EXTRACT
For many of us, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene is a hero. Yet, for years he has lied about his association with the Guptas. He sat and had tea with them – again and again and again. It was clearly more than just tea that was going on between them.
Who is next? Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of our country, was Jacob Zuma’s number two for three years. He was ANC deputy president for five years while state capture was on steroids. He has claimed that he did not know the extent of the rot. When the signs were so obvious? Will he be next to be found to have feet of clay?
We don’t know, but the question makes the lessons to be learnt from Aung San Suu Kyi and Nhlanhla Nene clear and numerous. First, no leader or political party is eternally or wholly incorruptible. We should not turn our political leaders into cults. Leaders are only “good” to the extent that they build and empower institutions of accountability in their countries.