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Dear Deputy President
David Mabuza
I write this letter to you informed by the ongoing disquieting and chilling disclosures from the state capture and the SA Revenue Service (Sars) commissions of inquiry about the extent of the rot troubling our motherland, South Africa.
Through this letter, I wish to express my sincere appreciation for your courageous and sensible decision to partner with Cyril Ramaphosa during the ANC’s Nasrec conference last year.
I assume your decision was taken for the benefit of our country rather than your political ambition to become number two in the ANC and ultimately take over the reins.
This is because, had you gone along with Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, you would still have been destined to become the ANC deputy president.
Your change of heart at the moment it mattered most has indeed saved the nation from the hyenas, if the confessions from the commissions are anything to go by.
With what the commissions have unearthed thus far, I cannot stop envisioning what state our country would have been in had the Nasrec outcomes turned out differently.
By implication and by assumption, had Dlamini-Zuma won, the rot would have been much deeper today. Certainly, Jacob Zuma would still be in charge.
Supra Mahumapelo’s wild wind, setsokotsane, would be ravaging the North West. South Africa would have signed the nuclear deal with the Russians while the office of the finance minister would have relocated to Saxon World.
Venda Building Society mutual bank would have received more millions from the state for “investment”.
Tom Moyane would still be running Sars as his fiefdom. And, definitely, the Gupta brothers and Duduzane Zuma would have been in the country today doing what they are best at – stealing from the public purse.
The list is endless Mr Deputy President, hence my everlasting gratitude for your rational decision.
Of significance to note, though, is that I do not for a moment insinuate that Dlamini-Zuma is herself corrupt.
However, it is not in dispute that she represented and was supported by the most unethical ANC leaders, hence it is not far-fetched to argue that, had she won, corruption would have continued unabated.
Notwithstanding my gratitude to you Mr Deputy President, I am extremely alarmed about your integrity, which is very much tainted by your past in Mpumalanga.
You may not have directly entwined yourself with the Guptas, but Mpumalanga was not immune from corruption and maladministration during your reign.
The New York Times has recently laid bare the extent of the rot while you were premier.
Mostly, and like KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga is associated with political killings rather than corruption.
Prominent ANC leaders and senior government officials such as Jimmy Mohlala, James Nkambule and January Masilela were among those brutally killed.
Their sin was to expose and fight corruption within your administration. Others like Masilela were touted as possible contenders for provincial leadership and, by implication, became a threat to your political ambitions.
To date, their killers remain at large and the police have been investigating since their passing, with no progress registered.
It is alleged, albeit informally, that you had a hand in their deaths.
Of course you publicly denied these allegations and, in fact, recently advised that those with evidence must approach law enforcement agencies so that the cases can be investigated and, if needs be, tested in a court of law.
With your contaminated past, Mr Deputy President, I implore you to, in the interest of our nation, abandon your ambition to succeed Ramaphosa as state president.
Your integrity profile does not befit the office of the president of the Republic of South Africa.
The Jacob Zuma lesson is that he took the reins of the highest office in the land with allegations of corruption against him and, at the time of his forced removal, corruption was fully institutionalised, from ethics to theft.
Professionals abandoned their code of ethics, chartered accountants falsified audit opinions, lawyers aided corruption and journalists elected to misinform the public.
Once the epitome of hope for many across the globe, South Africa is today a shadow of its former self, with conscience and morality eluding our leaders.
Our energy and resources are committed to correcting the past wrongs instead of focusing on the development we need most.
Mr Deputy President, it is sufficient that with your dirtied past, you managed to become the state deputy president.
For your party, the ANC, nothing prohibits you from becoming the president; not even the integrity commission.
All you need is numbers behind you; Zuma can attest to this. However, for our country, only morally upright leaders can restore the integrity that Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki once conferred on our motherland.
The task of rebuilding trust between the state and the citizens and creating a favourable environment for business development can never be led successfully by someone with a dark cloud over his head.
Therefore, your taking over from Ramaphosa would be tantamount to Zuma succeeding Mbeki and today we know what this meant for our country.
Kgabo Maditodi is a public servant
