A shift in the right direction?

Sikonathi Mantshantsha’s wellscripted column, “Wolves guarding sheep” (Between the Chains, June 15-21), brought back memories of when I sat at my grandfather’s knee listening to his rendition of Irish poetry and singing The Wearing of the Green.

In our 23 years of freedom, the vast majority have benefited little. They are now aware, thanks to a free press, of the stories of malfeasance of the Jacob Zuma administration, the depth of corruption, and the reintroduction of colonialism from headquarters in Saxonwold.

The individual responsible for our sorry state of affairs is none other than Zuma, who seemingly succumbed to the temptation of enrichment, along with the malleable bunch of the national executive of the ruling party, which has forsaken the Freedom Charter, offering crumbs from the table of the Gupta family.

At last there is evidence of a shift, with the dismissal of Hlaudi Motsoeneng from the SABC, the removal of Brian Molefe from his reappointment at Eskom, Ben Ngubane’s resignation from the power utility’s board and Cyril Ramaphosa calling for a judicial inquiry into the issue of state capture.

What a debt the country owes to former public protector Thuli Madonsela. She had the courage to carry out her mandate and expose the corruption of individuals, not least that of Number One himself, also bringing to the public’s attention the incompetence of his cabinet.

The authenticity of the #Guptaleak e-mails is yet untested, but once they’re confirmed as genuine, the authorities need to confiscate the many passports the Guptas have acquired, ground their aircraft and make sure they stand trial, together with the many on their payroll. They are a flight risk.