By Vusi Nzapheza
Isibaya may be gone but the best show in town remains the Zondo Commission into State Capture.
At almost a billion rand, the probe has cost us an arm and a leg and the rogues are still roaming free but the show has been worth every cent.
While the National Prosecuting Authority mulls over who to arrest, the nation has been enthralled by the revelations of how our beloved country was plundered.
It makes for riveting viewing.
This week, it was the turn of former SAA board member Yakhe Kwinana to make an ass of herself. Stand-up comedians must be licking their lips in glee at the material emanating from the Zondo Commission.
It takes gut to ruffle Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s feathers but Kwinana took off where her buddy, Vuyisile Ndzeku, left in his last appearance. Like a hare caught in the headlamps of a car, Kwinana suffered a bout of amnesia, a condition that has afflicted many who appeared before Zondo.
The list includes former president Jacob Zuma, who came to the commission with a blank cranium. That a chartered accountant like Kwinana would flout all the regulations of her profession did not come as a surprise. She is the latest in a long list to disprove that a qualification makes a man, or in her case, a woman.
While doing her masters’ bidding, Kwinana threw her certificates to the wind.
At Straight & Two Beers, we were left shaking our heads and pondering whether it was worth going to university in the first place. In other countries, education is the key to a better life, but in Mzansi your bet is go into politricks.
The commission has indeed revealed that “it is our turn to eat”, to quote from a book title. And the rot did not stop during the nine wasted years. It continued during the pandemic and another commission is in the making.
Covid-preneurs pilfered personal protective equipment right under our noses as we were warned to cover up with masks. While we were urged to stay home and halt the spread of the Coronavirus, the thieves were roaming free and tendering like it was the end of the world.
When President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a R500-billion relief package, it was like manna from heaven to the thieves. As millions lost their jobs and livelihoods due to the lockdown, the rogues went on a looting spree.
Lest we lose focus, the revelations uncovered at the Zondo Commission are yet to net a big fish. So far, only sardines have been nabbed while the sharks roam free. It would be funny if it was not serious.
Kwinana and company may make for riveting viewing but their shenanigans have brought our country into disrepute.
They have made our beloved country a true banana republic. SAA is a textbook case of how not to run an airline. There are spaza shops that are better managed than Eskom, Denel and Transnet, Prasa and SABC. Isibaya may be canned, but the Zondo Commission has plugged the gap.
