Friday, January 18, 2008

South Africa's Scorpions victims of success


So let's say that you are the head of large political organization and you have a top flight group of investigators who work tirelessly to root out corruption and they find something in your closet that, shall we say, might be questionable.
The Scorpions may be about to be stung. Since their glitzy launch eight years ago as South Africa’s elite anti-crime squad, the high-profile team of investigators and prosecutors have by and large lived up to their fearsome name. By taking on and winning a string of criminal cases, from drug smuggling to white-collar fraud, they have gained respect from their peers across the world – and helped to counter the country’s shoddy reputation for combating crime.

What do you do? Why disband the unit of course.
That is exactly what may be happening in South Africa.
In particular they are in the spotlight for their role in last month’s indictment of the ANC’s new leader, Jacob Zuma, on corruption charges and last weekend’s suspension of Jackie Selebi, the national police commissioner over his relationship with a convicted drug-smuggler.
Claiming with increasingly vitriolic language that the Scorpions are pursuing a politicised agenda, the new leaders of the ANC insist they will act on the party’s resolution last month to have the unit closed down this year.

Zuma just recently won an election in South Africa and apparently this has caused some concern in financial circles, since nobody is quite sure which direction he will take the country. They just as easily lurch to the left and embrace Chavez and his policies as they could continue their current path of more democratic financial policies.

Warning message to Americans - Elections have consequences and you must live with the results.

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