NENE TURNS THE OTHER CHEEK

Former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene has resigned as an ANC Member of Parliament. Previously he was removed as finance minister to allegedly facilitate his appointment to the New Development Bank. When Nene's resignation as an MP was announced, one assumed it was in reaction to the politically obscene circumstances surrounding his removal as finance minister. Publicly he stoically accepted his inauspicious removal, but one suspects, he must have experienced humiliation, violative of his dignity and respect. Without question, there are those who, if faced with the same circumstances, would have on principle, digitally symbolized their contempt for Zuma, but not Nene. Not only is he stoic, but also a patient man. He has yet to be appointed, even though, according to Zuma, he had to be urgently removed as finance minister to facilitate his appointment. I The extraordinary delay in appointing Nene, according to the DA, "is increasingly looking like a blatant lie manufactured to explain away the catastrophic decision to fire him in 2015". Whether Nene will be appointed is an open question. One thing is clear, however, Nene had a choice to make in either resigning as an ANC MP, on principle, or doing so based on ANC hive-minded collective loyalty in furtherance of his appointment. He has opted for the latter. To paraphrase Dwight D. Eisenhower: a man who values misguided loyalty above principles soon loses both.