One great leader can make all the difference
Dark days in South Africa, now, and it might just get worse. Our new president, Cyril Ramaphosa, made the promise “I will root our corruption”. That task is daunting, however.
Ramaphosa’s predecessor Jacob Zuma oversaw rampant corruption whose astonishing scale and scope is only now being revealed by a national “State Capture” inquiry. So far, we have heard how corporate giant Bosasa spread a net of bribery in parliament to win lucrative tenders from lawmakers.
Once the hope of Africa, after Nelson Mandela led the country into a new era freed from the shackles of apartheid, South Africa has since been hijacked by unscrupulous political operators in league with business cronies.
On Monday, the latest Corruption Perceptions Index brought the latest evidence of just how badly Mandela’s legacy has been squandered by the African National Congress leaders that came after him. South Africa dropped to 78 out of 180 countries worldwide and ninth in sub-Saharan Africa in the 2018 ranking released by Transparency International.
Ramaphosa offers hope. Slowly but surely the wheels of justice are turning. It is all coming out in the wash now. It will get worse before it gets any better. Our president is in a rowing boat, going up against an aircraft carrier. But that won’t deter him for a second. The message to our corrupt politicians is loud and clear: you can run, but you cannot hide. Cyril Ramaphosa will flush you out.
Alf Haupt
Chon Buri
