Bheki Cele's mismanagement of R500 million of taxpayers money is symptomatic of the kind of rot that has set in to South African politics. The origin of this kind of scandalous attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of South Africans exposes the under belly of the workings of President Jacob Zuma's "governance by patronage"policy. In order to ascend to the highest office in the land,[wpcol_1third] Zuma extended his political credit beyond his ability to repay instalments to a wide variety of opportunists,most of whom now occupy the upper echelons of his cabinet and key departments. [/wpcol_1third] [wpcol_1third]What happened in Polokwane was effectively a leveraged buy-out of South African government,the prized assets being control over the treasury and the vast resources of the country. [/wpcol_1third] [wpcol_1third_end]It is worthwhile reflecting on the circumstances that got us to this sad state of affairs. President Jacob Zuma must bear the ultimate responsibility for the Cele fiasco, as it was on the back of his ascension to the presidency that the foundation for rampant nepotism and patronage was laid. [/wpcol_1third_end] Facing allegations of fraud and financial impropriety that have yet to be tested in a court of law,the only move remaining for Zuma was to push his chips to the middle of the table and go all in.
Courtesy of POLITICSWEB South africa's leading political commentators
