The headline of President Cyril Ramaphosa's most recent newsletter, which was sent out on Monday, reads, "South Africa is serious about fighting financial crime and corruption." It has to do with South Africa's decision to finally leave the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list. He says that this shows that the country's anti-money laundering system is starting to fight corruption and other financial crimes.

"During the state capture era, key institutions responsible for maintaining the integrity of our financial system were weakened and state capacity was nearly eliminated. But we are steadily rebuilding them.” It would be plausible for someone other than the president to make this promise right now. In fact, Ramaphosa’s anti-corruption stance has completely lost relevance, especially when he continues to protect ministers implicated by the Zondo Commission of inquiry into state capture. Take the case of Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe.

His attempt to challenge a portion of the Zondo Commission's conclusion that he should face a corruption investigation regarding the Bosasa case was recently denied by the high court, which dealt him a significant blow. Mantashe recently went on an official South African trip to Asia with Ramaphosa as part of a delegation. In light of the most recent court decisions, Ramaphosa has publicly said very little about Mantashe's future. We have come to the conclusion that we will not act, regardless of his perspective. Fortunately, a commission came to a conclusion against Mantashe; otherwise, he would have started a new inquiry to look into the matter. The President's statements about "steadily rebuilding" the country's key institutions contradict his commitment to combating corruption decisively.

It only matters who is responsible for the wrongdoing. Rebuilding these institutions is meaningless without strong law enforcement. Political interference in the country's law enforcement agencies, particularly SAPS, has been exposed by the Madlanga Commission and the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee. Senzo Mchunu, the police minister, is at the center of it all, and Ramaphosa failed to remove him until the results of the investigations were known. The president cannot claim to be a champion of the fight against corruption given the two examples of Mantashe and Mchunu.