Unmasking the crime scene: South Africa's political landscape

"THERE are certain clues at a crime scene which, by their very nature, do not lend themselves to being collected or examined. How does one collect love, rage, hatred, fear....? These are things that we're trained to look for." - James Reese Gideon

-  BOITUMELO SENOKOANE

Many visible and invisible crimes have been committed within Parliament, provincial legislatures, and municipal councils. This is not a recent phenomenon; the apartheid-era parliament committed even more heinous crimes, including crimes against humanity. Some may agree that what has unfolded since then amounts to daylight robbery of land, property, and public trust. Corruption has become the norm.

Without question, there is an ongoing crime against the poor. By implication, the crimes committed in these state institutions are crimes against the state but crimes against its citizens, especially the most vulnerable.

In light of this, it is not unreasonable to suggest that for the past 31 years, Parliament and its subsidiaries have functioned as ongoing crime scenes.

Politics in South Africa appears to have become a "new business," to the extent that many individuals have left traditional business ventures to pursue it.

In its conventional sense, business is about creating value through goods or services exchanged with customers to generate profit. Platform businesses, in contrast, create value by facilitating connections between user groups.