:00:35. > :00:40.the imagination of the public. It Johannesburg. This is a post
:00:40. > :00:48.apartheid generation free but hostage to creeping corruption.
:00:48. > :00:52.South Africa has now reached a tipping point. Corruption and
:00:52. > :01:00.mismanagement are costing the country to �0.5 billion in lost
:01:00. > :01:07.revenue every year. Money down the drain. -- �2.5 billion. This is a
:01:07. > :01:14.poor neighbourhood on the edge of Soweto township. Within one square
:01:14. > :01:24.mile, you can see the stark effects of bad administration, dodgy
:01:24. > :01:26.
:01:26. > :01:33.tenders and plain, old-fashioned corruption. Burst sewage pipes,
:01:33. > :01:38.Houses build on flood plains and tarmac roads that quickly
:01:38. > :01:44.disintegrate. Not what was expected for the new South Africa. It is a
:01:44. > :01:51.country trying to shrug of its grim past. It commands respect for its
:01:51. > :01:55.high ideals. The maintenance of everything here is important. It is
:01:55. > :01:59.too bad to live in this condition. This is a microcosm what is
:01:59. > :02:09.happening across South Africa. It is not particular to this tour
:02:09. > :02:09.
:02:09. > :02:19.should. Though it is not. My biggest worry is that nothing is
:02:19. > :02:29.
:02:29. > :02:38.Good morning. Enter the wonderment corruption by star on a mission to
:02:38. > :02:45.turn things around. -- enter the one women corruption buster. If the
:02:45. > :02:52.act decisively on the cases in hand, we can show others that there is a
:02:52. > :02:58.way to do it. Her title, Public Protector, may
:02:58. > :03:06.sound mundane. She is reading more than 14,000 investigations, shaking
:03:06. > :03:14.up the establishment. I think she is probably the person and the
:03:14. > :03:18.reader who has brought most hope and the country. -- a leader. On
:03:18. > :03:25.one hand, corruption is being excused at the highest levels and
:03:25. > :03:31.on the other hand, the state says it is committed to writing it out.
:03:31. > :03:39.-- routing it out. Already one police chief is in jail for
:03:39. > :03:49.corruption. Another has just been fired over suspect property deals.
:03:49. > :03:50.
:03:50. > :03:55.A prominent politician is under the spotlight over government tenders.
:03:55. > :04:05.High-profile cases have grabbed the headlines. A strong constitution
:04:05. > :04:06.
:04:06. > :04:11.and free press still gives South Africa a chance to win this fight.
:04:12. > :04:17.It's the beating heart of a vibrant continent, the economic powerhouse
:04:17. > :04:21.of Africa with a growing middle class which is aspirant and with
:04:22. > :04:26.money to spend. It is also one of the most unequal societies in the
:04:26. > :04:36.world. It is an imbalance that many South Africans feel must be
:04:36. > :04:37.
:04:37. > :04:43.addressed. The vast majority of people we talk to admit that
:04:43. > :04:53.corruption has got worse. Especially at the grassroots level.
:04:53. > :05:02.
:05:02. > :05:06.So, she is on the road for much of Town hall meetings like this one in
:05:06. > :05:13.the rural heartlands are a chance for ordinary South Africans to have
:05:13. > :05:23.their grievances heard. Housing, water and other public services are
:05:23. > :05:25.
:05:25. > :05:29.high on the list of complaints. As we travelled the length and breadth
:05:29. > :05:35.of South Africa, allegations of corruption or plain mismanagement
:05:35. > :05:43.are not hard to find. The Public Protector clearly has her work cut
:05:43. > :05:47.out. A new word has entered the South African mine which, tender
:05:47. > :05:57.primer. It is a person who makes their money through abusing
:05:57. > :06:00.
:06:00. > :06:10.government contracts. Three hours' drive north-west of Johannesburg,
:06:10. > :06:10.
:06:10. > :06:17.we find a new water treatment project which is recycling sewage.
:06:17. > :06:21.This is the type of development that is investigated. The local
:06:21. > :06:26.councillor says it was supposed to cost 30 million rand, about �2.5
:06:26. > :06:31.million. These council documents revealed that the true price was
:06:31. > :06:39.double that. The money could have had a dramatic impact on services
:06:39. > :06:43.for this poor committee. Basic services like running water could
:06:43. > :06:50.have been provided for people. My key to build 5,000 houses with this
:06:50. > :06:54.money. It was an overspend. -- we could have built. This plant has
:06:54. > :06:59.been operational for about six months. We can't find a single sign
:06:59. > :07:05.warning people about any danger. That is interesting. These
:07:05. > :07:15.documents show that 1.4 million rand was allocated for precisely
:07:15. > :07:25.that purpose. No safety signs. The council was unable to give us an
:07:25. > :07:29.
:07:29. > :07:34.explanation. You are used to living your life... Of the Astor to
:07:34. > :07:40.accompany us back to the township where there are so many problems. -
:07:41. > :07:46.- we asked her to accompany us. Soweto, the proud heart of South
:07:46. > :07:54.Africa's fight against white minority rule is now shamed by the
:07:54. > :08:01.council's failure to deliver basic services. As she takes more
:08:01. > :08:11.statements from residents, I made this man at his council house. -- I
:08:11. > :08:13.
:08:13. > :08:20.meet. This place is sinking. With that, all of his furniture. This is
:08:20. > :08:23.my bed. Do you think it is bad luck would do you think it is bad the
:08:23. > :08:33.way things are organised? The depressing who built the house
:08:33. > :08:45.
:08:45. > :08:51.think about it? This house was Another victim of council neglect.
:08:51. > :08:58.Do not be fooled by this softly- spoken civil servant, she is
:08:58. > :09:08.demanding answers. I was beaten them immediately. I will request
:09:08. > :09:12.
:09:12. > :09:22.that we come here together. -- I will speak to them. She has advised
:09:22. > :09:24.
:09:24. > :09:29.residents to contact her office with complaints instead of protests.
:09:29. > :09:34.Sent to investigate the problems in this township, finally after ten
:09:34. > :09:44.years. His corruption getting worse? Is the government only
:09:44. > :09:48.series about it when the TV cameras are on? -- serious. 6am in a posh
:09:48. > :09:57.suburb of Pretoria, police have come to the home of a government
:09:57. > :10:02.official charged with a �1.6 million corruption scammed. We are
:10:02. > :10:12.invited to witness the operation. Undercover agents have arrived to
:10:12. > :10:12.
:10:12. > :10:16.seize luxury vehicles, allegedly paid to him as kickbacks. The
:10:16. > :10:21.government says it will charge 100 of the top offenders. Is it too
:10:21. > :10:31.little too late? We have people who are committed to up bridging
:10:31. > :10:37.
:10:37. > :10:40.corruption. -- uprooting. That is the encouragement that people have.
:10:41. > :10:49.Isn't the truth, people are only willing to deal with corruption if
:10:49. > :10:59.they are pushed into it? When we came to government in 1994, we
:10:59. > :11:02.
:11:02. > :11:06.could not overnight turned 40 years of apartheid... We need the kind of
:11:06. > :11:13.public servants who when they get into office as political heads or
:11:13. > :11:23.officials, they should realise that their role is not to feed their
:11:23. > :11:26.
:11:26. > :11:29.families and friends, but to serve the public good. All good talk from
:11:29. > :11:38.the Party of Liberation. Is it filtering down to the rank and
:11:38. > :11:46.file? The ANC and anticipated the power of great and the power of
:11:46. > :11:56.wanting more. It has been shocked by how comrades have been seduced
:11:56. > :11:57.
:11:57. > :12:07.by money. -- greed. It knows the problem very well, but it is very
:12:07. > :12:07.
:12:07. > :12:13.poor at fixing the problem. South Africa's racially divided
:12:13. > :12:19.past has left the country deeply scarred. The black majority was
:12:19. > :12:23.subjected to daily discrimination. 18 years on and the legacy is still
:12:23. > :12:31.being felt despite the Party of Liberation commanding a huge
:12:32. > :12:38.majority in parliament. Corruption was institutionalised. For black
:12:38. > :12:42.people to be in the city they needed a pass. 20 years later and I
:12:42. > :12:50.think the pattern of corruption is influenced by what happened in the
:12:50. > :12:54.past. I think there is a new generation of people who are trying
:12:55. > :13:04.to make money from corruption. were heavily involved in the fight
:13:04. > :13:09.against apartheid. 20 years on, his South Africa where you expected to
:13:09. > :13:13.beat in the fight against corruption? I am disappointed about
:13:13. > :13:23.the extent of corruption. I thought we would do better in the fight
:13:23. > :13:30.against corruption. Our opinions were a bit naive and starry-eyed. I
:13:30. > :13:35.am disappointed. I do think there is an unprecedented demand for
:13:35. > :13:45.activity to deal with corruption at the moment. That gives me a lot of
:13:45. > :13:53.
:13:53. > :13:59.hope for the future. The most pressing issue in the near future
:13:59. > :14:04.is the upcoming leadership contest within the governing ANC party.
:14:04. > :14:10.Jacob Zuma is hoping for a second term as president, there is a
:14:10. > :14:14.strong chance he will win with his populist appeal. Corruption
:14:14. > :14:24.allegations over a multi-billion- pound arms deal still hang over him,
:14:24. > :14:27.
:14:27. > :14:30.those charges were dropped 80 years back. -- a few years. The integrity
:14:30. > :14:40.of some of the most powerful individuals in the party and state
:14:40. > :14:42.
:14:42. > :14:48.will come under the spotlight as a leadership battle looms. There is a
:14:48. > :14:51.lot at stake. The former women's jail in the shadow of the
:14:51. > :14:58.constitutional court seems the perfect venue to launch corruption
:14:58. > :15:02.watch. She has allies in her mission to clean things up. The aim
:15:02. > :15:09.to get leaders to stamp out corrupt practices and the public to blow
:15:09. > :15:13.the whistle on alleged dodgy deals. Increasingly the ANC government is
:15:13. > :15:20.being held to account by the very people who fought for its
:15:20. > :15:26.democratic ideals. Corruption has become a chance that in our country.
:15:26. > :15:36.It should be exercised now before it poisons our entire democracy.
:15:36. > :15:38.
:15:38. > :15:42.For many of our young people, the education system has failed them.
:15:42. > :15:46.Unless we deal with the issue of creating jobs, getting
:15:46. > :15:55.accountability, dealing with the issue of deployment of
:15:55. > :16:05.individuals... That serve the narrow interests of factions. That
:16:05. > :16:06.
:16:06. > :16:11.is what we need to confront. Will it take a generation to change?
:16:11. > :16:21.This school in the Eastern Cape, not far from where Nelson Mandela
:16:21. > :16:27.
:16:27. > :16:32.grew up, South Africa's first black president. Brand new, this state
:16:32. > :16:41.school cost �100,000 to build. There is something missing. No
:16:41. > :16:51.furniture. The children do there are lessons on the floor. If we are
:16:51. > :17:00.
:17:00. > :17:10.teaching them they say, do not push me! They have to sit down. What few
:17:10. > :17:14.tables and chairs there are get shifted from class to class. The
:17:14. > :17:18.school I have just visited waited four years to get its furniture.
:17:18. > :17:23.Every time they ask what is going on they are told the money has run
:17:23. > :17:27.out. Educational services have become so dysfunctional through
:17:27. > :17:32.corruption and mismanagement that the National Dutchman has been
:17:32. > :17:38.forced to take over. We are coming across cases like that. -- national
:17:39. > :17:43.government. One case was a large amount of money allocated to a
:17:43. > :17:49.school that was not even built. seems extraordinary that when we
:17:49. > :17:58.try and find out who is responsible, it is virtually impossible to see
:17:58. > :18:03.where the buck stops. You know, in education and health, it is clear
:18:03. > :18:12.the buck stops with the provincial government. We are also finding it
:18:12. > :18:22.difficult to find out what precisely is going on. Back at home
:18:22. > :18:22.
:18:22. > :18:32.she discusses the headlines with the children. Not an unreasonable
:18:32. > :18:57.
:18:57. > :19:02.question for her daughter to ask. She may portray herself as an
:19:02. > :19:06.ordinary woman, a mother who the public can relate to, but she
:19:06. > :19:10.represents a desire in South Africa not to squander the Democratic
:19:10. > :19:15.fruits of the struggle against apartheid. The thing I really like
:19:15. > :19:19.about her, she is not a sort of superwoman, she does not claim to
:19:19. > :19:24.be a superwoman. She is demonstrating that if you do your
:19:24. > :19:31.job and you exercise the powers that you are given, you can have a
:19:31. > :19:41.tremendous impact on society. She is viewed as one of the most
:19:41. > :19:41.
:19:42. > :19:47.important all works against corruption. -- bulwarks. There have
:19:47. > :19:53.been attempts to muddy her name. Allegations and bringing her
:19:53. > :19:57.children into the spotlight. But she has continued on in her job at.
:19:57. > :20:02.Independent and driven she remains the darling of the South African
:20:02. > :20:07.public. Although there has been the odd attempt to stand in her way, as
:20:07. > :20:13.she stalks the corridors of power, ministers insist she will be
:20:13. > :20:18.allowed to do her work, whatever the investigations reveal.