Hlophe’s appointment shows SA’s downward ethical spiral
The inclusion of Dr John Hlophe in the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) shows South Africa is still far behind when it comes to protecting governance institutions from unethical behaviour. How does it not matter that the man was impeached for unethical conduct when he was judge president of the Western Cape?
The MK Party advanced pathetic reasoning to justify why Hlophe should be on the JSC. The party said he had to be a member because he was a brilliant legal mind. We know Hlophe is a talented jurist, but if that is the only criterion then we really have lost our way as a country.
The JSC deals with important judicial matters, including the appointment of judges. How did parliament find Hlophe to be suitable for such a position when he has been impeached for gross misconduct? As a country, we are in a downward ethical spiral.
Generate power where it’s needed I wonder if your readers reacted as I did to the article by electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, “SA nuke power plan hots up” (July 7).
Before he opts for a nuclear programme involving large nuclear reactors, Ramakgopa needs to think carefully. In the long term, we should have at least one of these at each of our harbour cities, but for now he should concentrate on smaller units.
In the long term, he should think about how uncertain the future of national supergrids is. Look at the Cahora Bassa hydro links to South Africa, which were once so vulnerable to sabotage and terrorism. Other threats to national grids across the planet have been serious weather disruptions such as extreme temperatures, hurricanes and lightning.
In the near future, electricity should be generated close to major consumers. This issue is likely to become steadily more important for municipalities countrywide. Indeed, Cape Town’s mayor has begun looking into the possibility of using pebble-bed modular nuclear reactors for the city.
Get engineers to sort out water mess
A thank you to the Sunday Times for its “New faces in Ramaphosa’s executive” feature, which was most illuminating.
As a civil engineer, I have serious problems with the appointment of Pemmy Majodina as minister of water & sanitation, and Sello Seitlholo as her deputy. Both of them know nothing about water, and probably even less about sanitation. It will take them years to get a handle on these subjects.
In the meantime, there is a shortage of water almost everywhere, and a lot of what is available is substandard. On the sanitation side, there are many places where sewage has been running down the streets for years. All this points to an inept department. But these new ministers are also incompetent owing to lack of experience and training.
There are plenty of highly qualified and experienced civil engineers in South Africa, and it will be interesting to see what our new ministers do about recruiting them.
Polish for a rough diamond
Congratulations to Cyril Xaba on becoming mayor of eThekwini. He succeeds the inept Mxolisi Kaunda, who took Durban backwards with poor service delivery. May Xaba lead our beloved city to new heights so that it becomes world-renowned.
Past mayors of Durban in the postapartheid era, such as James Nxumalo and Obed Mlaba, served with distinction. Others, such as Zandile Gumede and Kaunda, proved to be either corrupt or incompetent, or both. I served under all four of them and know exactly what happened. May Xaba continue to do the good work of Nxumalo and Mlaba, and avoid the ineptitude of Gumede and Kaunda.
Unfortunately, the city has an incompetent city manager. Mayor Xaba must ensure that Musa Mbhele either pulls up his socks or makes way for a dynamic and competent official such as Mike Sutcliffe, who excelled in this role.
May eThekwini prosper under Xaba’s leadership. Hopefully, this rough diamond of a city will soon become a polished gem that is envied the world over.
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