President Cyril Ramaphosa still has a chance to save his legacy or at the very least improve it so that he is not remembered as the president who sat on his hands and painfully deliberated and consulted on every decision so as not to tick off anyone in the ANC and hold his fragile coalition of supporters together.
His recent appointment of judge Raymond Zondo as chief justice of the Constitutional Court goes a little way to improving that legacy writes Sydney Majoko but he will need to have the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) firing at full capacity if he is to start turning around SA’s fortunes.
In selecting Zondo for the top job, Ramaphosa has shown he is capable of making bold decisions. Many within the ANC would have wanted to see Zondo snubbed for the position because of the sterling work he has done at the State Capture Commission, which has seen many ANC members implicated thus far in three separate reports.
The appointment of Zondo signals Ramaphosa’s support for the work of the commission, writes Ralph Mathekga, “Politically besieged and unable to sell the anti-corruption agenda in his party, Ramaphosa successfully used his executive prerogative to appoint the chief justice, who has become a number one crusader against corruption in the country, effectively vetoing the growing voice of discontent that has been gathering against Zondo in the ANC.”
The president’s willingness to install the right people in the right places to make sure that those who brought this country to its knees over the past decade are brought to book and face the might of the law is starting to take shape.
Andrea Johnson’s recent appointment to head the Investigating Directorate (ID) within the NPA is another move made by the president to indicate his commitment to fighting corruption. Johnson will have the task of taking the Zondo Commission’s prosecution recommendations and running with them in her role at the ID.
Mandy Weiner writes about Johnson, “With decades under the belt handling high-profile, complex corruption and organised crime cases, Johnson’s appointment has been widely welcomed. She has the track record and the credibility to back her up. She also seems to have the support of the Hawks and the police, which the NPA rely on for investigative capacity.”
Things are starting to align within our judiciary and justice system, here’s hoping that the president’s moves will be vindicated and that those tasked with going after the bad apples will help to craft a Ramaphosa legacy we can look at with pride, our future success depends on it.
Here’s a roundup of interesting opinions, analyses, and editorials:
Somewhere, something is gonna blow: Your questions on Putin’s War answered, sorta – Daily Maverick
All we really know is they don’t really care about us — SA government ministers’ persistent silence – Daily Maverick
EDITORIAL | Xenophobic attacks fill SA’s policy vacuum – Sunday Times Daily (for subscribers)
JUSTICE MALALA | The law is no more in SA. It’s not going to end well – Sunday Times Daily (for subscribers)
South Africa’s government is stuck on oil and gas – New Frame
The first four items of the post-ANC government’s agenda – Daily Friend
History may explain South Africa’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – The Conversation
