It’s no secret that the education system in South Africa has become progressively worse under the ANC, and it’s the poor and the disadvantaged who are the most adversely affected.

The New York Times published a scathing article over the weekend, which launched an attack on both the South African education system and Deputy President David Mabuza.

With everything we know about the former Premier of Mpumalanga, the choice of Mabuza for deputy president is an odd one. Then again, it didn’t look like Ramaphosa had much of a choice. 

You can read the full article here, but let’s check in with Times LIVE and their summary of the article:

Titled ‘South Africa vows to end corruption. Are its new leaders part of the problem?’, the article details the ‘odd choice’ of Mabuza as deputy president at “a time when the ANC is desperate to purge its reputation for graft and restore its image as the rightful heir to Mandela’s legacy”.

It quotes ANC sources who claim that the secret behind Mabuza’s rise to power is that he siphoned off money from schools and other public services in Mpumalanga “to buy loyalty and amass enormous power, making him impossible to ignore on the national stage and putting him in a position to shape South Africa for years to come”.

Written by Norimitsu Onishi and Selam Gebrekidan, the article starts off by detailing how a six-year-old fell into a pit toilet in Middleplaas, a town in Mpumalanga, which Mabuza was premier of.

If you thought this was a small piece tucked away in international news, you’re wrong. The story landed a full spread in the New York Times’ print edition.

Check it out:

You need to see the full print layout to appreciate just how much space @nytimes is giving DD Mabuza’s pillage of Mpumalanga schools today. Page 1 and the entire centre spread: https://t.co/rlByshEyYD pic.twitter.com/NwoJS3Fqpm

— Nicholas Dawes (@NicDawes) August 5, 2018

After their scathing rebuke of SARS and Jacob Zuma, it’s clear that the New York Times is keeping an eye on this neck of the woods.

Mabuza has a rather chequered history. He’s been accused of stealing much-needed cash from schools for his own benefit, and if the standard of education is bad, the conditions under which students are expected to learn are even worse.

Despite Mabuza’s promises to improve conditions for learners in Mpumalanga, nearly a quarter of the schools still have pit toilets, which have proven to be both unhygienic and dangerous.

The article poses an interesting question moving forward: in the war on corruption, are our new leaders part of the problem?

Looks like it.

[source:newyorktimes&timeslive]