Latest news with #GregMills
Daily Maverick
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
South Africans are sick to death of persistent corruption by politicians
Greg Mills, in his book Why States Recover, illustrates that the key reason behind economic failure is politics: 'Today, the bulk of the world's poor – totalling 1.1 billion of the planet's seven billion people – live in failed or failing state,' he states. The continued failure of South Africa's political leadership to deal decisively with corruption by holding the perpetrators accountable is turning this country into a failing or failed state. South Africans are sick to death of persistent corruption by political leaders. It seems we are headed for a possibly violent revolution if impunity is not stopped urgently. If you don't believe me, just look at the agitation of ordinary people who loudly express their support for Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. On social media, some have even threatened widespread looting if something bad were to happen to him. Against the backdrop of July 2021's devastating riots, we are treading on dangerous ground. Mkhwanazi represents an idea of the people's hatred of the impunity of the corrupt elite. People are infuriated by the repetition of hollow anti-corruption rhetoric by those in power, yet they know that behind the scenes they are colluding with criminals to milk Treasury dry. Writing in Good Governance Africa's flagship publication, Africa in Fact (special edition on the proposed International Anti-Corruption Court), researcher Nnaemeka Ohamadike states that 'the gap between anti-corruption rhetoric and real law enforcement remains a breeding ground for impunity, weakening governance and leaving citizens to bear the cost, especially in Africa'. He further refers to the World Bank's definition of corruption as the extent to which power is 'misused for private gain, encompassing both petty and grand corruption, as well as the influence of elites and private interests in capturing state institutions'. This continues in South Africa year after year, but nothing is done to combat it. South Africa has been cursed by bad political leadership and policies, from colonial times through to the apartheid period and now the so-called democratic dispensation. Colonial political leaders committed the original sin of dispossessing the indigenous people of their land and resources. The architects of apartheid curated an effective racist system that balkanised the people of this country and continued to dispossess the people of their land, minerals and other resources and entrenched grand corruption. Not to be outdone, the post-democracy kleptocratic elites continue their systematic industrial-scale corruption enterprise, siphoning public resources for the benefit of the few. Mkhwanazi's revelations are the latest in a string of corruption scandals that have blighted this country since the dawn of democracy. A quick scan of post-1994 South Africa shows a series of major corruption scandals from 1999 to 2021, exposing systemic misuse of public funds and abuse of power by high-ranking officials and political elites. Starting with the Arms Deal in 1999, it details successive scandals including Travelgate, Oilgate, the Selebi bribery case, Limpopo tender fraud and high-profile cases such as Nkandla and State Capture involving former president Jacob Zuma and the Gupta family. Despite various investigations and some convictions, many cases ended with limited accountability. Recent scandals like the Bosasa revelations, PPE corruption during Covid-19, Tembisa Hospital, Life Esidimeni and the Digital Vibes contract highlight ongoing issues with political patronage, weak enforcement and slow or stalled prosecutions. The pattern points to a deeply entrenched culture of corruption within state institutions. The boldness and audacity of the corrupt criminal elite is increasing while the decisiveness of our political leaders to deal with them is sadly decreasing. It seems that criminal elements are firmly embedded into our political systems in a way that compromises and disempowers our leaders from acting. It is a total failure to deal with corruption, year after year. Even if Mkhwanazi himself were to be found wanting in some respect, the idea will persist because people are sick of being taken for a ride by the so-called leaders. In 2011, the South African Constitutional Court judgment in the Glenister case stated that 'corruption is… an antithesis to democracy and the rule of law. Corruption diverts resources that are needed to improve the lives of citizens to enrich a few, at great cost to many. Corruption prevents the state from fulfilling its constitutional obligations, erodes the legitimacy of our democratic government and subverts the rule of law.' As this continues unabated, we must brace ourselves for a very bad retaliation, the likes of which this country has never seen. The only thing that will prevent this is strong action against the powerful political elites who enable and reward corruption in our society. On 11 July 2025, Karam Singh of Integrity Initiatives International, and Ruth Kolevsohn wrote in the Mail & Guardian that 'frustration remains that the criminal justice system in many countries is unable to deal with the weight and magnitude of high volume, multi-actor, multiple jurisdiction transactions… In global systems, where no single jurisdiction can be relied upon to have the political will and modalities to go after kleptocrats and their stolen assets, we need alternative solutions. 'Presently, there is no international institution to hold kleptocrats accountable when the countries they rule are unwilling or unable to do so. The case for establishing an international anti-corruption court (IACC) has been mooted as a feasible solution to address the constraints of domestic systems.' It is for this reason that Good Governance Africa is partnering with Integrity Initiatives International to promote the establishment of the IACC, and the drafting and ratification of the International Anti-Corruption Court Treaty.
The Guardian
10-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
‘Not a surprise': what's behind Australia's egg shortage, and is it here to stay?
Greg Mills knows his eggs. He has been working in the industry for more than 15 years: with the New South Wales department of primary industries; as an industry adviser to the national poultry welfare code; as a university lecturer on egg production; and as an on-farm consultant in the development of free-range farms. He has talked eggs to schoolchildren at the Sydney Royal Easter Show and presented to wider audiences on why we have intensive livestock systems. In 2017 he was named Kondinin rural consultant of the year. So, when Mills says that what we are seeing on supermarket shelves now – no eggs or expensive eggs – is here to stay, it pays to listen up. Sign up to receive Guardian Australia's fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter 'These problems are not a surprise,' Mills says. 'As we transition away from caged-egg production by 2036, I'd expect to see more outbreaks of avian influenza and resultant drops in egg availability. We're dealing with a biological system with a perishable product and we can't just turn it off and on at will.' Australia's growing population demands more eggs and consumers turn to eggs as a source of low-cost protein when times are tight. But consumers have consistently shown a growing preference for free-range eggs. In 2024 they made up 60% of all eggs bought at supermarkets according to peak industry body Australian Eggs, and major supermarkets Coles and Woolworths pledged to phase out cage eggs by this year. The UK, Europe and New Zealand have banned cage eggs and in 2023 Australia committed, after more than a decade of intense debate and strong animal welfare campaigns, to follow suit by 2036. But free-range eggs are more susceptible to avian influenza – the underlying factor contributing to bare shelves. Low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) occurs naturally in about 2% of the wild bird population, most prevalent in waterfowl such as ducks. When LPAI reaches high concentrations of commercial chickens the virus, like the human flu, has the potential to mutate to high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). 'Due to the outdoor nature of free-range chickens, they are more susceptible to contracting LPAI because they have a greater chance of coming into contact with wild birds such as ducks,' Mills says. 'We don't see it very often but when we do it has major impacts.' Further problems can arise if HPAI jumps from the commercial flocks back into the wild population where it can be deadly, not only to birds but, in some strains, to humans. Any suspected outbreak of avian influenza is a notifiable disease and Australia currently takes a zero-tolerance approach to HPAI outbreaks. A 2020 paper in One Health, the journal of the International Federation for Tropical Medicine, warned that 'a 25% change in the proportion of farms in the Australian commercial chicken industry to free-range farming would increase the probability of a HPAI outbreak by 6–7%, rising to 12–14% with a 50% change to free-range farming'. Concurrent with the rise of free-range systems has been the rise in the number of avian influenza outbreaks. LPAI was detected in 1976, 1992 and 1997 but since then HPAI outbreaks have been more common with incidents in 2012, 2013, 2020, 2024 and in northern Victoria earlier this year. Should avian influenza be detected on an egg farm, most of which are family owned and operated (unlike meat chickens), the farm is automatically destocked and decontaminated, and the hens are culled in line with disease management strategies. 'There are two aspects to the cull,' Mills says. 'The first is the birds are going to die a terrible death – there is no treatment – and so humane euthanasia is a good option. The second reason is to prevent the spread of disease.' If the farm is in an infection control zone – an area shut down for biosecurity regions in response to the outbreak – it cannot restock until all farms in that zone are declared free. This may take many months depending on the scale of the outbreak. Then laying hens must be replaced at staggered intervals to ensure age diversity in the flock. Older hens produce lower-quality eggs so having a range of ages ensures consistent egg supply. 'Eggs are a perishable product and the industry is finely tuned to meet demand without producing a surplus,' Mills says. 'As little as a 1% decrease in egg production will tighten supply on shelves, but the 2024 avian influenza outbreak caused an 8% decrease and industry has no capacity to immediately fill this gap.' Imagine you are a farmer who has just had 30,000 hens culled. Depending on the size of the outbreak you might not be able to begin restocking for months and when you do pullets of those numbers may not be available. And you've laid off staff in the meantime. It may not mean the end of your business, but it is a fairly big challenge to surmount. Rebuilding takes time. Back in the 1960s Australia transitioned from free-range eggs to the caged (or battery) system. This allowed management of factors such as light. In the natural world chickens tend to reduce laying in the winter months, with a resultant dip in egg supply. Caged hens could produce a consistent supply with fewer disease risks, which also lowered the cost of eggs. Barn-raised eggs – indoor production systems that allow the free movement of chickens and more natural behaviour – currently make up 10% of the Australian market. 'All three systems (free-range, barn, cage) have pros and cons and each requires some sort of trade-off,' Mills says. 'There is no perfect system – it comes down to your personal values.' Increased biosecurity measures across all egg production systems are essential for disease control, and free-range farms can mitigate against avian influenza by reducing flock exposure to wild waterfowl, treating water that may have had exposure to wild waterfowl and restricting human and equipment movement between farms. As we transition back to free-range or modern housed systems that allow space and enrichment for chickens, Mills says we can continue to expect dips in supply. 'What you're seeing on supermarket shelves now could become the new normal.'
