Johannesburg:  President Jacob Zuma is serious about rooting out corruption in government and state-owned institutions. Since he took over as president, South Africa has seen close to 2000 government officials being arrested for illegally benefiting from housing subsidies and, in the process, about R44-million of taxpayers' money being recovered.  Most recently, he appointed the Special Investigating Unit to probe allegations of graft in a number of government departments - including public works and the SA Police Service. The probe is already bearing fruit, with a number of politically connected business people being arrested and their assets being seized over the last two weeks in a crackdown on a R200-million tender fraud in KwaZulu-Natal.  But the president's campaign against graft is severely undermined by the multibillion-rand deals that continue to be snapped up by members of his family and friends.

In an interview with this newspaper, Zuma says he sees nothing wrong with these business dealings as his relatives did not acquire the wealth through corruption or any other illegal means.  What the president fails to appreciate is that these deals, especially the highly questionable one between Arcelor-Mittal and a black empowerment company that has his son, Duduzane, and friend, Sandile Zungu, often require the involvement of government departments for them to become reality - hence raising suspicions that state institutions are being used to unfairly benefit a few well-connected individuals.

These deals leave many wondering if the president's anti-corruption drive is not just aimed at soft targets while a blind eye is turned on elite families who manipulate state institutions in order to line their pockets.

*  Editorial comment in The Sunday Times, Johannesburg