LIES & REWARDS

I previously commented on the ANC government's predilection to "reward" ambassadorial appointments to those indelibly tainted by scandal, incompetence and wrongdoing.  I predicted the next ambassadorial appointment would be Riah Phiyega.  As it turns out, I was wrong, as the next in line for a top foreign post is former crime intelligence boss major-general Chris Ngcobo.

The former intelligence boss was caught lying about having a matriculation certificate.  When confronted, Ngcobo brazenly maintained he mistakenly confused "Grade 10 and Standard 10".  Rather than wait the outcome of a disciplinary hearing. Ngcobo resigned from the police in July, 2015, and with the blessing of  Luthuli House commenced classes at the diplomatic academy in Pretoria.  It has been reported that his likely assignment is Mali - a poor decision for one who has no prior diplomatic experience, fluency in French, let alone experience with a country fighting terrorism.

Based on past appointments to foreign posts, Ngcobo will join a select group of miscreants, disgraced ANC comrades, appointed as ambassadors, notwithstanding acts of moral turpitude committed by them.

In good governance countries,  ambassadors are appointed primarily from the ranks of career foreign officers with a spattering of patronage appointments to far and away humdrum places. Nonetheless, both appointments share requisite common characteristics: integrity, intellect, experience and above all honesty.  That cannot be said for Ngcobo and his predecessors, the likes of Carl Niehaus  and Mohau Pheko, who also lied about their qualifications.

It is distressing to witness the disintegration of the ANC government's moral imperative  - an imperative that past icons of the movement fought and died to preserve.  Fortunately they are not with us to also witness the rot.