Honest government needed in SA

Former president Jacob Zuma, pictured, has finally been charged on 16 counts of fraud. The law is the essential underpinning to a stable society and will survive the ignorance and whims of any dictator.

If properly used, the law will eventually triumph, as does our constitutional law. Proper use of the tools of law can remove any renegade leader.

We need to remember that freedom from an arbitrary and corrupt government depends on the rule of law and a functioning democracy.

We need to rehabilitate both before the crisis of faith worsens. We must remind ourselves that an independent judiciary, resolving disputes in accordance with the rule of law, remains a cornerstone of our system of government.

We, as a nation, are to blame for the monumental mess our country is enmeshed in today.

We sat like petrified toads while the nation was looted on a scale that defies description. The corruption and brazen theft that took place over the past 24 years will probably never be unearthed.

The presidency is a sacred institution but it should never be allowed to become a haven and a den for political prostitution.

The time has come for honest government in South Africa.

Many men and women of goodwill are available to lead our rainbow nation to new heights.

President Cyril Ramaphosa must begin by committing himself to the truth, to see it like it is, to find the truth, to speak the truth and to live the truth.

Should he falter along the way, he most certainly will become the leader of the official opposition in 2019.

Farouk Araie