Mpho

Law | I ask questions | uMuntu

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@CoolMathGuy also, the website rejects any queries as spam emails even though it also says it was submitted.

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@CoolMathGuy I have trouble getting the College Algebra 5e textbook. Do you perhaps have private secondary sellers? Is there perhaps another edition that I can use without too much trouble? Also, could you recommend any physics & biology courses that are as good?

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@dailymaverick One of the first things we must do is have Daily Maverick journalists and others prosecuted for publishing propaganda for war, which is unconstitutional. You can’t have freedom of press and actively stir up tensions with lies intended to drive a civil war.

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@ferialhaffajee We are not surprised. Daily Maverick has been accused of being funded by foreign intelligence agencies, and those agencies use NGOs to spew their propaganda and sway public opinion to induce policies that favour those who do not even stay here. Ban all NGOs. Expeditiously.

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@Markosonke1 @LePaula247 It’s not as beneficial as you might like. Starlink can decide one day to pack up and leave and be used to blackmail your government into deals that would undermine its sovereignty. And why are you eager to hand your money to someone who doesn’t think much of black people?

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

Two matches in a row using hands in the face and being punished for it. Honestly. We have to do better. #BafanaPride

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@MTNza it’s so difficult to find a Momo agent. Call centre consultants don’t have a list. USSD returns an error. MTN Menlyn Park Mall couldn’t help with my Momo account & asked that I send an email. I sent an email but a week later and my issue hasn’t been resolved.

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@GodPenuel @MissNthabeleng So, you are opposed to expropriation of land without compensation? Our people weren’t paid for the land that was taken from them. And there are those people who got land through criminal means and without paying a cent during apartheid.

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@GodPenuel @MissNthabeleng Penuel fails to see how this is a problem. He is simply arguing based on a law that most South Africans and tribes had no say on. Just because something is legal doesn’t make it right.

You want people to lose their lineage and end up having kids with their own family members?

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@LETMECOOK163742 @GodPenuel @SABCNews Lineage is important to guard against the illnesses that will plague us if we start changing surnames & unknowingly having kids with our sisters, cousins, & aunts. Do you understand just how destructive that’s going to be biologically?

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@SizweLo We are being wiped out. This constitution has to change. Every tribe must have its own kings and protect its own history, lineage, and families. At this point we’ll end up marrying our own sisters, cousins and aunts because someone decided to take a different surname.

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@DeepKunene @ConCourtSA The ConCourt’s jurisdiction spans all matters not just constitutional matters. The Constitution of RSA, 1996, was amended to allow this.

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@stchouse100 @Mapholobzz Yeah. Sanctions to coerce ANC leaders to allow America to have its own policies implemented here. Probably even Starlink to be brought in, in exchange for easing of sanctions. It’s one of the biggest weapons used to undermine the sovereignty of a country. Total nonsense

[SizweLo @SizweLo]

Here is a piece I submitted to the Mail & Guardian, who ignored me, and then later to The Daily Maverick, who also ignored it. I’m just gonna post it here instead.

If you’re too lazy due to brain rot, just read the parts in bold.

If you want an honest government, you must stop underpaying civil servants. This is not just a moral issue, it’s a practical one.

If you pay civil servants peanuts, don’t be shocked when they start acting like monkeys. It’s a brutal metaphor, but its truth is becoming harder to ignore.

Corruption isn’t just about greed; it’s often about survival, and raising government wages may be the most effective anti-corruption tool the public keeps ignoring.

Just last week, Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi announced lifestyle audits for all prosecutors amid deepening concerns about internal corruption at the NPA. According to the minister, the rot isn’t outside the system; it’s inside it.

Prosecutors are allegedly enabling injustice, aided by weak institutions and financial desperation. Yet most anti-corruption efforts continue to focus on harsher enforcement, as if poverty has nothing to do with it.

A 2013 study by the Centre for Economic Policy Research found that higher public sector wages reduce corruption, especially in poorer countries, because they reduce bureaucrats’ incentive to extract illegal income.

Several other studies support this: fairer pay increases the opportunity cost of losing one’s job and fosters a greater sense of institutional loyalty and fairness.

Under these conditions, the chance of getting caught is less important than the need to survive because if a job pays poorly, losing it doesn’t feel like a serious loss, so the motivation to stay honest decreases as the importance of following the rules lessens. In other words, better pay makes corruption riskier and less necessary.

Furthermore, higher wages attract more capable individuals to public service and reduce the flow of skilled workers to the private sector. This raises the quality of government and strengthens its ability to detect and punish corruption.

In many developing countries, including South Africa, corruption is often petty but pervasive: a bribe for a license, a “fee” for a signature, a payoff for ignoring infractions. These are not grand thefts but desperate attempts to survive on unlivable wages.

A 2001 paper in the Journal of Development Economics found a strong negative correlation between civil service pay and corruption and showed that countries that undertook wage reform saw notable gains in tax compliance and public revenue, often outperforming the IMF’s reform packages.

Most strikingly, the authors concluded that when civil servants are fairly compensated, societies are less tolerant of corruption. People are more willing to report wrongdoing if they believe the system gives everyone a fair deal.

Let’s be clear: salary increases alone won’t end corruption. But without them, no anti-corruption plan will succeed.

The logic is intuitive: when salaries don’t meet basic needs, the temptation to exploit public office skyrockets. A poorly paid policeman or municipal officer isn’t just struggling to make ends meet, they’re also being devalued by the very institution they serve.

In such cases, the risk of getting caught may seem less threatening than the certainty of financial strain. And if losing your job doesn’t mean much because the pay was already terrible, then there’s even less incentive to stay honest.

This is especially true for mid-level and frontline bureaucrats; the ones closest to the public, who sign off on documents and make small but consequential decisions. The bribes they take may be modest, but they form the backbone of a deeply entrenched system.

While it’s true that not all corrupt income goes toward essential needs, some fund luxury and status, this rebuttal doesn’t hold much weight in societies where even the basics are barely affordable for public servants.

But here’s the problem: Public sector pay reform is deeply unpopular. The public views civil servants as inherently corrupt and undeserving of more money.
This creates a vicious circle: “We’ll pay you more when you stop stealing,” but officials can’t stop stealing because they aren’t paid enough. This mistrust reinforces misconduct, which reinforces mistrust.

Yes, raising pay is expensive. But corruption is far more costly. Evidence shows that better-paid civil servants collect more revenue, steal less, and deliver better service. The investment pays for itself.

Everyone talks about fixing corruption through better law enforcement. But what if law enforcement itself is compromised? In a country where prosecutors earn less than the bribes they’re supposed to punish, who will choose justice over rent?

A very uncomfortable truth is that the private sector quietly benefits from low government pay because it makes it easier to poach top talent, luring the best talent away from public service to get them to write tax loopholes instead of closing them, for instance. That’s not just corruption, it’s state capture.

Worse still, poorly paid regulators and auditors are often tempted by bribes or to take on consulting offers from the very industries they’re meant to police.

The conclusion is hard to ignore: underpaying civil servants sustains corruption. Raising wages, especially for frontline workers, isn’t a political indulgence. It’s a policy necessity. Fair pay isn’t about rewarding bureaucrats. It’s about removing the economic incentives that turn public service into a hustle.

So, what can be done? Targeted wage increases are the most pragmatic place to start, particularly for mid- and low-level bureaucrats who interact directly with the public and are most vulnerable to petty corruption. This is where the payoff is highest: a modest investment in salary can yield significant gains in honest service.

But wage hikes alone aren’t enough. They must be paired with transparency measures such as clear reporting of salaries and public monitoring of misconduct, bonuses or promotions linked to integrity, not just stronger penalties for misconduct.

The government must also shape public messaging around this. This means communicating the strategy clearly and highlighting success stories like improved tax collection or reduced bribery in permit offices following salary reform.

And finally, multilateral institutions like the IMF and World Bank, which South Africa seems to have a cosy relationship with, frequently push austerity and vague anti-corruption strategies. They should rather prioritise targeted pay reform programmes.

In the end, compared to costly enforcement campaigns or sweeping institutional overhauls, this strategy offers better returns and more sustainable change. The takeaway is simple: if you want honest government, you have to make integrity a viable option. That starts by paying people enough to choose it.

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@BoerHindoe @riseagainstevil Wow. So the apartheid laws that provided for deprivation of land rights from black people were imaginary? I don’t know who told you land was unowned and empty, but you clearly don’t to consult actual records because you have no interest in facts. You need to see a shrink.

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@BoerHindoe @riseagainstevil People shouldn’t underestimate your capacity for gaslighting and obfuscation. You only believe in laws that provide for restitution if they benefit your race. So don’t act like you have any rational thoughts on this matter.

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@mhupupu @ErnstRoets Amazing. Wasn’t Zumbabwe sanctioned for taking back their land from colonisers? You expect a country to thrive after being sanctioned for delivering a form of justice that white folks don’t agree with?

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@moloko_moloto @Sentletse You are exactly right. You are to have a purposive interpretation to the Constitution. ConCourt recently said Zuma could not decide terms of reference for the “State Capture Commission of Inquiry” even though the Constitution conferred those powers on him.

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@MmusiMaimane Mmusi, the current issue is government “doesn’t have money” bcs our minerals benefit the private sector (your funders), not the State. Your role is to convince us that you did right by poor SAns by making life difficult for them serving your funders’ interests.

[Mpho @Zanzi888]

@MmusiMaimane Mmusi thinks we don’t know who he works for. SA politics is just theatre; the script is written by the ones with the funding, and guys like Mmusi play their part as actors to fool poor South Africans.