Opinion There is a surprisingly simple solution to our corruption problem When parliament grants unrestrained discretionary powers, it is chipping away at the rule of law BL PREMIUM

SA and other societies spend untold millions on combating the scourge of corruption. Conferences are held on how to fight it more effectively and entire academic fields are dedicated to analysing it. We tend, however, to over-think and complicate corruption. The solution is quite simple and evident: reduce discretionary powers. This may not eliminate corruption, but it will lead to a marked reduction in its prevalence. The rule of law is a founding value of South Africa’s constitutional order and, by virtue of section 1(c) of our highest law which provides for the supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law, a value that could be considered to be of equal authority with the text of the constitution itself. The doctrine of the rule of law is an aversion to arbitrariness; a commitment to government of law, and not of man. It requires the law to be constitutional (thus accord with the values of freedom, equality, and human dignity), understandable, accessible, non-retrospective, ...