business interests. Zuma has been embroiled in different corruption allegations for more than a decade. He has, however, repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Press TV has spoken to Dale T. McKinley, an independent writer and lecturer, as well as Nii Akuetteh, an African policy analyst, to get their take on the issue.

McKinley believes that the fundamental crisis in South Africa is not simply the corruption of President Zuma but it is the corruption of an entire politics that has failed to confront the legacies of apartheid.

Corruption, he said, was a “fundamental part” of the apartheid system which has made its way into the new South Africa.  

The analyst also said all investigations in South Africa have basically been “whitewashes”, adding they have the appearance of an investigation but do not find anybody responsible.

“Anyone who has been paying attention to South Africa over the last 20 years will understand that every single commission of inquiry that has been instituted is under an apartheid law, a 1952 piece of legislation called the Commissions Act which gives the power to the president,” he added.

McKinley also said President Zuma and his cabinet have made public money their own which has fundamentally impacted on the ability of South Africa to deal with the legacies of apartheid.

“This is not simply a conspiracy hatched by international capital and those that have the money in this country. It is a very serious and very real concerns from people on the ground, from poor communities, from unions, from others about governance, about honesty, about principle, about all the promises that were made 20 years ago to those people and how those have been foundered on greed and corruption,” he said.

The other panelist on Press TV’s program, Nii Akuetteh, said South Africa has a lot of problems emanating from the legacy of apartheid.

“When you look at the corruption whether it is with President Zuma alleged or the rest of the ANC, South Africa has much bigger problems," he said, referring to the ruling African National Congress party. 

"These are problems that were left over by apartheid and the international collaborators who kept apartheid in power do not want to talk about those issues. So they focus and they put a lot of light on the corruption,” he stated.

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