The Daily Mirror called him a "former goatherder"
who "defends his rights to several Mrs Zumas"
and the Financial Times wrote: "It will no doubt
prove tempting for some British commentators to depict
Jacob Zuma's state visit to the UK this week as a comic
opera,"
But the one that caught my fancy was the
Mail.
It said it was "becoming ever more evident that South
Africa is being turned into an organised kleptocracy".
Now there’s a nice word!
Kleptocracy, alternatively cleptocracy
or kleptarchy, from Greek kleptes (thieves)
and kratos (rule), is a term applied to a goverment
that takes advantage of governmental corruption to extend
the personal wealth and political power of government
officials and the ruling class (collectively, kleptocrats),
via the embezzlement of state funds at the expense of
the wider population, sometimes without even the pretence
of honest service. The term means "rule by thieves".
Not an "official" form of government
(such as democracy, monarchy or theocracy)) the term is
a pejorative for governments perceived to have a particularly
severe and systemic problem with the selfish misappropriation
of public funds by those in power.
The effects of a kleptocratic
regime or government on a nation are typically adverse
in regard to the faring of the state's economy, political
affairs and civil rights.
As the kleptocracy normally embezzles
money from its citizens by misusing funds derived from
tax payments, a kleptocratically structured political
system tends to degrade nearly everyone's quality of life,
as the money that kleptocrats steal is often
taken from funds that were earmarked for public amenities,
such as the building of hospitals, schools, roads, parks
and the like.
The quasi-oligarchy that results from
a kleptocratic elite also subverts democracy.
There are certainly many klepteses
amid our kratoses and we are well on our way
to being the Kleptocracy of South Africa.
But which one do YOU think looks more
ridiculous in this the 21st century?
Ladies and gentlemen....we
have a tie!
