The recent revelations at the state capture inquiry that Swifambo Rail which scored a R3.5bn Prasa tender in 2013 allegedly arranged a “donation” of R88m to the ANC are horrifying. They unmask the governing party’s black economic empowerment policy for what it actually is: a clandestine fundraising mechanism for the ANC.

It is clear all “qualifying” black-led entities that scored government tenders had to agree to demands for “donations”. This explains why all the ANC-run provinces and municipalities have collapsed and are in financial ruin.

Granted, the R88m in question did not reach the ruling party’s coffers. However, it is clear the ruling party dispatched its practitioners of malfeasance in various government portfolios to dish out countless tenders to its allies.

That SA is in ICU economically is proof ANC deployees perfected it to greedily fill their pockets with taxpayers’ money without any concern for service delivery. The same nefarious practice is what the nine wasted years pillagers are calling radical economic transformation (RET), which as far as they are concerned, is not theft of taxpayers’ money, but “black economic empowerment”, a code word for cadre enrichment.

The call by the Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution (Casac) for an independent corruption-fighting unit is a good move, if SA is to be redeemed from the claws of corruption. The anti-corruption units by ANC government have proven to be toothless watch dogs paid for doing nothing.

John Mkwanazi, e-mail