Owners of unregistered vehicles pay police and traffic authorities to keep vehicles on the road.

District development authorities, city commissions, special purpose authorities, public health authorities and provincial assemblies pay departmental officers to fast track funding.

A customer walks into a bank, is signalled to go to an empty counter and is served whilst others stand in line. The teller gets paid in cash outside later.

University students pay lecturers to improve their grades.

In the district courts, investigators are paid to misplace files and evidence so critical cases don’t get past the committal hearing.

We are a transactional society. We don’t rely on systems, we rely on payments.

We only have systems for symbolic purposes to meet the requirements of an independent state.

We enact legislation to put in place initiatives such as the Independent Commission Against Corruption or Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative because they are required by international agencies.

These are the agencies we borrow money from, so we put in reforms they prescribe with no intention of making the reforms work.

The problem with paying our way in and out of every situation is that there is no incentive to make systems work.

The elite benefit the most in a transactional society because they can pay. The rest suffer.