TWO MORE MP'S ADMIT TO FRAUD

Perhaps the country's crime rate is due to the saying "Lead by Example". If we cannot trust the very people that we put into Parliament, what chance do we have to trust even the people next door, or over the road, or down the street?

What kind of message is our esteemed Goverment sending out, by the manner in which they conduct themselves. The then fun begins when they go to court and then the charges just seem to disappear and they get off scott free - this too sends a message to Joe Public, that it is okay to lie and to steal from people, and so the saga continues round and round it goes.

My biggest disappointment was when Hansie Cronje was caught match fixing, it took years for me to be able to watch and enjoy a game a cricket and even now, when a ball is dropped that I think could have been caught, or a run not taken that I think could have been run - my immediate question now is "how much is he being paid".

So for me it is no longer just the question of accountability and consequence, it is the fundamental issue of trust that I can no longer have or enjoy with my fellow man. What a sad way to live the rest of my life! What a sad way to lose the innocence that I was born with, and what should be my God given right.

Regards
Nikki


October 17 2006 at 11:15PM


Another two former MPs pleaded guilty on Tuesday to defrauding parliament allowances, bringing to 16 the number of current and former legislators who have agreed plea bargains in the scandal.Lead prosecutor Jannie van Vuuren said the two were ordered to pay a fine of R25 000 or spend three years in prison.Twenty-three current and former MPs, mostly from the ruling African National Congress, as well as a number of travel agents, faced criminal charges after defrauding parliament of millions of rands in bogus travel vouchers and hotel costs.The convictions follow several corruption cases to hit the ANC, whose former chief whip Tony Yengeni quit in 2003 after he was given a four-year jail sentence for graft.
President Thabo Mbeki fired his deputy Jacob Zuma last year after he was implicated in the fraud and corruption trial of a former financial adviser. Zuma was himself later charged, although those charges were thrown out of court.Van Vuuren said more MPs were expected to come forward and strike deals with the National Prosecuting Authority before the next court date on November 14."We are talking to the travel agents as well," he said.