The testimony of national police commissioner Fannie Masemola at the Madlanga commission was more than a legal appearance, it was a soul-cleansing moment for South Africa. Here was a man who stood before the nation stripped of pretence, speaking without guile, and holding fast to the truth even when it would have been easier, even safer, to bend the narrative in his favour.
What struck me most was not only what he said, but how he said it. His words carried the quiet weight of someone who has lived a lifetime in the trenches of crime, law and justice. He chose truth, unvarnished and unembellished, because truth was enough.
He did not posture. He did not dramatise. He did not seek to impress. He simply gave an account of events as he saw and lived them, and because of that simplicity, his words carried an authenticity rare in public life today.
It is easy to forget, in an era clouded by corruption and mistrust, that integrity still exists.
— Chris Kanyane, Pretoria
A glimmer of hope
The article “Decline of public interest media a blow to democracy, accountability” (Sunday Times, September 21), argues that the decline of public interest media is a direct threat to democracy and accountability. The writers highlight that government interference and the failure of market forces to render continuous support are placing public interest media at risk. Their call to action warns that if this trend continues society will lose its ability to hold power accountable.
The core issue is whether the public interest media has ever truly been established. I believe that while it remains an unrealised but vital ideal, pursuing and defending it are essential for democracy’s survival.
The stranglehold on public interest media comes when some media platforms, such as newspapers, are slowly dying. Over the years, newspapers have lost readers to digital media, which is cheaper and more accessible. Digital media brings along other challenges. One of them is that it is prone to abuse, rendering it unreliable to a certain extent.
However, this piece provides a glimmer of hope in that to save public interest media from complete collapse begins with “understanding and correctly valuing the contribution that it makes across the society”. Whether the business and political elites are willing to relinquish the power and control they have over public interest media remains to be seen.
— Sipho Sithole, Alberton
Send Froneman to DC
The Newsmaker piece on Neil Froneman refers (Business Times, September 21 2025). It occurred to me that Froneman would make a good candidate to pick up the cudgels on behalf of South Africa in Washington, following the messy exit of Ebrahim Rasool, the loyal but erratic ANC cadre.
Now retired, Froneman brings with him not only extensive experience of successfully managing a multinational mining group, Sibanye-Stillwater, through very tough and turbulent times. He also has a deep understanding of this country’s economic challenges and has proven himself to be a loyal patriot in his leadership role as chair of Business Against Crime.
It is now six months since Rasool’s exit, and President Cyril Ramaphosa and international relations & co-operation minister Ronald Lamola are still “applying” their minds to who his replacement will be.
Meanwhile, here is Froneman, who ticks all the boxes to be South Africa’s next ambassador to Washington but then again criteria of cadre loyalty and ideological affinity will eclipse any rational calculus.
— Dr Garth le Pere, Kibler Park
A cabinet of corrupt cadres
The ANC’s supposed commitment to the fight against corruption is completely undermined by two main factors.
First, the main issue is cadre deployment, by far the major vehicle for corruption. It involves appointing officials to positions in government or in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) on the basis of their political loyalty and not their expertise and experience. That has not only enabled corruption but triggered the ineptitude we see in so many government departments and SOEs.
Cadre deployment is patently unlawful and unconstitutional, as confirmed by former chief justice Raymond Zondo; yet it has been fully and continually supported by the ANC leadership right up to Cyril Ramaphosa. They need to make an about-turn. We need legislation allowing for imprisonment if cadre deployment is utilised. To save this country, we need to ensure that every official, employee and SOE board member has the required expertise and experience, and is not corrupt.
Second, it is appalling that Ramaphosa retains in the cabinet so many who have faced serious allegations of corruption and have probably not been prosecuted only due to the ineptitude of the National Prosecuting Authority. Included in this list are:
- Deputy President Paul Mashatile;
- mineral & petroleum resources minister Gwede Mantashe;
- human settlements minister Thembi Simelane; and
- minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshaveni.
Why are these sorts of people retained in the cabinet, when they drag down the name of the ANC and are clearly not equipped for the positions they hold?
In addition, the ANC has as its first deputy general secretary, Nomvula Mokonyane, who wants to run for president of the party. Yet she has been accused of being responsible for the entire current water crisis in Gauteng due to her alleged corruption when she was water & sanitation minister from 2014 to 2018. It could be the death knell of the ANC if she were elected leader.
If the ANC doesn’t make major changes it will certainly come down from its current 40% of the seats in parliament to 30% or less. And I’m saying that as someone who was a member of the ANC from 1983 to 1990.
— Michael Evans
Just what did the president say?
The excitement expressed by Helen Zille about the statement made by Ramaphosa when he said that ANC councillors should learn from DA municipalities is like making a shot in the dark.
Did the ANC president really mean that councillors in ANC-governed municipalities should attend classes convened by DA councillors? Or was Ramaphosa simply making an inference that ANC councillors could regain the trust of communities by taking cues from DA municipal governance? Clearly the utterances of the ANC are a subject of differing interpretations.
I am reminded of a quote that goes like “it doesn’t mean if the president said what he said then the president said what he said”. There lies the challenge, what exactly did the ANC president say?
The interpretation by Zille has its limitations and it would be politically naive for the DA to simply capitalise on Ramaphosa’s utterances.
Zille, a former journalist and a seasoned writer in her own right, should know better about the limitations of taking interpretations too far.
— Dr Tutu Faleni
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