EDITORIAL OPINION

Our truth omissions

ONE could be forgiven for thinking a headline on the front page this week "Sperm whale beached", referred to US President Bill Clinton.

Anticipation of his seedy confessions had the world holding its breath. He did not disappoint as, pokerfaced, he gave a four-minute statement about how he had lied to the nation, his wife and his daughter.

His political enemies are filled with self-righteous rage, his friends with pity and embarrassment. Polls suggest nobody cares about his sexual hijinks, except maybe Hillary. What must stick in the throat of the American public are his lies.

One has to ask: what else has he lied about?

His mea culpa breast-beating stopped short of admitting that he had also perjured himself. In a style familiar to South Africans, he claimed his prevarications had remained within lawful bounds.

Back home the lies are different, but disrespect for the public is the same. While President Clinton may face impeachment for his deceit, it seems our politicians can lie with impunity.

In the Sarfu case, the judge found that Sport director-general Mthobi Tyamzashe had lied. Resorting to the old "white lie" technique, Tyamzashe tried to distinguish between "honest" and "dishonest" lies and said he was only guilty of the former. Lies are lies, and Tyamzashe jeopardised the case against Sarfu, forcing other senior members of government including the president to hedge in their evidence to support him.

Yet Tyamzashe has not been rebuked in any way.

Even more damning was Judge De Villiers' finding, backed by plenty of references, that Sports Minister Steve Tshwete had lied. His evidence was described as "evasive, hedging, inconsistent, ludicrous and farcical".

Most damaging of all was the judge's finding that some of President Nelson Mandela's evidence was "not credible" or "completely unsatisfactory". He did, however, stop short of calling him a liar.

Even the President's Office, in the guise of spokesman Parks Mankhalana, is not innocent of deceit. He was positively hostile in his denial to the media that the president was to wed Graça Machel at his birthday bash. Mankhalana, too, only received support for this deceit.

And Energy Affairs Minister Penuell Maduna is still in office despite his knowingly false accusations that auditor-general Henri Kluever had hidden R170 million missing from the Strategic Fuel Fund. Millions have been spent investigating these allegations but Maduna has barely been rapped on the knuckles. He has to withdraw his "inappropriate remarks". Shame.

At least the US public is granted an opportunity to see Clinton showing some remorse. Back home, the reaction is to deny or to lie low when found out. In the Sarfu case, the tactic has been to ignore the facts heard by the court and to attack the bona fides of the "old South Africa" judge.

In games like poker you have to bluff with a straight face. But if your bluff is called, you pay the price.