Meaning | Musk? Trump? Who drives exactly the federal government?

Mr. Musk’s recent stand Against USAID, the federal agency responsible for the administration of foreign and development assistance since 1961 could have come directly from the State Capture Playbook – only more brave in intention. “USAID is a criminal organization,” Mr. Musk Sent Over the weekend. “Time to die.” In that time, the agency’s site went offline and its two top security officials were located by administrative leave after refusing to give members of Mr. Musk’s team access to secure USAID systems. Finally, Monday, Mr. Musk that he had consulted Mr. Trump, and that “We’ll shut it down.” (Monday Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State announced that he is the agency’s functioning administrator.)

The example from South Africa was detailed in a 2016 report that is actually called ”Capture State“From the country’s public protector, Thulisile Madonsela.

It described how billions of dollars of public financing over a number of years went into their pockets in a few elites instead of supporting fighter healthcare and education systems. Mrs. Madonsela’s office had received a number of accusations that Guptas, a wealthy Indian family with deep business ties in South Africa (Guptas has denied wrongdoing) had successfully pressed The president and other top officials to remove or appoint ministers for state-owned units, “resulting in incorrect and possibly corrupt allocation of state contracts and benefits for the Gupta family’s businesses.”

State admission is not a condition that is endemic to South Africa after apartheid. For example, the so-called Operation Car Wash study in Brazil revealed secret, illegal conditions on the extent of state admission.

So what should be done in countries facing the threat of state admission?

Only in South Africa conducts a high -profile investigation driven by elements of the government that have not yet been captured. Although the United States has no office for the public protector, several federal government’s watchdogs could bend their investigative powers. Mr. Trump already abolished As many as 17 inspectors in general, but other agencies, including the Congress Research Service, the Government’s Responsibility Office or the Congress Budget Office, could step up.