Character counts in leadership

Former home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba made a comeback in parliament when, on Tuesday, he was elected co-chair of the joint defence committee.

But his shady reputation remains from the many scandals he has been involved in and voters have watched unfold.

He has been implicated in, but not prosecuted for, state capture.

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Yet his political star keeps shining and we, the people, must just keep accepting it. Chop us, ANC government, we are clearly your vegetables.

Over time, we have been dictated to about who leads us and, in the end, we just accept what is dished out to us.

We have tried so hard to justify the unjustifiable that we end up living in a corruption-riddled country.

Morals and good character in politics and leadership should never be negotiable, but why is this not applicable in our government?

To further prove the importance of a good name in politics, children born with politically powerful surnames hold onto them because they are aware of the power of being associated with men and women of good character.

While Gigaba may have been under a cloud of controversy throughout his tenure at home affairs, public enterprises and the finance portfolio, he was a member of the youth league who, by luck or good fortune, managed to break through the glass ceiling.

The people with questionable history seem to come out on top and it is disheartening that they make it even more difficult for those who want to make a difference to enter the political space.

The continual expectation to endure a recycling of political figureheads is exhausting. The economy has already been severely hit, then there are the costs to investigate and prosecute.

Justice for those that govern clearly comes at a high cost to the taxpayer.

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With the Hawks having been unleashed, those who lapped up the life of comfort must be in a situation of absolute discomfort now.

At some point, we celebrated that those caught with their hands in the cookie jar were slowly being removed from the corridors of power.

But the joke was on us. They are making their way back, edging closer and closer to the seats of power and privilege that ought to be reserved for those whose character is never in question.

The appointment of Gigaba as co-chair of the joint defence committee is truly dispiriting.