Opinion | Folly-Tix Two-Too?

Given the current climate of our law enforcement facing legal scrutiny, some degree of accountability, though not necessarily mea culpa, has emerged. I therefore consider the implications. Extracting accountability has often been akin to pulling teeth without anaesthesia.

Ask Messrs Madlanga, Baloyi and Khumalo (Pty) Ltd who, with forceps in hand, may have considered wearing hazmat suits given the apparent diseases going about. Then there’s been the plethora of cerebral malfunctions, aka selective amnesia. Despite all this, their successes have been stunning.

I wonder, watching the commission, as to what extent chills are sent down the trembling spines when Mathew “Chuckle-Lekka” Chaskalson presents his familiar winning smile. A “gotcha” question cometh fo’ sho’. I would require a stock of double-ply, super soft, pre-perfumed toilet tissue close to hand.

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I’ll wager smiling back won’t help. A common consequence of many of the great revelations is animated suspension. The labour term, “suspension” is apt.

This is a kind of limbo state where the “alleged”, though not yet damned, find themselves. Although Limbo is regarded as a place on the fringe of hell, it sure ain’t Purgatory as you await spiritual cleansing and even possible absolution. All the trappings of employment continue to be enjoyed without the actual “work” element.

In fact, as the years progress, even normal salary increases apply. Interest wanes and matters more relevant come to the fore. Arriving eventually at a just conclusion is akin to the Sisyphus Syndrome.

Suspension is not altogether distasteful. It doesn’t even attract negative sentiment from friends, family and colleagues. The “suspend-ee” is generally regarded as the victim and accordingly innocent until proven guilty.

Evidence suggests that time spent during these lulls in productive work activity is rarely wasted. Golf games are often dramatically improved and pretty much unlimited travel is undertaken to broaden the mind and open the heart, especially where relevant travel perks remain in place. Given the dubious outcome of longterm suspensions as a result of lack of interest, often reinstatement is the only possible outcome.

Hey ho, hey ho, it’s off to work I go. A case of “I’ll be back”. Professor Wiehahn’s Commission, who authored our current labour law, could not have foreseen the extent of their meticulous toils. The founding fathers of our inspired Constitution too, could not have, in their wildest nightmares, imagined the ramifications of due process.

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