No, Chief Justice Mogoeng, transformation is not the first priority, Justice is

A Judicial Services Commission (JSC) report has recently been leaked to the media stating that if a judge needs to be appointed and there are only white male candidates available, the position should remain absent until a suitable candidate is found One would think that a statement such as this would be vehemently denied by Chief Justice Mogoeng, whose primary job is to see justice served in our country. However, our Chief Justice has come out openly and said that while it is sad that the document was leaked, he sees no problem with the statement being made. Essentially Justice Mogoeng is saying that he would rather there be no justice than justice be served by a white male. While this is racism of the highest order and should be despised on every level, this is not the worst part of the statement. The greatest tragedy is the corrosion of the rights of the average citizen of South Africa If a judging position sits vacant, or if an inferior candidate is put in place, then the citizens of South Africa will, quite simply, not have access to justice. The real loser is not the white candidate who is applying for a job, it is the average South African who has been a victim of crime, and every victim of crime has a right to justice. While I agree with the need for transformation, it cannot be at the expense of the rights of every citizen in our country In a country as riddled with crime as ours is, I would have to say to the Chief Justice that actually no, transformation is not the first priority, Justice is.

Disgraced South African politicians cannot resign

In many countries in the world a politician will be forced to resign, or resign voluntarily due to poor performance or mistakes. In South Africa, this is not the case. Over the last few months we have had a few stark examples of South African politicians who have failed dismally in their provision of services and their ability to act professionally and show a decent level of management. I can think of two examples (among a list of very many). The first is the Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga. Consistently the Education department fails in a myriad of areas including: textbook delivery, teacher performance, abuse of children in schools and teacher absenteeism. Despite all these and many others the minister refuses to resign. Why? The second is Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega. Following the scandal that was the death of protesting miners at Marikana , having been shot by the police, Riah Phiyega has been disgraceful in her response. It is so obvious that she has absolutely no idea of how to run the police, no idea of the structures and procedures required, and no desire to take responsibility for the worst police brutality since apartheid. Despite this, she refuses to resign. Why? My opinion is that in other nations politicians get their positions based on expertise, experience, and desire to serve. In South Africa, politicians get their positions based on party loyalty, regardless of ability. If a minister in another country resigns they still have their skills and experience, which will allow them to get another job. In South Africa, if ministers are not in government they will more than likely not be employable anywhere else. If they resign, they join the rank and file of the rest of the unemployed in our country, as so quite simply, they cannot resign. It is a matter of urgency that the government begin employing people with the necessary skills required or we will continue to slide into mediocrity.